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As of today, the analog cellphone is no more. Here's
the complete timeline of its development, since Greece in 490BC to
February 18, 2008, the day in which networks are no longer
obligated to provide with analog cellphone coverage. Click to see
the huge, high definition version.
(Click the image above for a huge 2000-pixel wide version of the timeline)
490 BC
Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens to transmit the news of
the victory over the Persians.
Signal was really bad back then: he died on the spot after
delivering the message, according to Plutarch.
1876
First successful telephone transmission. Graham Bell says "Mr.
Watson, come here, I want to see you" and Watson understands each
word clearly. A century later, people would be "What? Say that
again? Watson? Watson?" over cellphone lines.
1895
Marconi puts Tesla wireless communications discoveries to practice,
develops commercial radio.
1906
Reginald Aubrey Fessenden demonstrates first wireless radio
telephone.
1908
First US Patent on a wireless phone awarded to Nathan B.
Stubblefield.
1926
Radio telephony starts to be used in the First Class of the
Hamburg-Berlin train line.
1939
World War II starts. Germans start using radio phones in tanks on a
large scale.
1945
Germany surrenders. Hitler kills himself, he never used a Windows
Mobile Phone, (or a Playstation 3 or a HD DVD player).
1947
Bell Labs proposes hexagonal cells for mobile phones, with the
three-sided antenna we know today. It sucked, because it was all
theoretical.
1954
Linus Larrabee (Humphrey Bogart) uses a real mobile phone from his
car in Billy Wilder's Sabrina (played by Audrey Hepburn).
1956
First fully automatic mobile phone (Mobiltelefonisystem A or MTA)
system launched in Sweden by Ericsson. Each handset, pictured
above, was 90 pounds (40 kg.)
1965
Ericsson's MTB is launched. This time, the headset is just 20
pounds (9 kg.) thanks to the use of transistors.
1970
Automatic "call handoff" system is invented, allowing mobile phones
to move through several cell areas during a single conversation
without loss of conversation.
1971
ARP, the first successful commercial cellphone network, is launched
in Finland. You couldn't move from cell to cell seamlessly.
It was 0G (Zero G.)
1973
April 3, 1973: Motorola's Dr. Martin Cooper calls Joel Engel, head
of research at AT&T's Bell Labs, while walking in New York City
using the first Motorola DynaTAC prototype. The beginning of 1G
networks.
1978
Bell launches first trial commercial cellular network in
Chicago.
1982
Nokia introduces their first cellphone, the analog Mobira Senator.
FCC approves the analog-based Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS)
and assigns frequencies in the 824-894 MHz band.
1983
Motorola DynaTAC 8000X is the first commercial cellphone available
in the US. MTB shuts down, still with 600 clients.
1990
FCC approves the Digital AMPS, the beginning of the end for analog
networks.
1991
First commercial GSM call in the world. Done using Nokia hardware.
2G and digital begins.
1993
txt msgng apprs 4 1st time LOL.
1996
Motorola StarTAC debuts.
2000
3G appears.
2002
FCC decides to shut down the analog network.
2003
GPRS and EDGE, technologies for faster (but not too fast) data
transfers, launch. It's 2.5G. 3G networks are not available
yet.
2007
iPhone launches. Still runs on 2.5G technology, but adds Wi-Fi for
data transfer. 3G cellphones start to become ubiquitous.
2008
February 19
Cellphone analog networks can shut down.
[Wikipedia, Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola and various other sources]
For other gadgety Giz timelines, click here.