The 20 Most Important Moments in Mobile Phone History
The 20 Most Important Moments in Mobile Phone History
Posted 05/26/2010 at 12:45pm
| by Amber Bouman
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Our lives are increasingly mobile and our cell phones are not only a way to contact anyone, anytime, anywhere but also our calendars, cameras, photo albums, inboxes, maps, weather reports, dictionaries, and entertainment. Payphones are disappearing as business users edit documents on their Blackberries, kids text each other furiously in class instead of passing notes and celebrities partner with handset manufacturers. We take our cell phones for granted now but it wasn't that long ago that a cell phone was much like a snow leopard - rare, expensive and exotic. So what happened? What were the technologies that really changed the playing field for mobile? How have our systems of communication changed over the past three decades?
Let us take you on a tour of the most noteworthy mobile moments - from telecomm inventions to handset debuts to appearances in popular culture, we've found the top 20 Moments in Mobile Phone History. From must-have handsets to advancements that moved mobile forward, we're hightlighting watershed occassions, developments and adaptations that made mobile phones an indispensible addition to our lives.
20. 1999 – Working Woman magazine and Barbie partner to release the Working Woman Barbie.
Complete with file organizer, large purse, laptop and coffee mug Barbie's notable accessory here is her included mobile phone. Also comes with a CDROM that allows girls to make business cards, stationary and calendars, WWBarbie says slogans such as "Going to work is fun!" Working Woman Barbie helped to broker the deal between toys and technology, and made the cell phone an in-demand must-have by a whole new generation of young girls. Current children's toys include a bevy of play cell phones, but Barbie broke the barrier.
19. 2002 – Danger Hiptop/TMobile Sidekick is released.
The Hiptop/Sidekick appears with full HTML support and online connectivity, a 240 X 160 LCD screen, USB, POP3, a camera connector and a slick 180 flip screen that revealed a full QWERTY keyboard. Although it wasn't exactly super-slim, it was the only mobile of its time to factory integrate an IM client making it very popular with deaf users. In 2003, the Sidekick was the first mobile that could place unassisted TTY and Relay Operator calls via the web browser. It was, as they say, hip with the kids. Even Veronica Mars had one, and if it's good enough for a fictional teen sleuth then it's definitely good enough for the cool kids on the bus.
18. 1996 – Motorola StarTAC appears.
A flip handset remarked upon for its small size (enter obligatory chuckle here), the StarTAC could receive SMS text messages, used a lithium-ion battery and had the first vibrating alert feature on a phone. This was to telephony what color was to television. Initially set at a $1,000 price point, the StarTAC was so popular it was revived in 2004 for a South Korean market and redesigned for a V.I.P. 10th Anniversary Edition. Split handsets into two categories: flip and candybar, appeared in the movie 8mm with Nicholas Cage and paved the way for the Razr.
17. 1987- Wall Street/ Gordon Gekko
Michael Douglas' Gordon Gekko flaunts his wealth with his super-hip FY8850 mobile (on a beach, with his shirt unbuttoned, naturally) in Wall Street. A character that epitomizes greed, wealth and power, his casual use of elite technology in an era marked by brand name status makes a clear statement about the divide between the technology have's and have-nots. In the past 20+ years, mobiles in movies have evolved from product placement, to thwarting victims in horror movies with poor reception to inevitably becoming part of the plot. In 2004, both the Chinese film Cell Phone and the William H. Macy dud Cellular were released; 2008 gave us One Missed Call.
16. 1991 – Radiolinja, the first GSM network opens in Finland.
Radiolinja brings Finland up to speed, with the first U.S. upgrade coming in 1994. Now we're talking. The benefits of the 2G digital upgrade gave users digitally encrypted phone conversations as well as mobile data services. Ah, digital. We're talking faster, leaner, cleaner, uses less battery power, gives enhanced user privacy. It also brought the term "dropped call" into popular lexicon while putting an end to cloned cell numbers. It was a short stop from 2G to 2.5G (bundling brings WAP, MMS, email and web access) then a hop, skip and a jump to 2.75G/EDGE (allowing backward compatible technology, hence, faster data transmission rates). Users begin to expect 2G (at least) in their handsets.
15. 2003 – Mobile business users get treated to the Palm Treo 600.
Remarked upon for being the most integrated PDA/mobile phone combo of its time, this feature rich handset had a 640 X 480 VGA camera, 32MB of internal memory (and expansion slot), Wi-Fi adapter, USB, SMS, MMS, email, P-Tunes MP3 player, Kinoma video player, resistive touchscreen, and Palm's own OS and HTML browser (Blazer) and a backlit keyboard. Users could check their calendar while on the phone and dial direct from the contacts list. The five-way navigation button was heralded as being a sizeable innovation as it enabled users to operate the Treo using only one hand, easily solidifying Palm's place in business users hearts.
14. 2001 – NTT DoCoMo launches the first commercial 3G network.
Another first for NTT DoCoMo - using WCDMA technology, branded FOMA, DoCoMo's 3G allowed mobile users simultaneous use of speech and data services and higher data rates. 3G also offered increased security by allowing the handset to authenticate networks it was attaching to, addressing concerns about vulnerabilities while mobile browsing. Verizon and Monet Mobile Networks helped bring the first commercial 3G to the US in 2003. By 2007 there were 190 3G networks operating in 40 countries, with 154 HSDPA networks in 71 countries, cutting the path for mobile TV, video conferencing and location-based services.
13. 2009 – Palm Pre brings Palm back.
Much like the Razr did for Motorola, the Pre helped boost Palm back into the modern mobile word. After getting left in the dust, Palm picked itself up and shimmied right into a smooth pebble-type design. Featuring background notification, 3.1 inch multitouch screen, 320 X 480 display, integrated IM, SMS, MMS, Wi-Fi, built-in GPS, a 3mp camera with LED flash, USB, 80g of memory and a freshly redesigned UI in webOS, the Pre also remembered its customer base and offered a customizable inbox and calendar/contact integration. The first mobile to use a TI OMAP 3430 processor, and the first to have a wireless charging base, the Touchstone.
12. 2008 – HTC releases the Dream - first Android-based handset.
The first Android phone finally appears in the form of the HTC Dream. With 256MB, 3.2inch LCD flat touchscreen (320 X 480 res), integrated GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3.2mp camera, expansion slot and background processing, the Dream was built as a Linux-based, open-source iPhone challenger. Also called the TMobile G1, the handset included a full array of Google candy: Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Maps, Google Talk, YouTube and a limited Google Docs. Often touted with the Pre as the next contender in a long line of "iPhone Killers", the Dream pulled itself up by its handy notification bar and went to bat for a new non-Apple future. The latest incantation, Droid, is gaining Android plenty of ground.
11. 2002 – American Idol premieres.
By allowing its fans to choose their pop sensation winner by calling the singers assigned phone number to vote, AI was a front-runner in integrating mobile with entertainment. AI currently has involvement with both AT&T and Samsung for services running from unlimited messaging plans (for easier voting) and Idol text chat session to ringtones, SMS trivia, even a text reminder of contestant codes. AI, understanding both its fan base and the potential of mobile, was able to explode into a media giant surpassing even the democratic process: in 2007 74 million people voted for rocker David Cook as the "next American Idol," in 2004 64 million people voted for George W. Bush.
Click on to see the Top 10!
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Philips
October 02, 2011 at 6:16am
Mobile phones has got its own history. It is developed from scrap too. Many evolves rather is improved until perfection is achieved.
bubblehash
May 28, 2011 at 2:27am
I certainly enjoyed the way you explore your experience and knowledge of the subject! Keep up on it. Thanks for sharing the info
<a href="http://theworldcurrentaffairs.blogspot.com/">The World Current Affairs</a>
LisaHayne
March 03, 2011 at 2:43pm
Wao a complete development about the phone. Nice review! I remember that 1st generation of hand-phone. Big like a log, have a long antenna to search good signal. LOL, really funny to see it now.
machater233
November 29, 2010 at 10:24pm
Why not the most advanced mobile operating system ever. It did multitasking. Had more 3rd party apps then any mobile OS in the world. You left out one of the most important revolutions in history. And that was the smart phone revolution with windows mobile 5.
Tristantree
July 27, 2010 at 2:29pm
The countdown is awesome. But Nokia miss the important moments in the history, it's incredible.
And I believe iPhone is the best smartphone on the earth right now!
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muchdrama
July 23, 2010 at 10:09pm
I guess the Razor was good in that it introuduced a drastically sleek bodystyle, but BOY was it buggy and miserable.
skramblr
June 13, 2010 at 10:32am
I hate it whan I get tricked into reading an article like this. iPhone, OK. But the app store as #1 most important moment? Sure the app store is great for iPhone users.. but for the rest of the of the cell market (~ 70%) we could care less. People have been downloading programs to their smartphones from sites like handango way before the iPhone even existed. Anyone wanna put money down that he author owns... an iPhone?
brannank
June 02, 2010 at 6:45pm
We want Maximum PC, we don't subscribe for mobile phones. People who want mobile phone info should purchase the magazine that caters to phones......WHO HIJACKED MY MAX PC!?
cellmanf1
June 01, 2010 at 6:47pm
Where do i get my hands on that 80 gig Palm Pre? Amber, you go ahead and continue playing with your toy iPhone and precious App store, meanwhile real tech is passing you by.
draconis123
May 27, 2010 at 11:13am
I don't get that the invention of the mobile phone is 5th on the list of the MOST important moments in mobile history. How can the invention of the apple app store get first?
Can anyone say, advertising?
I have almost never disagreed with anything on this site and I've been lurking for a long time. I just think this was made without common sense in mind.
Havok
May 27, 2010 at 4:45am
And here comes the well hidden spam!
YES! This post made it through the Spam Filter!
JonPhillips
May 27, 2010 at 7:21am
When you see spam, please mark it as such with the appropriate toolbar button. Thanks!
DarkQuark
May 27, 2010 at 1:50am
- what the Iphone mean to fun in the cell phone the Blackberry meant to business which brought mass cell usgage to business
- the moment PDA's and cell phones first merged destroying PDA's forever and becoming the personal device always forcasted
- Palm OS / Windows CE(Mobile) / Blackberry OS
- The first email sent from a smartphone
aaronj2906
May 26, 2010 at 11:48pm
Someone else cited this too...
RIM essentially owns the corporate business sector for smart phones, mainly due to its push tech: Think BlackBerry Enterprise Server linking into MS Exchange for mobile business users.
This article is very....retail. Posting the RAZR as a significant product, but leaving out the BlackBerry is nonsense. Basically voided the value of the article to me.
The # of TXT messages sent per time has to be WAY OFF. Maybe 10X that...
I want my 5 minutes back.
Zachary K.
May 26, 2010 at 10:15pm
yea, the app store is an important part of cell phone history (wouldnt be my number 1, but top 5). the app store itself is pretty bad due to how closed it is, but i did inspire the droid market, the jailbroken market (rock, cydia), ect...
Caboose
June 03, 2010 at 11:43pm
You inspired the droid market, the jailbroken market, etc?
rriigghhtt...
-= I don't want to be dead, I want to be alive! Or... a cowboy! =-
HiGHRoLLeR038
May 26, 2010 at 9:57pm
182k texts in a month? by whom? the entire nation? i think my friend can send that out on her own. that cant be close to any record. 1 text every 15 seconds doenst seem like much of a feat.
dropslash
May 26, 2010 at 9:33pm
Not including Symbian OS somewhere in here seems like a crime. Even though it's losing ground, Symbian has dominated phone OS market share for years. Just two years ago Symbian devices accounted for over half of ALL smartphone OS's. In Q1 2010 they still had 44%.
RIM missing from anywhere on this list makes the whole thing just seem silly. RIM practically defined the enterprise smartphone market and they still own it. BlackBerry opened up a new world for what a handset was capable of, especially when it came to email, and how businesses could deploy and maintain technology in the field.
violian
May 26, 2010 at 9:14pm
I agree with the app-store being number 1. If it weren't for the apps, the iPhone wouldn't be where it is today. It's the apps that makes the iPhone do a million things. I remembered when I bought the iTouch when it first came out - and it didn't have the option to download new apps at the time. I was like, "why did I spend $200 on an 8GB iPod" when my 160GB iPod does the same?" It wasn't until 2 updates later where the iPod Touch gained downloadable apps and I realized how great the device was.
draconis123
May 27, 2010 at 11:11am
But this is the most important events in mobile history, not iphone history. That's the same as saying that the most important moment in TV history is the invention of 3D while giving no importance to the TV itself.
kkern
May 26, 2010 at 8:11pm
like it or not, the App Store has made the smart phone better. It got the idea of a single location for apps started. Windows Mobile a few years was ALL over the place. I haven't owned a Blackberry to know about their App package from years past. But the Apple App Store was certainly on to something ... now Google has the Market Place and Microsoft has the Zune store (or whatever it is called).
Like it or not, it made applications available to the masses in an easy to access fashion ... or at least it proved the idea worked.
My $0.02 ...
gendoikari1
May 27, 2010 at 4:48am
So you're saying that the invention of the App Store is better than the invention of the phone itself?
crazitrain02
May 26, 2010 at 3:32pm
I want the last 2 minutes of my life back for that crap. Seriously though, the App store? I can understand the iPhone being towards the top, but giving the rotten apple the top two spots?
RIM and their push technology is much better than the app store.
At least the Android OS made it on here somewhere.
yardGNOME
May 26, 2010 at 3:27pm
2 pages and half a cig later, I see number uno on th list is a App store, WTF Amber??? I was hopin some geekery here like the Star Trek communicator Kirk used. Better yet, since we are talking mobility here The Zune HD which I hear will have phone compatability...and why is American Idol on this list (Cranks up Slayer )....my head is going to explode like in Scanners...3..2..1.......
DoctorX
May 26, 2010 at 2:03pm
Actually, I think RIM would have been in this list near the top. In corp, they are still the most used by far. Fail.
Elric
May 26, 2010 at 1:58pm
It's more important than the invention of the mobile phone in general? That's like a catch 22. I feel like I've been transported to an alternate universe owned by a corporation.
Havok
May 26, 2010 at 1:43pm
App store?! What about "first car crash related to texting/talking/tweeting/face-booking"? I would have thought that would be important... I understand why the advent of the app store was included, but I don't think it deserves the top spot.
YES! This post made it through the Spam Filter!
gendoikari1
May 26, 2010 at 1:31pm
"It's undeniable. Ubiquitous. Something else that starts with U."
Unnecessary?
lunchbox73
May 27, 2010 at 10:57am
And they didn't even show a picture of Zack Morris talking on his phone.
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