Phones

The first car-to-car radios are used

Mar 8, 1921

http://www.softschools.com/timelines/cell_phone_timeline/28/The Detroit Police Department began using mobile radios in their police cars. They used them to talk between cars, but it didn't work very well.

The first mobile phone service is established

Jul 23, 1945

http://www.softschools.com/timelines/cell_phone_timeline/28/The first service created just for mobile phones opened up in St. Louis, MO, but the service didn't work well and it didn't last.

The term "cell" comes into play

Feb 10, 1971

http://www.softschools.com/timelines/cell_phone_timeline/28/AT & T proposed splitting phone service into different areas across the cities. These areas were called "cells".

The first cell phone is tried

Apr 3, 1973

http://www.softschools.com/timelines/cell_phone_timeline/28/Dr. Martin Cooper invented a portable hand-held phone that didn't need to be powered through a car. He was the first person to make a mobile phone call.

The flip phone is introduced

Jan 3, 1989

http://www.softschools.com/timelines/cell_phone_timeline/28/Motorola came out with a new design where the mouth piece flipped over the top of the keypad. It was the first flip phone.

Text messaging is developed

Jul 18, 1993

http://www.softschools.com/timelines/cell_phone_timeline/28/Developers in Europe came up with a way to send written messages over the phone. It was called texting.

The first smart phone is invented

Aug 26, 2002

http://www.softschools.com/timelines/cell_phone_timeline/28/The smart phone could send and receive emails and messages, but it didn't have a speaker or microphone. This meant it needed a headset to work.

A camera phone is made

Dec 18, 2002

http://www.softschools.com/timelines/cell_phone_timeline/28/A company called Sanyo made a phone that could snap pictures. Later the user could download the pictures to a computer to be printed.

The Cell Phone Recycle Act

Oct 17, 2005

http://www.softschools.com/timelines/cell_phone_timeline/28/A law was passed in California that said cell phone companies had to allow customers to return old cell phones to be recycled. This was because cell phones can contain materials that are harmful if left in a landfill.

The Apple Iphone is released

Jun 24, 2007

http://www.softschools.com/timelines/cell_phone_timeline/28/Apple released its first iphone and it changed the cellular industry. It featured a touch screen and allowed users to do almost anything they could do from a home computer, which basically changed the way people lived.