The evolution of cellphones: 40 years of gadgets By Nicole Bogart Global News

The evolution of cellphones: 40 years of gadgets

By Nicole Bogart Global News

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The 9110i Communicator was the updated version of the first smartphone, the 9000 Communicator designed by Nokia. Photo Courtesy of Nokia

TORONTO – The evolution of the mobile phones could be shown quite similarly to the evolution of man – except instead of getting taller and less hairy, cellphones have evolved into smaller, sleeker beings compared to their ancestors.

40 years ago Motorola Corp. executive Martin Cooper made the first private cellphone call on a New York street – but since making that historic call mobile phones have drastically changed.

From large, barely portable devices, to the first mobile phones that allowed users to access the Internet – the technology we once celebrated now seems incredibly antiquated when compared to our modern day smartphones.

Global News looks back at some of the once-remarkable gadgets that paved the way for the super phones of the 21st century.

Motorola DynaTAC – 1983

The world’s first commercial handheld phone made its way into the hands of consumers in 1984. Although the phone was revolutionary for being “portable,” the phone weighed in at almost two pounds.

Motorola MicroTAC Portable Cellphone – 1989

At the time this phone’s flip design was quite innovative and was marketed as being the smallest and lightest phone available.

Nokia 1011 – 1991

Nokia’s 1011 model was the first mass-produced GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) phone – equipped to hold up to 99 phone numbers in its memory.

IBM Simon Personal Communicator – 1994

IBM’s Simon was the first cellphone to include telephone and PDA features in one unit. IBM says it “paved the way for the smartphones of today but introducing touch screens to phones.”

Nokia 9110i Communicator – 1999

The 9110i Communicator was the updated version of the first smartphone, the 9000 Communicator designed by Nokia. This model weighed much less than the original and included features like a web browser, short messages and email.

Nokia 3310 – 2000

The Nokia 3310, which sold over 126 million units, has become somewhat of an Internet sensation in recent time. The phone is featured in a meme called “Indestructible phone,” poking fun at the durability of the phone.

Nokia 7650 – 2002

This was Nokia’s first phone with a built in camera – the phone was featured in the futuristic movie Minority Report.

BlackBerry 7230 – 2003

This phone was the Waterloo, Ont. smartphone maker’s, formerly known as Research In Motion, first with a colour display. The phone featured voice calls without a headset, Internet browsing and two-way SMS.

Motorola Razr2 – 2007

First developed in 2003, these phones were one of the most popular models of flip phones. The Razr2 featured a touch screen front to the phone.

iPhone 3G – 2008

Though the first iPhone was released in 2007, the iPhone 3G was the first of Apple’s smartphones to make its way into the hands of Canadian consumers.

Samsung Instinct, released in 2008

This phone, the predecessor to the Samsung Galaxy lineup, was labeled as the “iPhone killer” as Samsung advertised the phone to show exactly what capabilities it had that the iPhone didn’t.

© Shaw Media, 2013

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Nicole Bogart

Web Coordinator

Nicole joined the Global News team in May 2012, covering breaking news for Global Toronto and The Morning Show, before taking over as the tech and lifestyle reporter for the national website in January.

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