Yesterday marked the fortieth anniversary of the world’s first public cell phone call by Motorola engineer Marty Cooper to Joel Engel, head of rival research department Bell Labs. The call was placed on a Motorola DynaTAC 8000x, which weighed approximately 2.5 pounds—about ten times the weight of the average modern cell phone—in front of the New York Hilton on Sixth Avenue.
“Joel, this is Marty,” Cooper recalled he told Engel. “I’m calling you from a [cell phone], a real handheld portable [cell phone].”
Mobile communications have evolved drastically since April 1973 with the introduction of sleek, tiny smartphones and powerful tablet computers capable of handling a multitude of e-mails and text messages, while simultaneously browsing the internet and running mobile games. Widespread public use of mobile devices for more than just voice calls has also grown. According to information compiled by non-profit wireless industry advocacy organization CTIA, annual data revenues increased from $19.3 billion in 2007 to $68.3 billion in 2012, while the number of text messages sent increased from 240.8 billion in 2007 to 2.27 trillion in 2012.
Last year, Cooper discussed current trends and possible future issues in an interview with The Verge’s Chris Ziegler, including the rise of tablet computers, global smartphone penetration and the changing relationship between Google and Motorola.
During the interview, Cooper also touched on the current “spectrum crunch” concerns, stating that “there has never been a scarcity of spectrum, and I suggest there never will be, because as fast as the requirements happen, as people demand more and more spectrum, the technologists come up with answers.”
Cooper also suggested that carriers will need to learn to better differentiate themselves and their products in order to compete with each other in the future wireless market.
“At some point, the systems are all going to be functioning, they’re all going to be LTE, so they’re going to need to do something to differentiate themselves so they can serve some customers better than others. And that, I think, is the next stage in the industry. Somehow or another, we need to start customizing,” he said.
For more information, visit The Verge.
