Timeline Project Art History

The first mobile telephone call.

Jun 17, 1946

A driver in St. Louis, Mo., pulled out a handset from under his car's dashboard, placed a phone call and made history. It was the first mobile telephone call. http://www.corp.att.com/attlabs/reputation/timeline/46mobile.html

Sputnik Launched

Oct 4, 1957

ReferenceTwo years and seven months after the initiation of the
U.S. satellite program, Soviet Russia launched a rocket
north of the Caspian Sea carrying the now famous Sputnik
I satellite. U.S. scientists were aware that Soviet Russia
was planning on putting an artificial satellite into orbit
(TIME, 1957); however, secrecy surrounding the timing
and the location of the launch of the satellite served to
intensify the Cold War and America’s deepening distrust
of Soviet Russia (Hartman, 1955).

First handheld mobile phone call.

Apr 3, 1973

Martin Cooper called Joel Engel, the research chief at competitor Bell Labs.

TCP/IP Adopted

Jan 1, 1983

This protocol was adopted for use with Arpanet. This adoption was instrumental in shaping the internet we have today. http://www.britannica.com/technology/TCP-IP

First Touchscreen Phone (IBM Simon)

Jan 1, 1992

*Approximate Date The touchscreen phone did not become wide adopted until the release of the iPhone. This device however was the first, and the start of the touch screen revolution.
http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/05/the-evolution-of-cell-phone-design-between-1983-2009/

iPod Released

Oct 23, 2001

The release of the iPod helped to redefine the portable music industry, this would later contribute to the demand for music on our mobile devices.

Android founded by Andy Rubin

Oct 1, 2003

Andy Rubin and co founders launched Android with the idea of making a "smarter mobile device". The android platform is now the most widely adopted mobile OS in the world. https://www.android.com/

iPhone Introduced

Jun 29, 2007

The original iPhone changed the direction of the entire mobile industry. The iPhone popularized the "slab" design. This model remains the most widely used form factor today.

First commercially available android phone (HTC Dream)

Oct 22, 2008

The first available Android phone followed shortly after the iPhone. The G1 or HTC Dream had a modern design with a physical keyboard and a track ball. This was a vastly different offering that the competitors iPhone.

Hardware encryption released on iPhone 3gs

Jun 19, 2009

Apple released hardware encryption functiionality with its iPhone 3GS. This was a great step forward for privacy and data protection on mobile. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202064

Snowden document leaks

Jun 5, 2013

The first round of Snowden document leaks was released by the guardian on this day. While these releases are still ongoing, the impact of this information has greatly shaped the perception of users privacy on mobile devices. Consumers are now much more aware of the need for privacy and this will continue to shape the offerings and features that large mobile manufacturers provide.

New 5s released with fingerprint reader

Sep 20, 2013

Apple introduced a new method of protecting privacy for users mobile phones. The fingerprint scanner on the 5S was a great leap forward for security and ease of access on smartphones.

Android L (Lollipop) Released

Oct 15, 2014

Android L (Lollipop) was released and offered many changes to the previous Android design methodologies. Google used material design in this release to change the look and enhance the functionality of the its mobile OS.