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Most college students probably remember Zack Morris, the coolest guy at Bayside High School, talking on his giant cell phone during class on television's "Saved by the Bell."
Most probably remember thinking how cool having a phone that could go anywhere would be.
Well, now those early 90s dreams of portable communication are realized. Almost every student has a cell phone. It is not unusual to see dozens of people chatting away while making their way between classes.
For many, cell phones are the only phones: as more and more people are leaving the "home phone" in the past.
In addition to making calls from everywhere, cell phones now allow users to send email, text messages, surf the web, play games, take pictures, record videos (and send it to other cell phones) and download lots of extra tones, pictures, etc.
If Zack Morris was so cool, why couldn't his cell phone record and send a video of Kelly Kapowski doing a split during cheerleading practice? Zack couldn't even fit his phone in his pocket.
What most students probably do not know is the first cell phone call was placed more than 31 years ago on April 3, 1973.
This call was made by Martin Cooper (now chairman, CEO and co-founder of ArrayComm Inc.) while he was general manager of Motorola's Communications Systems Division.
It was Cooper's vision, of personal wireless communication, that led to the creation of the modern-day cell phone.
Who was on the receiving end of this historic first call? None other than Cooper's cross-town rival at AT&T-Bell Labs.
Cooper once explained, "As I walked down the street while talking on the phone, sophisticated New Yorkers gaped at the sight of someone actually moving around while making a phone call. Remember that in 1973 there were no cordless telephones, let alone cellular phones. I made numerous calls, including one where I crossed the street while talking to a New York radio reporter-probably one of the more dangerous things I have ever done in my life."
The first public demonstration of a cellular phone was with a 30-ounce device. About 10 years later, Motorola introduced the 16-ounce DynaTac, which cost consumers a jaw-dropping $3,500.
According to about.com, today there are more cell phone subscribers than wireline phone subscribers, and the average cell phone today weighs only a dainty 3 ounces.
Although the first cellular phone was not used until 1973, the concept has been around much longer.
In 1947, AT&T proposed that the Federal Communications Commission allocate a large number of radio-spectrum frequencies so that widespread mobile telephone services would be possible. However, the FCC limited the number of frequencies available, therefore limiting the number of calls that could be placed at one time in a particular service area, making it almost pointless to begin researching the technology.
In 1968, the FCC reconsidered its position, allowing more towers to be built and researchers to begin developing the technology.
Even then, when cell phones first became available to the mass market, service was not good outside of the major cities.
Dr. Larry Schor, Psychology professor, once told his class about the first person he knew to get a cell phone.
Schor said that the phone would only get service atop a mountain in one place, and if the user moved too much the signal would be lost.
Nowadays, as the guy in the Verizon commercials demonstrates, a cell phone signal can be obtained almost everywhere, and they surely do not cost $3,500.
New users can get a free cell phone at most retailers by just signing up for service.
Cell phones have certainly come a long way. Twenty years ago it was a technology reserved for the wealthy, and with it came a certain status.
But today, cell phones are everywhere and can sometimes be annoying. Most everyone has probably been disturbed during class by some digital tune coming from some student's pocket or purse. And who knows how many car accidents have been caused by someone trying to answer their cell phone; or because they were talking instead of driving?
What would Martin Cooper say about that?
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