These days, it’s hard to imagine a world without cell phones. For many of us, they are an essential part of our everyday lives. But it wasn’t always this way. In fact, did you know that the first cell phone wasn’t even invented until the early 1970s? Here’s a look at how cell phones have evolved over the years, from their humble beginnings to the powerful devices we carry around today.
The Early Days: 1G and 2G
The first cell phone was created in 1973 by a man named Martin Cooper. He is often referred to as the “father of the cell phone”. His company, Motorola, released the first commercially available cell phone, called the DynaTAC 8000X, in 1983. This phone weighed in at two pounds and cost a whopping $3995!
The first cell phone networks were known as 1G networks – they were analogue systems that were quickly replaced by 2G digital networks in the 1990s. 2G networks allowed for things like text messaging and web browsing on mobile phones, however, these services were slow and limited compared to what we’re used to today.
The Modern Age: 3G and 4G
3G networks began to replace 2G networks in the early 2000s. 3G allows for much faster data speeds than 2G, which made things like video streaming and video chat possible on cell phones for the first time. 4G is the most recent generation of cellular network technology, offering even faster data speeds than 3G – it has become ubiquitous in developed countries like the United States, UK and Australia in recent years. In fact, in Australia we’re even at the point of having mobile signal boosting in Victoria.
The Future: 5G
5G is the next generation of cellular network technology that is currently being rolled out in select markets around the world. 5G offers ultra-fast data speeds that are theoretical peak speeds of 20 Gbps (2000 Mbps). That’s 20 times faster than 4G! 5G is also much lower latency than 4G, meaning there is less delay when transmitting data wirelessly. This is important for things like Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), which require very low latency to be effective.
Onwards and upwards
Cell phones have come a long way since Martin Cooper made that first call on a DynaTAC 8000X back in 1973. Today, we carry around incredibly powerful computers in our pockets that can do just about anything we can imagine – and those technologies are only going to continue to evolve and get more sophisticated in the years to come. So, what will the next 50 years bring? Only time will tell!
