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The mobile phone is the most influential and important consumer electronics device of all time. The modern smartphone is now essential for everyday life, but when the first handsets hit the shelves in the 1980s, they were expensive, large, relatively heavy and had a single use case.
But that single use case was revolutionary and extremely attractive. If the first telegraph networks made the world smaller and the landline democratised the technology by allowing anyone to have a phone in their home, the mobile made communication truly personal. Calls were no longer made to ‘places’, but to ‘people’.
Mobile phones have come a long way since the ‘bricks’ used by suit-clad yuppies, immortalised by the film Wall Street. Firstly, they’re a lot smaller, a lot more colourful, and come in many different shapes and sizes.
And underneath their sleek designs, they’re a lot more capable. Advances in network technology allowed them to add text-based short messaging service (SMS) to their box of tricks. True data connectivity arrived with the launch of 3G and then 4G, with speeds eventually rivalling those of fixed line broadband connections.
More capable hardware and more powerful components allowed for integrated cameras, digital music players, and gaming abilities that rivalled portable games consoles.
Eventually, more powerful operating systems and the advent of app stores capable of digitally distributing software, allowed the mobile phone to consume all of these functions to become a ‘Swiss army knife’ device.
It was a revolution. Simply put, no other technology has changed how we live, work, and play more than the mobile phone.
In the coming years, the smartphone will become more than just a single device. It will become the hub for a variety of digital experiences, powered by wearables, 5G networks, and immersive applications. We’ll also see innovative new form factors that will add new chapters to a history that is now five decades old.
Until we do see that, we’ve collected together a visual guide to the five most influential devices that have driven the mobile revolution up to now.
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