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The Original Phone
Alexander Graham Bell spoke into a device to his assistant which launched the first telephone era with the first bi-directional electronic transmission of the spoken word. Bell recieved the first phone patent, although the original telephone was complicated. -
Candlestick
Popular from the 1890s to the 1930s, the candlestick phone was separated into two pieces. The mouth piece formed the candlestick part, and the receiver was next to your ear during the phone call. -
Rotary
To dial, you would rotate the dial to the number you wanted, and then release. In the 1960 and 1970s the rotary phone started to come to a slow death. -
Push-button
In 1963, AT&T introduced Touch-Tone, which allowed phones to use a keypad to dial numbers and make phone calls. Each key would transmit a certain frequency, signaling to the telephone operator which number you wanted to call. -
Answering Machine
The answering machine transformed phone behavior, allowing callers to leave a message if no one was on the other end. Not popular until the 1960s, these phone accessories originally used cassette tapes to record messages. In the past 15 years, digital answering machines replaced the miniature cassette tapes. -
Portable Phone
Portable, or cordless, phones were the phone equivalent of the TV remote. You were no longer physically attached to your phone’s base station. Beginning in the 1980s, portable phones were like a small-scale cell phone. You could talk on your phone anywhere in your house! -
Motorola DynaTAC
Released in 1984, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X was the first available mobile phone. In 1973, Martin Cooper made the first cell phone call ever. At 1.75 pounds, this phone had 30 minutes of talk time and cost a not-so-modest $3,995. -
Nokia 5110
One of many classic Nokia candybar-style phones, the Nokia 5110 was rugged and had a long battery life.The 5110 was also customizable, with replaceable face plates. -
Motorola RAZR
The Motorola RAZR represented the culmination of the flip phone. Unable or unwilling to experiment with new designs, mobile phone companies continued their push for smaller and smaller phones. With the RAZR, Motorola perfected the flip phone design. At just 0.54 inches thin, the RAZR was as much a fashion device as a cell phone. Announced in 2004, Motorola would eventually sell 130 million RAZRs. However, the RAZRs popularity rapidly declined in the face of a new generation of touchscreen smartp -
Iphone
When the iPhone was introduced in 2007, Apple brought the smartphone to the masses. With its intuitive touchscreen, intelligent sensors, and sleek design, the iPhone has been an incredible success. The iPhone quickly showed just how clunky previous smartphones and flip phones were.
