Cell Phones to Smartphones, How did we get here? 

Cell Phones, we all have one, but do we know the history behind them? Before researching and digging into the history of how we got to the cell phones we all know and use today, I had no clue how we went from the old phones you see in the 1960s-themed movie to what I have in my hand right now. This is why I decided to look into it and share what I discovered with you guys. I found a great timeline that you should look at once you're done reading here to see photos of each phone and how they changed. 

The Beginning

Let's go back to the 1870s when the first phone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell. While it looked like a weird cone-shaped object, it worked and was the start of an invention that would change the future. This phone led to the creation in 1905, when you could dial the number and didn't have to go through an operator to call someone. Crazy to think you used to have to do that. In 1925 we get the rotary phone, and in 1960 phones were attached to cars to have "mobile phones". This idea leads us to the wireless phones that we see today. 

Cell Phones

Cell phones progressed quickly to get to our iPhone 13 and Samsung S23 that we have now, so strap in because this is about to be a lot of information. The first wireless, mobile phone was invented in 1980 and was known as the AEG Telecar CD. It was a huge box that you had to carry around, which seems uncomfortable to me. But we were all saved when Motorola invented the Motorola MicroTAC9800X in 1989, also known as the first flip phone. 

Smartphones

It only took 5 years to go from flip phone to the first phone with a touchscreen that came out in 1994. It was called the IBM Simon and was considered the first smartphone. However, all of these phones didn't have a camera at all, well that was until 2000 when the Sharp J-SHO4 becomes the first phone to have a camera built into it! Then in 2002, Blackberry came out changing the phone industry forever. The last one I will mention is the iPhone that came out in 2007 bringing "apps" into the picture. 

The Impact

I know you're questioning why it is important to know the history of smartphones or why you should even care. Smartphones are the most used technology in the world. Allowing you to communicate with someone across the world in a split second. We use them to capture important and unforgettable moments, talk to those important to us as well as make connections that will help us in the future. PhonesThe development of where phones started to where they are now is so impressive and makes me question what they will be like in another 20 years. Jack Flynn shares some up-to-date statistics about cell phones today. Here is some I found interesting, "85% of U.S. adults own a smartphone as of 2022. The average American spends 5 hours and 24 minutes on their mobile device each day. On average, Americans check their phones at least 96 times per day, or once every ten minutes. As of 2022, there are roughly 6.65 billion smartphone users across the world. That’s 86% of the global population."  Just these 4 facts show how much our society today revolves around cell phones and how it truly has changed us as a society.