The Cell Phone

The cell phone definately enhaced livability. Of course it's built after one of the best inventions of all time, the telephone but the cell phone in the modern day is far more used than the home phone and will continue to evolve as the technological world advances.

I use my cell phone for so many reasons and I can’t imagine being without it. Juggling a busy life with two kids is difficult and I rely on my cell phone on a day to day basis. There are so many gadgets and electronic available in the market today but for me nothing is more important than my cell phone. I use my cell phone to make quick calls home from a grocery store to ask if milk is finished. I use my phone to order takeout on my way to the restaurant. I use my phone to send someone a quick text message that just can’t wait till later. I often use my cell phone to call my husband for directions when I am lost and too busy to pull over to ask for directions!! But most of all I like to have a cell phone just in case of an emergency. I feel safer with a cell phone knowing I can make a call anytime to anyone.

I own a very cheap, no frills Nokia phone with no bells and whistles. It cost me $50 to buy, although you can get it for free now, and I pay $20/months. I've had it for over 2 years and I haven't had any problems with it. I know in a few years cell phones will probably be obsolete as devices such as the iPhone and the Blackberry saturate the market and come down in price but until then I am satisfied with  my Nokia phone as it is!

My simple, no frills cell phone that's lasted with me for the past 2 years and still going!

History of the Cell Phone

AT&T's and Bell Laboratories introduced the idea of cellular communications in 1947. But Motorola and Bell Labs in the sixties and early seventies were in a race to incorporate the technology into portable devices.

Dr Martin Cooper, a former general manager for the systems division at Motorola, is considered the inventor of the first portable handset and the first person to make a call on a portable cell phone in April 1973. The first call he made was to his rival, Joel Engel, Bell Labs head of research.

On  April 3, 1973, Cooper made the first public demonstration in New York, using a "brick"-like 30-ounce phone. "People want to talk to other people - not a house, or an office, or a car. Given a choice, people will demand the freedom to communicate wherever they are, unfettered by the infamous copper wire. It is that freedom we sought to vividly demonstrate in 1973," said Martin Cooper.

Martin Cooper added, "As I walked down the street while talking on the phone, sophisticated New Yorkers gaped at the sight of someone actually moving around while making a phone call. Remember that in 1973, there weren't cordless telephones, let alone cellular phones. I made numerous calls, including one where I crossed the street while talking to a New York radio reporter - probably one of the more dangerous things I have ever done in my life."

It took Cooper 10 years to bring the portable cell phone to market. Motorola introduced the 16-ounce "DynaTAC" phone into commercial service in 1983, with each phone costing the consumer $3,500. It took additional seven years before there were a million subscribers in the United States. Today, there are more cellular subscribers than wire line phone subscribers in the world, with mobile phones weighing as little as 3 ounces.

The first cell was named “Motorola Dyna-Tac” and had only talk, listen, and dial features.  It weighed 2.5 pounds and had size dimensions  9 x 5 x 1.75 inches. The phone had a talk time of 35 minutes and required 10 hours to recharge.

(Reference: http://inventors.about.com/cs/inventorsalphabet/a/martin_cooper.htm)