The History of Cell Phones By facebooker_2430851626926192 Period: 1970 to 2010 The History of Cell Phones 1973 Dr. Cooper invents first cell phone (not needed to be powered by car.) 1983 Motorola introduces first cell phone to the public. 1989 Motorola comes out with flip phone. 1993 Developers in Europe find a way to sent written messages over the phone. This is the beginning of texting. 2002 The first smart phone is invented. It could send and receive emails but did not include a speaker of microphone. 2002 The Sanyo Company introduces a smart phone that can take pictures. 2005 California passed a law that required cell phones to be recycled so harmful materials are not put into landfills. 2007 Apple released the iPhone that allows people to do most anything they could do from their home computers.