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Nowadays, it goes without saying that having a phone is an absolute requirement. Not only to make phone calls to other people, but also to make use of the many other features and services it offers.
But do you know when or where it first started happening? According to the BBC, a Motorola employee named Martin Cooper made the first call from a mobile phone exactly 50 years ago, on April 3, 1973.
Walking between 53rd and 54th streets in New York, Mr. Cooper made the momentous call from Sixth Avenue. At the time, Mr. Cooper was working on a project to create DynaTAC, the first portable cell phone (Dynamic Adaptive Total Area Coverage). He called Joel Engel at Bell Labs, his rival company, to inform him that he was calling from “a personal, handheld, portable cell phone.”
“Marty, this is Joel. He said: “I am communicating with you from a mobile phone, a real handheld portable cell phone.
“At the other extreme, there was stillness. I think he was gritting his teeth.” In a 2011 BBC interview, Mr Cooper recalled the historic call.
According to Wired magazine, the first cell phones were about the size of a shoebox, could only charge for 10 hours, and had a 25-minute talk time limit.
For another ten years, the first mobile phone was not commercially available. Motorola reportedly began selling the DynaTAC 8000X in the United States in 1983 for $3,995.
“This phone weighed over a kg, or almost two and a half pounds, and had a talk time battery life of about 25 minutes. That was not a problem. You couldn’t hold this phone for 25 minutes because it was so heavy, Cooper said.
Mr. Cooper, reflecting on the past 50 years, said that the handy little device we all carry in our pockets has virtually unlimited potential and may one day even contribute to the eradication of disease.
“The cell phone has become an extension of the individual; He is capable of so much more.” And in that sense, we are just beginning. We are just beginning to understand the potential effects of that. We can anticipate that the cell phone will change healthcare and education in the future. Although it sounds exaggerated, I want you to know that within a generation or two, we will be able to beat the disease,” he said.
Mr. Cooper currently uses a high-end iPhone, an Apple Watch, and hearing aids that are connected to his phone.
I am realistic. I am aware of the disadvantages of using a cell phone. There are others who become addicted to it. People are using their cell phones while crossing the street. Overall, in my opinion, the cell phone has improved humanity and I think this trend will continue,” Cooper told CNN.
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Categories: Technology
Source: vtt.edu.vn