The iPhone did not just magically appear in the hands of Jonathan Ive – the path was first forged by far uglier, bulkier and more expensive phones.
Lets take a step back in time to look at the vintage designs that paved the way clear for today’s modern handsets:
1920 – Payphone
Here’s the founding father of telecommunication which for many of us was the only way we could keep in touch whilst on the move until the mid 1990’s, however that familiar figure in the distance kept us mobile rather than the other way round.
More information: Wikipedia
What else was released this year? – The tea bag is invented by Joseph Kriege
1964 – Motorola: Motorola H12-16 ‘Handie-Talkie’
Now this is a true work of art. Forget the immense weight and dangerously dangling cord, this phone should have ‘timeless classic’ etched into the side. This 2 way radio was key in pushing the communication industry forward towards true mobility. However it might have taken a while to perfect the art of hanging up whilst walking.
More information: Samhallas.co.uk
What else was released this year? – The Movie Mary Poppins
1982 – Mobira Senator
Hardly pocket sized, this chunky beast would most definitely weigh you down at a whopping 21 pounds and that aerial looks like it could do serious damage if brought too close to the nostrils.
More information: Wikipedia
What else was released this year? -The first Macintosh computer is released
1983 – Motorola 8000
This was the world’s first actual hand-held phone, launched in 1983. It was a staggering $3,995 and realistically required two hands to hold. Well worth the money then…especially considering it charged longer than the time it had available on standby.
More information: retrobrick.com
What else was released this year? – The Movie WarGames is released
1984 – Nokia’s Mobira Talkman
Weighing just under 5 kg and one of the world’s first transportable phones (even if it you needed a car to carry and charge it) this model caused quite a stir. Many were skeptical, but sales boomed and the cynics were silenced.
More information: Nokia.com
What else was released this year? – The Movie Karate Kid is released
1985 – Siemens Oxford C1
Introduced in 1985 and closely resembling a car battery, this Siemens’ offering came with a handy suitcase attachment for the more image-conscious consumer.
An entire suitcase for your phone was an attempt at a more discreet form of portable communication. That is of course unless you needed another suitcase for everything else in your life and then you’d just have looked suspicious with two cases swinging by your side. Hitman alert.
More information: Samhallas.co.uk
What else was released this year? – The first version of Windows 1.0 operating system
1987 – Mobira Cityman
The slicker cousin of the Talkman, the Cityman was helped along into the world by a clever marketing ploy-arranging for the then Russian President, Mikhail Gorbachev, to answer a call on the handset. The message beamed out to the world- If a world leader isn’t a ‘city man’ then who is? But, $ 6,662 was one hell of a price for the look.
More information: Nokia.com
What else was released this year? – The Simpsons cartoon is aired for the first time
1988 – Ericsson Hotline
Pure 80s brilliance, everything from the neon orange details down to the font screams “I wear shoulder pads and of this I’m proud”. With a weight of 4 kg this is exactly the type of phone that would have been used by executive types to shout down “Get it on my desk by Monday!”.
More information: Rigpix.com
What else was released this year? – The first transatlantic fiber optic cable went into operation.
1989 – Rabbit Phone
Customers could carry a Rabbit phone around with them wherever they went but could only make calls when they were within 100m of a Rabbit phone point. A Rabbit phone user probably attracted their fair share of odd glances as they loitered anxiously around a sign with a bunny on it, no doubt hopping from foot to foot in anticipation of their next phone call.
More Information: bbc.co.uk
What else was released this year? – The first Nintendo Game Boy is sold
1989 – Motorola Micro tac
This Motorola’s features and look was the start of our craze; you could actually speak and listen at the same time, store numbers in a phone book and have a little style when you flip it to answer a call. However, the price tag at $3,000 meant the pleasure was restricted to a limited few.
More Information: Wikipedia
1992 – Nokia 101
Branded the ‘candy bar’ for its innovative slender shape, this phone paved the way for the classic Nokia designs of today. It was considerably more affordable at around $300.
More Information: Retrobrick.com
What else was released this year? – Quentin Taratino’s film – Reservoir Dogs
1993 – Communicator – BellSouth Simon
We are getting closer to a “modern” mobile phone as this just about fitted into one hand… granted, you needed particularly large hands. This was the first phone with PDA features which included a pager, calculator, address book, fax machine and email and weighed in at a slightly more manageable 20 ounces.
More Information: cdecas.free.fr
What else was released this year? – World Wide Web was born at CERN
The Vintage Era of Mobile phones led to some chunky, expensive and even a little embarrassing handsets. However we must remember that these “antique ancestors” triggered an evolution that led to the age of modern mobile communication.
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7 Comments
Great article! just one thing, the photo described as Mobira Talkman shows a Benefon Forte.
I have one Nokia Cityman, in working condition. You can still reach the customer service. Back in 1992, when first Polish cell-phone network was launched, it was the only phone they oferred. It costed 41 000 000 zlotych. For the same price you could have bought a new car
This was great! You missed 2 things, though:
1. The Macintosh computer was released in 1984, not 1982.
2. What about the famous Motorola Bag Phone from 1992?
I love the stuff about the 1980s phones!
Great article! Love the 80s phones!
This is great. Just great. The 80s were wonky, clunky and wore shoulder pads. And the mobile phones were then simply amazing to the average Ms or Mr.
There is wit and information aplenty in this article. Thank you, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
I knew a guy who had a broken handset from the Ericson Hotline in 1988… He tied the cord to the parking brake of his VW Sirocco and would pretend to be on the phone when pulled up next to girls in a car.
What a total douchewank that guy was…
Anyone that had one of these is a total Fudpiece!
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