Mobile phone timeline

History of the Cell Phone

  • Pioneer: The police in Chicago experiment with a radio telephone which broadcast at a frequency just above the AM radio band.

    Pioneer: The police in Chicago experiment with a radio telephone which broadcast at a frequency just above the AM radio band.
  • Horseback

    Horseback
    The US Army Signal Corps communicate via radio in the field during wartime.
  • Commercial Model

    Commercial Model
    Reginald Blevins, the Postmaster General of the UK, inaugurates the first radio telephone service for motorists.
  • Portable

    Portable
    A model shows off a unit that could dial into telephone systems, displayed at a London exhibition entitled, "Communications Today, Tomorrow and the Future."
  • Inventor. Motorola.

    Inventor. Motorola.
    Martin Cooper is credited with developing the first cell phone approved for commercial use.
  • In the Field

    In the Field
    Frenchman Frank Piccard calls in after taking Gold in the Super G at the 1988 Winter Olympics.
  • Ahead of its Time

    Ahead of its Time
    Philips introduces an early attempt at a digital "smart phone." The unit, called "The Synergy" provided wireless access to e-mail, internet and faxes.
  • In Fashion

    In Fashion
    Mattel's Barbie is outfitted with pearls, a business suit and a cell phone.
  • High Tech

    High Tech
    A concept product from Panasonic combines a game machine with a detachable hand unit which serves as a mobile phone and game control device.
  • Multiplicity

    Multiplicity
    Fans at a Live 8 concert in Edinburgh brandish their phones.
  • Simple

    Simple
    A tourist uses his phone to photograph volcanoes in Indonesia.
  • Historic Moment

    Historic Moment
    Palestinian students at a Ramallah University photograph physicist Steven Hawking, who has arrived to give a lecture.
  • Text is Next

    Text is Next
    Morgan Pozgar, 13, of Claysburgh, Pennsylvania, competes in the LG National Texting Championship at the Roseland Ballroom in New York.
  • The iPhone 3G

    The iPhone 3G
    Steve Jobs unveils the latest generation of his revolutionary product. The 3G is faster and less expensive than its predecessor.