Did you know that their name comes from “cells” created by cell towers, the first mobile phone weighed 2.4 pounds and cost about $4,000 in 1983, smartphones are more powerful than the computers used for the Apollo 11 moon landing, and the first SMS text message was “Merry Christmas”. Additionally, mobile phones can harbor more bacteria than toilet seats, and the fear of being without your phone is called nomophobia.
The First Phones & Tech
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Heavy but Mighty:The first commercially available mobile phone, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, was released in 1983 and weighed about 2.5 pounds, making it a “brick” by today’s standards.
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A Luxury Price:That first Motorola phone also came with a price tag of around $4,000, limiting its ownership to the wealthy.
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The First Smart Device:Before Apple iPhones, the IBM Simon, released in 1994, is considered the first smartphone, featuring a touchscreen, calendar, calculator, and address book.
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Texting’s Humble Start:The very first SMS text message, sent in 1992, was simply “Merry Christmas”.
Modern Phones & Usage
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A Computing Powerhouse:The computing power in a modern smartphone far surpasses the computers used in the Apollo 11 mission that landed humans on the moon.
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A Bacteria Buffet:Studies have shown that cell phones can be significantly dirtier than toilet seats, with some sources stating they carry 18 times more bacteria.
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A Global Phenomenon:There are more mobile phones in the world than toothbrushes, and in some countries, the number of mobile phone subscriptions even exceeds the population.
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The Fear Factor:The anxiety of being without a mobile signal or the inability to use your phone is a real phenomenon known as nomophobia.
Interesting Features
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Beyond the Camera:The first camera phone was the J-SH04, released in Japan in 2000, paving the way for the camera-toting smartphones we use today.
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Astronauts’ Gadgets:Smartphones are even used in space, with astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) equipped with them.