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SCR-194 and 195
The SCR- 194 and 195 were the first portable AM radios, produced by the U.S. Army Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories in Fort Monmouth, NJ. Considered the first "walkie talkie," these devices weighed roughly 25 pounds and had a 5-mile range. They were widely used for infantry battalion and company intercommunication during World War II. Link text -
SCR-300
The SCR-300 was a radio transceiver developed for the U.S. Military by Motorola. This time a portable FM radio, it weighed anywhere from 32 to 38 pounds with a 3-mile range. It replaced the SCR-194 and 195 with nearly 50,000 units used in World War II by Allied Forces. Link text -
SCR-536
Motorola produced the first "handie talkie" for the U.S., labeled SCR-536. 130,000 units were manufactured and used during the war. Back to AM, this handheld version shed the fat off the previous two transceivers, weighing only 5 pounds. But its land range was only 1-mile (3 miles over water). Link text -
Mobile Telephone System (MTS)
Bell System introduced the first commercial mobile telephone service, called the Mobile Telephone System (MTS). The original equipment was large, weighing 80 pounds (not quite what you'd call mobile) with limited calling bands available from AT&T. The service wasn't cheap either—costing $30 a month (roughly $330 today) with additional per call charges. Link text -
Mobile System A (MTA)
Ericsson's Mobile System A (MTA) was the first partly automatic mobile system for automobiles. First used by Sweden, the unit weighed a whopping 88 pounds. Again, "mobile" is kind of a misnomer, considering it's equivalent to almost 300 iPhones! Link text -
Improved Mobile Telephone Service (IMTS)
With the adaption of Bell's newer pre-cellular Improved Mobile Telephone Service (IMTS), auto owners saw lighter, more advanced mobile car phones with push buttons. This one by Motorola weighed 40 pounds, half as much of the original units from the '40s. Link text -
DynaTAC (Dynamic Adaptive Total Area Coverage)
With a prototype of the DynaTAC (Dynamic Adaptive Total Area Coverage) portable phone, former Motorola Vice President Martin Cooper made the first private, practical mobile phone call in a non-vehicle setting. Who'd he call? His rival at Bell Labs, Joel S. Engel. Link text -
Nokia's Mobira Senator
With the impressive size of the DynaTAC prototype, it's disappointing to see Nokia's Mobira Senator weighing in at 22 pounds.
It launched during the world's first fully automatic international cellular service—NMT—the first-generation (1G) of mobile communications. Link text -
Motorola DynaTAC Cellular Phone
10 years later after the prototype, Motorola's DynaTAC cellular phone was made available to the public, weighing under 2 pounds, but costing nearly $4,000 (almost $9,000 today)—which is why it was strictly for the Gordon Gekkos of the world. It worked on AMPS, North America's first 1G analog service, launched first by Ameritech in Chicago. Link text -
Mobira Talkman
Back to larger mobile devices, the Mobira Talkman brought longer talk time at cheaper costs. The DynaTAC could only manage 60 minutes of talk time, but this miniature beast gave hours of voice-to-voice communication. Link text -
Motorola's MicroTAC
Next up was Motorola's MicroTAC, which introduced the first flip phone design. The hardware was place in a hinged section of the phone, reducing the phone's size when not in use. It was truly the world's first pocket phone. Link text -
Motorola International 3200
The Motorola International 3200 became the first hand-sized digital mobile phone that used 2G digitally encrypted technology. -
IBM Simon
Perhaps the world's first smartphone, IBM Simon was a mobile phone, pager, fax machine and PDA, all rolled into one.
It included a calendar, address book, clock, calculator, notepad, email, gamers and a touchscreen with QWERTY keyboard. It originally sold for $899, which would be just over $1,300 nowadays. -
Motorola's Bag Phone (2900)
Car phones remained popular, despite their smaller pocket-sized versions, but Motorola's Bag Phone (2900) was the car phone to have due to its long talk time, great battery life and superior signal range.They first worked with 1G networks, but eventually crossed over into 2G territory. -
StarTAC Mobile Phone
Still shrinking the line of TACs, Motorola unveiled the first clamshell mobile phone with StarTAC. It improved the folding feature by collapsing in half, which is why it's called "clamshell"—because it resembles a clam opening and closing shut. It ran on 1G networks, but eventually crossed over into the world of 2G. It's said to be inspired by the communicator from the original Star Trek series. -
Nokia 9000 Communicator
The Simon was good, but the Nokia 9000 Communicator was what really brought on the smartphone era. It was the first cell phone that could also be called a mini-computer (though it had limited web access). When opened, the longways clamshell design revealed an LCD screen and full QWERTY keyboard—the first on a mobile phone. -
Nokia 8810
The Nokia 8810 was the first cell phone without an external antenna whip or stub-antenna, possibly paving the way for iPhones and DROIDs. It also made mobile phones more aesthetically pleasing, with its sliding keypad cover. -
Nokia 3210
One of the most popular mobile phones in history was the Nokia 3210, with over 160 million sold. It was one of the first to allow picture messages, but only preinstalled ones like "Happy Birthda,y" and was one of the first to be marketing toward young people. Link text -
Nokia 7110
Nokia's 7110 was the first cell phone to incorporate Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), which gave mobile users web access for simple devices—a stripped-down, mostly text version, but a revolutionary step for mobile internet. Link text -
Benefon Esc
GeoSentric was responsible for the world's first mobile phone and a GPS navigator integrated in one product—the Benefon Esc! It was splashproof, greyscale, and allowed users to load maps to trace position and movement.
