Most people don't really appreciate how simple it is today to stay in contact with their
loved ones.
All you have to do is take your smartphone and choose one of the numerous messaging apps.
But how did people keep in touch before smartphones with face IDs and multi-megapixel cameras
appeared?
Around 30,000 years ago closer to the end of the Stone Age, (I wasn’t around then),
people lived in caves and knew nothing about iPhones.
But they knew how to draw on the walls.
They created a system of symbols and left these rock paintings in caves to communicate
with each other.
It looked like some kind of ancient MMS — the paintings contained tons of useful information,
for example, the first calendar or bits and pieces of history.
Smoke signals were a cool way of long-distance communication.
In Greece, they developed a system of alphabetical smoke signals around 150 BCE.
All Greek letters were turned into numeric characters, and messages (SMS rather than
MMS) were easily sent by two people holding torches.
Let's not forget about runners!
Greeks and Romans had some of their provinces so far apart that no smoke signal could be
seen from such distances.
That's why specially trained and lightning-fast people ran from place to place to deliver
messages.
Those were super-important letters, like military orders or laws that had to be put into action
immediately.
If we continue with the comparisons, they were something like emails.
Pigeons were also great at delivering messages!
The pigeon post itself appeared in ancient times, but some enthusiasts keep using it
these days as well, although more for fun than out of real necessity.
The whole thing is based on the pigeons’ natural ability to find their way back home.
Keep in mind, though, that you can't just tie your message to any pigeon you spot in
the street.
It has to be a specially bred homing pigeon that knows how to navigate over long distances.
In some areas, people communicated with the help of drums.
These drums were so powerful that their sound could be heard in villages miles away.
There was a special set of drum signals used to indicate important things, and it worked
not unlike...
Morse code!
This method of communication was invented by Samuel Morse at the beginning of the 19th
century.
All letters of the alphabet were encrypted as sets of dots and dashes.
Most people think that Morse code is an acoustic system of communication.
But it can be visual as well because you can share it as flashes of light!
But let's skip some time (ok-ok, it's a lot of time) and land in the middle of the 20th
century.
By that time, several decades had already passed since people started using radio for
communication.
It was time for something new and revolutionary!
I know, right now you imagine the latest product of your favorite smartphone manufacturer.
Not so fast — people could barely hold the first cell phones in their hands!
The whole process of calling someone was heavy (and I mean it literally), uncomfortable,
and terribly clumsy.
The ancestor of the modern-day cell phone appeared in Sweden in 1960.
It was a far cry from your super-slim smartphone: the device was incredibly bulky and heavy.
It was actually not a one-piece phone but a system known as Mobile Telephone System
A. The thing was fully automated — meaning that it could be moved from one place to another.
But for relocating it, you needed a car because the handset was supposed to be mounted inside.
Also, this "mobile" device needed an operator to forward the calls.
So, you'll probably agree that a massive metal box accompanying you whenever you went somewhere
by car wasn't a perfect example of wireless communication.
The very first real cell phone call was made in 1973.
That's when Martin Cooper, Motorola's senior engineer, called the rival company and told
them he was talking on a cell phone.
He didn't mention, though, that the device he used weighed 2 pounds, had an antenna,
was about 9 inches long and 4 inches wide, and had a loving nickname "the brick."
You could enjoy a 30-minute-long talk and then had to charge the device for another
10 hours.
The next model was released only 10 years later, in 1983.
It was the first commercial cell phone.
If a customer was ready to pay almost $4,000, they could get a phone with half an hour of
talk-time and six hours of standby.
The device could also store up to 30 phone numbers.
Whew!
Unfortunately, even at such an exorbitant price, the phone's performance wasn't great.
As you see, in the early days of cell phones, manufacturers had in mind businesspeople-types
who drove fast cars and flew airplanes rather than the average Joe.
That's one of the reasons why the first cell phones were mostly for use in cars — they
just didn't fit into jean pockets!
Anyway, it was 1989, and the very first portable cell phone, Motorola MICROTAC 9800X, appeared
on the market.
And yes, by saying "portable," I do mean that it could fit into a shirt pocket (if it was
big enough).
The device was black, plastic, and had a flip piece.
Even though the phone was proudly called "micro," it still was more than 9 inches in length
and weighed more than 12 ounces — which is as heavy as a can of soup!
Hmm...
Probably too heavy for a shirt pocket?
A super-important breakthrough happened in 1992: the first-ever text message was sent!
It read "Happy Christmas!"
The year 1994 — and the first smartphone saw the light of day!
Wait, when I say "smartphone," it's not the same thing you have in mind.
The phone, which was called IBM Simon Personal Communicator, was more like a planner than
a cell phone.
Those who spent $900 to buy this gadget could create their contact and task lists and make
calls.
That's all Simon could handle, plus, its battery lasted for only an hour.
Still, customers bought more than 50,000 units!
Step by step, cell phones started to become slimmer and acquired new functions.
They were also getting more affordable.
Plus, in 1995, people saw the first splash of color: Siemens S10 offered its users the
whole of 4 colors!
After that, the smartphone development process started to gain speed.
The end of the 90s — and the luckiest phone users could marvel at the Internet and email
on their devices!
In 1997, the iconic "Snake" was launched on Nokia 6110!
This event became the start of mobile gaming.
By the way, if you've ever lost track of time playing the Snake, let me know in the comments
below!
Let's see how many we are!
In November 2000, the era of selfie obsession officially started.
Or maybe it started some time later.
Because when the world's first cell phone with a completely integrated camera appeared,
people knew nothing about selfies yet.
The device called J-SH04 was launched by the Sharp company.
The phone had 110,000-pixel built-in camera and 256-color display.
Its weight was less than 3 oz (just a bit more than a tennis ball), and it was 5 inches
long — way lighter and almost twice smaller than the first cell phones!
The phone was available only in Japan.
The western world got interested in camera phones only 2 years later!
In 2007, first smartphones with touchscreens appeared on the market.
By 2011, these gadgets had already become a crucial part of our lives.
4G, voice recognition, health and fitness apps, and tons of other cool features made
smartphones irreplaceable for most people.
But modern gadgets are mind-blowingly different from the very first cell phones.
The slimmest smartphones today are less than one-fifth of an inch thick.
Their displays are no thicker than a strand of spaghetti.
Even though they're so skinny, these gadgets are packed with useful and entertaining apps.
Smartphones have also become much lighter: the lightest devices weigh about 3 oz — it's
less than a deck of cards!
Their size has decreased quite dramatically as well: these days, you can fit the smallest
smartphones in any pocket you choose because they're no bigger than 4 and a half inches.
At the same time, not everyone wants to have their smartphone as small as possible.
The larger its display is, the more convenient it is to watch videos and play games.
That's why lots of gadgets have large-sized screens, being pretty light at the same time.
The biggest phone displays reach 8 inches in length — which makes them almost as long
as the first cell phones!
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Just click to the left or right, and stay on the Bright Side of life!