-
Handheld Cellular Phone
The modern handheld cell phone era began in 1973 when Motorola invented the first cellular portable telephone to be commercialised, known as Motorola DynaTAC 8000X. Martin Cooper, a Motorola researcher and executive is considered to be the inventor of this mobile phone for use in a non-vehicle setting. -
1st Generation: Cellular Networks
The main technological development that distinguished the First Generation mobile phones from the previous one was the use of multiple cell sites, and the ability to transfer calls from one site to the next as the user travelled between cells during a conversation. The first commercially automated cellular network (the 1G generation) was launched in Japan, in 1979. -
Second Generation: Digital Networks
In the 1990s, the 'second generation' mobile phone systems emerged, primarily using the GSM standard. These 2G phone systems differed from the previous generation in their use of digital transmission instead of analog transmission, and also by the introduction of advanced and fast phone-to-network signaling.The second generation introduced a new variant of communication called SMS or text messaging. -
3rd Generation: High Speed Data Networks
As the use of 2G phones became more widespread and people began to utilize mobile phones in their daily lives, it became clear that demand for data services (such as access to the internet) was growing. Furthermore, experience from fixed broadband services showed there would also be an ever increasing demand for greater data speeds. The main technological difference that distinguishes 3G technology from the 2G is the use of packet switching rather than circuit switching for data transmission
