Our mobile phones have become an integral part of our lives. We carry them everywhere, rely on them, and use them for just about any creative, professional, or personal task. From work calls, to social media, to photography, to online banking. Phones have come a long way over the past hundred or so years.
Let’s take a journey back through time, and learn about the history of the phone.
The Development of the Telephone
The word telephone comes from the Greek words of tele (“far”) and phone (“sound”). There were several individuals involved in bringing the first early concepts of the phone to life. Italian inventor Antonio Meucci is credited with inventing the first basic telephone in 1849. However, Alexander Graham Bell was given the most credit for bringing the telephone to market, having began his research in 1874. He had the help of a team backing him up financially.
The first telephone line was constructed in 1877-78, and three years later, there were almost 49,000 telephones in use. By 1880, Bell combined his company with others creating the American Bell Telephone Company and then American Telegraph and Telephone Company in 1885.
The 1900s Telephone Boom
Bell’s telephone system grew to a system of nearly 600,000 phones by 1900, becoming 5.8 million by 1910. The transcontinental telephone began operation in 1915. By this point, everyone in the US could connect to each other via telephone. This was also the time where early wall-mounted phones started to replace the large cumbersome desk phones.
Widespread Connection of the Mid-1900
By the mid-1900s, the world wars were the catalysts for the advancement of telephone infrastructure. With the critical need for warfare communication, there led to a more affordable and reliable telephone service for public consumers after World War 2.
The devices soon became common within households, boosting social connections. The ability to have real-time communications with family and friends in different houses and even towns had an incredible impact on society, and the telephone became an invaluable tool for everyone.
In this era, early rotary models allowed for colourful choices, and the development of extensions in a home fostered a more versatile communication system. Later in the 1900s, the innovation of push-button phones replaced rotary dials, offering a more user-friendly device for voice communication.
Analog to Digital
The early days of landlines used an analog infrastructure. Bujt this system was slow, and could get impacted during busy times. It was also expensive for long-distance calls, as they were charged per minute.
When the fibre optic cables were developed, and the phone lines became digital, the congested networks transformed into efficient systems that could transfer information quickly and with less signal degradation. This meant that the cost of long distance calls drastically reduced, and people were no longer charged per minute.
Phone companies began to offer customisable, bundled packages to consumers such as unlimited minutes.
Early cell phone networks came with limited capacity, with quality and calls dropping busy hours. But as the network expanded, with more cell phone towers being built, the network became more efficient.
The Rise of Smartphone
In 1984m the first portable mobile device debuted. It earned its nickname “The Brick” for its clunky, large body and heavy weight. The battery life was a whopping 30 minutes. The first smartphone arrived in 1992, coming with a touchscreen that could only be used with a stylus, and a range of other features that the modern phone would recognise.
By 1994, early smartphone apps arrived, such as the calendar, address book, calculator, notepad, and even email.
The first camera phone arrived in 2000, when Sharp introduced the first model to the world. Cell phones soon had access to the internet, connecting wirelessly to the 3G network.
In 2007, Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone to world, changing the smartphone game forever. The rest is history!
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