Muhammad Safwan
03/16/2015
Evolution of Cell Phones 2
Abstract
As we all know cell phones have changed a lot over time. But how much have they really
changed? In this essay on the evolution of cell phones I will discuss exactly how much they
have changed.
I chose this topic because everyone knows cell phones have changed but I wanted to know how
much they really changed and what caused these changes. Also, I thought I would be in
As I began writing I found out it was not an easy topic to do research on. Not because there was
not enough information on this topic, infect there was too much information on cell phones. And
that’s what made it difficult. It was hard to find exactly what I was looking for in all that
information.
As I did research on this topic and wrote my paper I found out that in only hundred years the cell
phones have completely changed. they have went from bulky car phones weighting eighty
pounds, costing thousands of dollars, and only being used by government to weighting three to
five ounces, costing only couple of hundreds of dollars, and being used by everyone. I also
found out that there were bigger and bigger changes happening to cell phones in shorter and
Cell phones, also known as mobile phone or a hand phone, is a phone that uses a radio
frequency to make and receive calls. Since, it uses a radio link, and is so small it is portable and
can make and receive calls on the go. Nowadays everyone from four years old to eighty years
old have a cell phone. Also, nowadays this small devices holds more power than a computer as
big as a room ones did. But, the cell phones were not always this way. Nether they were this
powerful, nor were they as widely available or used as they are now. Over the time the cell
phones have evolved from the eighty pounds car phones to a three to five ounce everyday used
devises. But, the technology is not the only thing that has changed in a cell phones, the society
that uses and demands that technology is also evolved as cell phones have evolved.
Mid 1900s
The first cell phones or the “car phones”, as they were called back then, came out in the
early 1900s. They were originally made weighing eighty pounds and only had three channels for
all the users to use. Since, it weighted so much and it took a car or other heavy machinery to run
it, they were given the name “car phones”. They were first used only by St. Louis police
department to communicate between their cars, much like the radios used nowadays. They were
than adapted by other government agencies to use. Then slowly businesses adapted them as
well.
At this time technology was much more expenses and limited than it is now. And since
car phones were made requiring an external power source such as a car or other heavy machinery
they cost thousands of dollars. Since the car phones were so bulky and costly only the
government and the rich business could afford it. Hence, the car phones were not available to
Late 1900s
As time went on and the technology involved the first hand hold cell phone was invented
by Dr. Martin Cooper, a Motorola researcher. It was called the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x.
Though huge by today’s standards, it was considered the first truly mobile phone because it was
small enough to carry. The phone, was incredibly expensive but, became a pop culture symbol.
However, cell phone use hadn’t spread to the general public yet. They were primarily used in
the sales and business world, but not often for personal use like today.
It took ten years for it to become available to the mass public. Still at this time mobiles
were used manly only for calling and you had to call an operator to get your call connected. “It
required a manual search of an open radio channel prior to placing a phone call. The user would
link to a mobile operator, who would then dial the call over the public telephone system. In this
arrangement, controlled by a talk button, only one party was able to speak at a given time”
(Kumar & Zahn, 2005, p.1). Though the DynaTac and subsequent models were smaller, mobile,
and ultimately cooler, they still had their faults. Bulky, luggable models like the Nokia Mobira
Talkman and the Motorola 2900 Bag Phone had longer battery lives and more talk time, making
Early cell phones were just for talking. Gradually, cell phones manufactures began to
realize that they could integrate the technologies into their phones and expand their features.
Their four features like voicemail, pager and address book were added, but the main purpose still
remain to talk.
Early 2000s
A turning point in the history for cell phones was “marked in 2002 in that the number of
mobile subscribers overtook the number of fixed-line subscribers on a global scale: mobiles thus
Evolution of Cell Phones 5
became the dominant technology for voice communications” (Srivastava, 2010, p.111). Also, in
2002 the first camera phone came out. It was the big thing of the year.
The camera phone changed the way society thought of cell phones. When cameras were
first introduced on phones, the images were low quality and the feature was considered to just be
an extra. Though they only replaced the camera many saw it as a privacy issue. At this time
society valued more about their privacy than having a cool gadgets on their phone. The camera
phones were bended in many countries, so many companies stop their production of camera
phones. Their four the camera phones or other gadgets were not made popular till later.
2006
In 2006 everything changed the first smart phone, called the iPhone came out. At this time “the
mobile phone has now moved beyond being a mere technical device to becoming a key social
object present in every aspect of a user’s life” (Srivastava, 2010, p.111). The iPhone was the
first of its kind. It had an advanced touch screen, an operating system and had apps which made
it possible for it to be used as more than just a way of talking. It was like a mini computer.
At this point the society’s way of thinking of what cell phones are changed. And, as the
society’s point of view changed so did the productions of the cell phones. It went from
companies making phones and then society getting them, to society wanting something in a
phone and then companies producing it. And the society wanted new and new things. For
example when the society wanted something small and really easy to carry so the cell phones
As time went by technology has become cheaper and cheaper. And as technology
became cheaper the cell phones made from that technology also became cheaper. Also, know
instead of only having one or two cell phones companies there were many more competing with
Evolution of Cell Phones 6
each other, which made the cost of cell phones decrease even more. “Prices are falling as
countries open their borders to market competition, and global standards are enabling more
uniform and consistent services” (Kumar & Zahn, 2005, p.1). The cell phones went from costing
thousands of dollars to only costing couple of hundred dollars. And as the price of the cell
phones decreased the more people could afford it and the more widely it became used.
2010 – Present
Modern day smartphones have changed everything that consumers expect from their
phones. The app market has transformed the phone into a virtual toolbox with a solution for
almost every need. Just in recent years, people wanted something they could use for everyday
task like web surfing to checking email or even writing a paper. Hence cell phone designs have
actually started to become larger and simpler, making room for a larger screen and less buttons.
Because phones have become mobile media devices, the most desirable aspect is a large, clear,
high-definition screen for optimal web viewing. Even the keyboard is being taken away,
replaced by a touch screen keyboard that only comes out when you need it.
Another major change to the cell phone was when the finger scan and the water resistant
came out. It was also a new thing people wanted. They wanted a better and easier way to protect
their identities so the finger scan come out. Then they wanted a way to protect their phone from
water damage to the water resentence phones came out. As the years go on many more features
come out on cell phones. Some of these features are because the society demands it and some of
the features are just for a advertising and selling. Some of these features are not even used that
much, such as the heart rate monitor on the Samsung Galaxy series.
Conclusion
Over the time the cell phones have evolved from the eighty pounds car phones to a three
to five ounce everyday used devises. But, the technology is not the only thing that has changed
in a cell phones, the society that uses and demands that technology is also evolved as cell phones
have evolved, As technology involving the cell phones have evolved so have the society’s point
of view on cell phones, as well as their use of it. Nowadays companies are producing cell
phones based on the demands from the society. Now not only the government or the rich have
cell phones, but almost everyone has one, since their price have dropped so much that anyone
References
Kumar, S., & Zahn, C. (2003, June 1). Mobile communications: Evolution and impact on
Srivastava, L. (2010, November 8). Mobile phones and the evolution of social behaviour.