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Tin Can Telephone
Robert Hooke used a wire to create the tin can telephone. It lengthened the distance from which 2 people could hear each other, and was an early predacessor to the phone. This event was significant, because it marked the point in time when it was decided that direct person-to-person communication was not enough. It started that idea that people could stray away from each other and still stay connected. At this point it was all an idea, and didn't get people far, but it began the new thinking. -
Patent Received
Alexander Graham Bell received the patent for his invention, the telephone, in 1876. -
Alexander Graham Bell's voice
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Battery system developed
Hammod V. Hayes developed a battery system that improved the usability of telephones by providing a central power source. Telephones no longer had to be powered by individual unit batteries. -
Operators needed no more
An automatic dialing system was created. While it did not put operators out of business, it was a step in the direction toward a more individualized use of telephones. -
Coin Operation in action
The coin operated telephone was introduced and the first one was installed in Hartford Connecticut in 1900. Telephone communication is quickly becoming more accessible to the public! -
AT&T Model 500 telephone
This new telephone is the first of it's kind to have both a ringer and handset. It becomes iconic of what people think of when they think of an "old fashioned" phone. This event was very impactful. It marked a time when it was natural for every family to begin having a phone in ther homes. It must have cut back on personal visits, because now you could talk without the hassle of travel. This device still had distant limits, but it drastically changed the way the average American communicated. -
Telstar
Telstar was developed and launched in 1962. It was the first satelite that allowed for international communication. This was a big step in the ability of the telephone to cross borders and for communication to become possible at even longer distances. -
Touch Tones
The first phones are introduced that have 10 buttons instead of the classic rotary dial. -
The 1st portable phone call
Martin Cooper makes the first accounted call from a portable phone in 1973. Little did he know what portable phones would look like 40 years later. -
Martin Cooper on his new development
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Public Cell Phone System Emerges
Over 2,000 people receive mobile phones as a trial. Commercial service starts small but soon emerges as the way to communicate across the country. -
100 million cell phone customers in the U.S.
When you hit 100 million customers, you likely know you have created something that will stick. By the turn of the century, that's how many Americans had cell phones. And that number has only grown. -
iPhone introduction
Steve Jobs releases his brand new phone, the iPhone, in 2007. It's crazy to think that in less than 10 years that phone has taken over the world. The iPhone has always been ahead of it's time, even the original. -
2025
I think by 2025 the telephone will progress to a point where "basic phones" and landlines are obsolete. I think talking on the phone itself will continue to decrease as a mode of communication and people will spend more time facetiming, texting, and sending pictures. The telephone will develop away from it's original intent and at the same time will be fulfilling it's purpose more than ever. Dr.s will have more facetime appointments and the need to leave home will be smaller than ever. -
Medium is the Message
The medium is the message when it comes to the telephone. As the technology develops, we lean into it in excitement, not realizing what we give up. In hearing the voice of someone you get the message but you read into the tone and can't see the person to get necessary context. As phones have become devices for texting, we lose even more of that personal touch. And while the message can be the same it is often less meaningful the more the technolgy comes between the people trying to communicate.
