When Was the
First Mobile Phone Invented?
Today we don’t think anything about it. Your
favorite ringtone brings your phone to life and you answer.
Thanks to the invention of the mobile phone, this can happen
anywhere, in the car, in the store, even when you are out on a
walk. When was the first mobile phone
The mobile phone is the result of a race
between two major communications companies. Bell Labs Engineers
at AT&T had invented cells for mobile phone base stations
in 1947. These mobile phone base stations were used by law
enforcement officials to communicate. They were not the mobile
phones that we know of today. Instead of being able to hand off
signals between towers, there was one main tower that covered a
wide area. If a user was outside of that area, they would not
be able to communicate. Also, if one call was being placed it
took over the entire frequency. While it was a step in the
right direction, technology had a long way to go to get to the
first mobile phone and the race began.
After this invention it was a race between
AT&T and Motorola to see who would invent the first mobile
phone. Martin Cooper, a Motorola executive, is largely thought
to be the inventor of the first mobile phone. Cooper was born
in Chicago, Illinois. He received his degree in electrical
engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1950,
and received a master’s degree there in 1957. Cooper credits
his time watching Captain Kirk using his communicator on Star
Trek with the inspiration for the mobile phone. Today Cooper is
the founder and CEO of ArrayComm.
Cooper’s invention of the mobile
phone is a different concept than the car phone, which
had to be permanently installed in a car. The mobile phone that
was invented by Cooper was the first phone to be portable. His
mobile phone invention was the first of the analog phones and
it was also the first to be able to carry a signal from one
tower to another without dropping the call. These first mobile
phones were called “bricks” because of their rectangular shape
and heavy weight. They were large, bulky, and heavy, but they
were the first generation of today’s mobile phones.
The first mobile phone call was placed on
April 3, 1973 on the streets of New York City. Cooper placed
this first call to Joel Engle, the head of research at Bell
laboratories at the time. His comment was “Hi Joel, guess where
I’m calling from?” New Yorkers passing by, gaped at the man who
was talking on the phone without wires. At this time, portable
phones were unheard of, so the sight of Cooper having a phone
conversation on the streets of New York was a shock, even for
New Yorkers who are used to seeing strange sights.
Since the invention of the mobile phone in
1973, there have been three generations of cell phones. In that
time cell phones have gone from analog to digital. They have
become smaller and sleeker so that they now fit into a person’s
pocket or purse. Phone capabilities have grown allowing users
not only to talk on the phone, but to search the Internet and
send e-mails. Within three decades, Cooper’s invention has
become an integral part of daily life.
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