Evolution of the mobile phone

  • The first car-to-car radios are used

    The first car-to-car radios are used
    The Detroit Police Department began using mobile radios in their police cars. They used them to talk between cars, but it didn't work very well.
  • Period: to

    Mobile Phone

  • The Federal Communications Committee is established

    The government used most radio frequencies for itself, but the air waves were still clogged up. The FCC was created to decide who got to use which channels.
  • Communication by mobile radios becomes more common

    By the 1940's most government agencies, as well as the rich people, had mobile radios. They used them while they were on the go to talk to others.
  • The first mobile phone service is established

    The first service created just for mobile phones opened up in St. Louis, MO, but the service didn't work well and it didn't last.
  • The first car phone service is attempted

    The first car phone service is attempted
    A car phone service was opened between Boston and New York, but this service was a failure, too.
  • A second attempt at car phones is made

    The second attempt at car phones was a success. The equipment was large and heavy, but it worked, and that was an improvement over the past.
  • The term "cell" comes into play

    AT & T proposed splitting phone service into different areas across the cities. These areas were called "cells".
  • The first cell phone is tried

    The first cell phone is tried
    Dr. Martin Cooper invented a portable hand-held phone that didn't need to be powered through a car. He was the first person to make a mobile phone call.
  • The cell phone goes public

    It took ten years for the technology that Dr. Cooper invented to become available to the public. The first public cell phones were put out by Motorola.
  • The flip phone is introduced

    The flip phone is introduced
    Motorola came out with a new design where the mouth piece flipped over the top of the keypad. It was the first flip phone.
  • Text messaging is developed

    Developers in Europe came up with a way to send written messages over the phone. It was called texting.
  • The first smart phone is invented

    The first smart phone is invented
    The smart phone could send and receive emails and messages, but it didn't have a speaker or microphone. This meant it needed a headset to work.
  • A camera phone is made

    A camera phone is made
    A company called Sanyo made a phone that could snap pictures. Later the user could download the pictures to a computer to be printed.
  • The Cell Phone Recycle Act

    The Cell Phone Recycle Act
    A law was passed in California that said cell phone companies had to allow customers to return old cell phones to be recycled. This was because cell phones can contain materials that are harmful if left in a landfill.
  • The Apple Iphone is released

    The Apple Iphone is released
    Apple released its first iphone and it changed the cellular industry. It featured a touch screen and allowed users to do almost anything they could do from a home computer, which basically changed the way people lived.
  • Latest Apple Device is released

    Latest Apple Device is released
    Apple released their latest IPhone which introduced fingerscanner to the iPhone. It also came in two sizes, the first time Apple had done this.
  • The mobile phone industry is growing and updating every month