When Was the First Cell Phone Invented

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Martin Cooper invented the first cell phone in 1973 while working for Motorola. Decades before the iPhone was a glimmer in Steve Jobs imagination, Motorala and AT&T were battling it out to see who would be the first to create this new technology. The original concept of cellular phones was created by AT&T, but they were focused in on the pursuit to use it for car phones. Martin Cooper had decided he wanted to create a way that people could use cellular devices anywhere and not bound to the car.

A Great Video About Martin and His Invention

Over a three month period in 1973, Cooper’s team worked tirelessly to create a working prototype that they could use to place the first wireless call. On April 1973, Motorola went public and had Martin Cooper place the first public cell phone call in New York City. This call took place before people even had cordless phones in their homes. The phone was almost a foot high and weighed over two pounds.

It took ten more years before the first commercial cell phone, the DynaTAC, was released on the open market. These phones went on sale for $3900 a piece. The adjusted for inflation amount would be the equivalent to $10000 today. It took seven years for the public to start really using the cell phone. Before 1990, there were as few as a million cell phones in the entire world.

Martin Cooper went on to found ArrayComm, which helps to improve cellular communication. Mr. Cooper and his wife also invented a specialized cell phone for senior citizens, called the Jitterbug.

60 Minutes Piece on Martin Cooper’s Contribution