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One-Way Pager System
The Detroit Police Department begin regular one-way pager system to connect the police headquarters to cruisers starting in 1921. At first, the receivers were unreliable and would fade out easily in dense areas. They also didn't have a specific band to use, so it worked like tuning in to a regular radio station. An improved receiver was developed by 1927 and regular dispatches began in 1928. -
First Handheld Cellphone Call
Dr. Martin Cooper makes the first call using a handheld cell phone weighing 2.5 lbs. He used the Motorola DynaTAC. -
Motorola Pageboy I
The Motorola Pageboy is introduced in 1974 and is the first paging system that is able to send a message to a specific receiver. The initial pager can only deliver a tone that tells the wearer that a message had been sent. It can not store written or verbal messages. -
Motorola DynaTAC - First Mobile Phone
Released in 1984, the Motorola DynaTAC is the culmination of work at Motorola that started in 1968. The phone costs $3,995 which is equivalent to over $9000 in today's money. -
Newton Message Pad PDA
Apple sells the Newton Message pad which is the first in the market of personal digital assitants (PDAs). It is well known for it's handwriting recognition feature, but is quickly replaced by better devices and gets cancelled in 1998. -
Palm OS Introduced
Palm OS, a mobile operating system designed for PDAs, is introduced in 1996. It is used with the Palm Pilot 1000 and 5000. It has applications called Address, Date Book, Memo Pad, and To Do List that become precursors to today's apps. -
Nokia 9000 Communicator
Nokia introduces the Nokia 9000 Communicator in August of 1996 which opens to reveal a QWERTY keyboard improving the functionality of the phone's email and texting capabilities. -
Palm Pilot
Palm Pilots debut in 1997 with 128 KB of memory and costing about $300. -
Nokia 7110
The Nokia 7110 is the first cell phone to feature a WAP (wireless access protocol) browser and messaging. It was also the first cell phone to use T9 predictive text. -
Palm Education Pioneer Grant
On October 25, 2000, SRI International, creates the PEP grant. It provides Palm handheld computers for teachers in K-12 classrooms. -
First Mobile Learning Book
Learning Unplugged: Using Mobile Technologies for Organizational Training and Performance Improvement comes out in 2002. It is the first book on mobile learning. -
HandLeR - Handheld Learning Resource
Developed in 2002 by the University of Birmingham, it is a handheld device with a camera, wireless and a phone. The device works with a pen to take multimedia notes of learning in the field. -
First Mobile Learning Conference
mLearn, the first mobile learning conference, takes place in 2002. It is organized by the International Association for Mobile Learning and continues to be hosted every year. -
BlackBerry
In 2003 the most well-known version of the BlackBerry is released. It allows for email, calling, text messaging, Internet faxing, and Web browsing. -
First Generation iPhone
iPhones make their debut in 2007. They come with a multi-touch screen and a virtual keyboard and connect to Wi-Fi and cellular networks. Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone as, "a widescreen iPod with touch controls", a "revolutionary mobile phone", and a "breakthrough Internet communicator". -
Android Operating System
Google releases the Android mobile operating system in 2007 which is designed for touchscreen devices. The first commercial Android device (T-Mobile G1) is released in September of 2008. Important innovative features include its open nature, notifications system, and integration with Google's services, however it is criticized initially for have more limited functionality than iOS or BlackBerry OS. -
First Mobile Learning Journal
The Internation Journal for Mobile Learning and Organisation (IJMLO) publishes its first volume in 2007. -
App Store
Initially apps for the iPhone are created by third-party developers and installed by 'jailbreaking' an iPhone. When the iPhone OS 2.0 is released in July 2008, Apple launches the App Store. This officially introduces a platform for app development and purchasing. Until 2013 'App Store' is trademarked by Apple and they sue Amazon and GetJar over their respective uses of the term. -
First iPad
In January of 2010 Apple announced the creation of the iPad. In the same year, another version of the iPad would include Wi-Fi capability. It competes directly with netbooks at the time. By 2011, netbooks are competing with tablet computers like the iPad and Amazon Fire and by 2012 many companies quit producing netbooks. -
Chromebooks
Chromebooks take over the spot that netbooks previously held and are most popular in the education setting because of their price and cloud computing abilities. The key feature of Chromebooks is that they have a Google Chrome OS and are designed to be used primarily for internet access or for accessing cloud based technology.