We tell you the history of the cell phone or mobile phone, what are the different generations until today and their characteristics.
Cellular history
The history of the cell phone, the cell phone or mobile phone, includes the sequence of developments, technological innovations and scientific discoveries that have allowed the creation of mobile phones. It also includes its evolution over time to become the multifaceted tools that exist today.
The cell phone is An independent telecommunication device. It allows different operations such as calls, text messages, Internet access and various digital applications. It is an indispensable device in today’s world, whose history shows the great technological changes crosses societies since the end of the 20th century.
See also: Internet history
Cell phone history
Long before the cell phone, The phones were invented by Antonio Meucci at the end of the 19th century and patented by Alexander Graham Bell. It was designed to transform electrical impulses into the human voice. Throughout almost 100 years of history, the phone evolved a lot to becoming the devices we have (although less and less) in our homes.
However, so that the cell phone or even wireless could be possible, Radio should also be discovered. In other words, the cell phone required that the transmission of information via electromagnetic waves be developed and, subsequently, through satellite microwaves.
Once these two technologies were discovered, it was a matter of time until the first “wire” phones appeared.
The world’s first cell phone
The idea of manufacturing a cell phone is not as new as its manufacture, since in 1947 the engineer DH Ring had already proposed some sketches to the Bell laboratories. However, they lacked the technology necessary to elaborate them.
In the 1960s All large telecommunications companies managed the same conceptand competed to be the first to make it effective. Finally, the first company to design a cell phone was Bell Laboratories, whose patent was approved in 1972.
The first cell phone prototype was demonstrated in 1973 by Motorolathrough a call by Martin Cooper from a street in New York. The phone was a Dynatac 8000X model and the call was made precisely its largest competitor in the area, Joel Engel, of the Bell Laboratories of AT&T.
Dynatac 8000X began to be marketed in 1984. He weighed around 1 kilogram and measured 33 x 4.4 x 8.9 centimeters. Its battery allowed just an hour of communication or an eight -hour network waiting.
The first generation or 1g
In the 1980s it appeared Ameritech Mobile CommunicationsLLC, the first company to provide cell phone services. To do this, I used analog radio channels (frequencies of around 450 MHz) frequently modulated (FM). Some of the first phones of this type were from the company Ericssonbrand NMT 450.
This generation of cell phones It was spectacular and not very useful for current standardsbut it was a huge advance in communication and technology. In 1986 Ericsson modernized his teams, launching the NMT 900and companies like AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System) and tacs (Total Access Communication System) operated in the United States and other first world countries.
Second generation or 2g
The second generation of cell phones He was born in the 1990s. Used GSM systems (Global System for Mobile Communicationsa European standard) and frequencies between 900 and 1800 MHz, which represented the step towards the digitalization of cellular communications. It improved voice quality and security levels.
On the other hand, The manufacture of terminals became simpler and more economical. Different models of line management were also used, such as multiple time division access (TDMA) and multiple code division (CDMA), which allowed analog to digital migration without having to make large investments instead wiring, towers, antennas, etc.
This new technology also allowed roaming (itinerance) and the marketing of units at much more competitive prices. This generation began the massification of the mobile phone.
Generation 2.5
In a short time EMS and MMS technology was incorporated into the second generationthus allowing text messaging and multimedia messaging to existing cell phones. In many cases, functionality was limited to receiving them, but units capable of issuing them also appear.
Since this type of new technologies required higher transmission speeds, Networks were updated to GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), which allowed speeds up to 120 kb/s, and Edge (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution), which carried it up to 384 kb/s.
Third generation or 3g
At the beginning of the 21st century the third generation responded to the need for cell phones with internet connectivityvideoconferences, television and file download, that is, small computers.
The first smartphones or smartphones belong to this generationand are responsible for their popularization. For this, a new system was implemented: UTSM (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) With CDMA technology, capable of reaching 7.2 mb/s transmission speeds in optimal conditions.
Fourth generation or 4g
This is the generation of smartphones of “high range” or greater capabilities, thanks to its Internet connection at high speeds (bandwidth) and reception of high definition videos (HD). It is the technology currently used in advanced companies in the world of mobile telephony, and the technological evolution of mobile telephony is considered.
Fifth generation or 5g
Since 2019 the fifth generation of cell phones is in development. However, since 2014 some powerful companies such as China Huawei and the Russian Megafon Tests are being done to manufacture a new technological generation.
As revealed by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) In 2017, it is estimated that will reach speeds up to 20 GB/s download and 10 GB/s of load, optimizing technology with new standards that are aspired are available for 2020.
The smartphones revolution
Smartphones They were the greatest change in the history of cell phones. On the one hand the functionality changed, incorporating many aspects of computers. On the other hand, the design changed: the phones promised to be smaller and discreet every time, but the arrival of the Smartphones They implanted the need for large screens.
Faced with the need to display the information on the screens, the keyboards were suppressed, which were replaced by Tactile instructions inside the screenknown as technology Touch-screen. In addition, more bulky and rectangular forms were designed.
Cell phone timeline
- 1973. The first cell phone in history is created, the Dynatac.
- 1982. The marketing of 1g cell phones begins.
- 1990. The marketing of 2G cell phones begins and is massified.
- 1992. The first SMS is sent in history.
- 1996. Motorola announces its first mobile phone, the STARTAC.
- 1997. The first cell phone with integrated camera is announced.
- 1999. The first cell phone with MP3 capacity appears, the Samsung SPH-M100.
- 2001. The marketing of 3G cell phones begins.
- 2001. The first cell with Bluetooth capacity appears, the Sony Ericsson T68.
- 2005. The first cell phone with Wi-Fi capacity appears, the Nokia N91.
- 2008. The first cell phone appears Applehe iPhoneopening the world of smartphones.
- 2008. The first cell phone with operating system is marketed Linux (Android).
- 2009. The boom in smartphones applications occurs.
- 2010. The marketing of 4G cell phones begins.
- 2011. The first cell phone is marketed with Dual Coreof the brand LG.
- 2014. The development of future 5G technology is announced.
- 2017. The first smartphone with front camera (double camera), of the brand is marketed Alcatel.
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References:
- Felipe, A. (2017). Cellular history at https://historia-biography.com/
- The cell phone. History and evolution of cell phones at https://www.tecnologia-informatica.com/
- Brief cell phone history at https://www.elespectador.com/
- Ray, A. (2015). The History and Evolution of Cell Phones at https://www.artiStitutes.edu/
- Borth, D. Mobile Telephone at https://www.britannica.com/
