FARK.com: (7682330) The 12 cellphones that changed the world, from the brick to the razr

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		The 12 cellphones that changed the world, from the brick to the razr (wired.com)		27
		More: Cool, razr, DynaTAC 8000x, cell phones, Ericsson, zack morris, Bell Labs, mobile games, Galaxy Note

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4436 clicks; posted to Geek » on 04 Apr 2013 at 8:48 AM | Favorite | share:

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27 Comments (+0 »)

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dittybopper		2013-04-04 08:09:19 AM

Meh. The first "brick" cellphone call was in 1989. The first ham radio autopatch contact that I can find with a quick google was in 1977. I know they predate that, however, going back to at least the early 1970's, when VHF repeaters started becoming popular.

Essentially, a ham radio repeater with autopatch is the same thing as a cell site: It allows you to use a handheld radio to make phone calls, and a cellphone is merely a specialized handheld radio transceiver.

dittybopper		2013-04-04 08:10:40 AM

dittybopper: The first "brick" cellphone call was in ~~1989~~ 1983.

FTFM.

Happy Hours		2013-04-04 08:17:20 AM

No single mobile phone changed the world - the technology may have, but don't give credit where none is due.

monty666		2013-04-04 08:25:21 AM

Hmmmm I've only had two of those specific models, the Nokia and the RAZR, despite having had a cell phone since 1998. I had a Motorola flip phone and several blackberries, but not the ones in the story.

It's weird. People hardly even seem to use them as actual phones anymore.

clancifer		2013-04-04 08:36:05 AM

Loved my Startac.

Eddie Adams from Torrance		2013-04-04 08:45:32 AM

I liked my Nokia 232. You could drop that sucker out of a 3rd story window, go down and continue talking (unless you have Verizon, then of course the call would have dropped by then)

The Treo 600 was also pretty awesome back in the day.

/Hey... guess where I'm calling from?

MightyPez		2013-04-04 08:58:19 AM

Eddie Adams from Torrance: I liked my Nokia 232. You could drop that sucker out of a 3rd story window, go down and continue talking (unless you have Verizon, then of course the call would have dropped by then)

The Treo 600 was also pretty awesome back in the day.

/Hey... guess where I'm calling from?

I believe I had 5 of those phones. The Sidekick, as silly as it seems today, was actually a really good phone. The battery lasted days and AIM was the messenger client to use in that day. I could get work email on it, to boot.

MightyPez		2013-04-04 08:59:10 AM

Sorry, didn't mean to quote you Eddie Adams from Torrance

jchic		2013-04-04 09:03:16 AM

clancifer: Loved my Startac.

So much this!! Was a sad sad day when I had to move on.

funk_soul_bubby		2013-04-04 09:05:08 AM

Still got my RAZR for backup if something happens to my phone. I went through the whole hack process with it and put all my own ringtones, etc. on there. Pretty useful little device. Still better than a lot of the feature dumbphones out these days.

Tom_Slick		2013-04-04 09:33:42 AM

I had the T68i great little phone, I then started buying unlocked Ericsson phones from Europe until I finally gave in and got the iPhone

jennies1897		2013-04-04 09:40:55 AM

I've had four of the phones listed. Nokia 3210 was my first cell phone. I slammed my RAZR in my car door by accident once, like really slammed the door. I was expected to see a shattered phone screen. Nothing but a small dent in the front. We need more phones made out of metal. My iPhone feels like it's made of glass.

Irregardless		2013-04-04 09:52:27 AM

They forgot my second phone. The ubiquitous StarTac. I did love that phone.

www.twodee.org

tankjr		2013-04-04 10:47:20 AM

Once again the LG Prada gets shiat on.

Quantum Apostrophe		2013-04-04 10:52:25 AM

Irregardless: They forgot my second phone. The ubiquitous StarTac. I did love that phone.

[www.twodee.org image 569x443]

Yeah, I had one, with the belt holster. Battery life was no good, and the antenna eventually would snap off the load coil thingy at the end.

metallion		2013-04-04 11:06:57 AM

In the early 90's, I had a Motorola that had a wedge-shaped battery on the back that made the phone very heavy. I think the battery was good for an hour of talk time. The phone on a belt holder was so heavy, you would worry about it pulling your pants down. :) The charger was a base that you set the phone on, and there was another space for a second battery. Programmable phone numbers and speed dial. It was an awesome thing...... It's a long way from there to the Galaxy Note II I've got now.

Kind of makes you wonder what will be around 20-25 years from now..

SJKebab		2013-04-04 11:16:15 AM

Fark the RAZR. Hated that thing. Mine lasted about 6 years - 2 years as a primary, then as a backup. My new phones which I liked would keep dying, forcing me back onto that pain in the arse RAZR constantly. I hated it, but it was reliable at least.

Leader O'Cola		2013-04-04 11:16:19 AM

"
Never mind that it also was the last Motorola phone that truly mattered.

.....

<next phone discussed>

...

Motorola Rokr -- 2005The Rokr was the first phone to play nicely with iTunes, and it was such a big deal that Steve Jobs himself introduced the phone to the public. Too bad it was a horrible, horrible phone.

Sure it worked with iTunes, but it held no more than 100 songs. And getting them onto the phone was as quick and comfortable as a root canal without anesthesia. And then there was the UI. Dear god, the UI. Sluggish doesn't begin to describe it.
Still, the Rokr was a milestone because it opened the door to the phone as a media player. It could have been the iPhone. Instead, it inspired Apple to make the iPhone.

"

JFC, how can anyone be so farking stupid and clueless about what they themselves are writing?

/picard facepalm dot jpg
//etc
/// DIAF retard author

Earpj		2013-04-04 11:46:50 AM

My first cell phone was the Nokia 3310. Mine was bright yellow. I've also had a Razr. It was red. I loved that phone.
I had a Blackberry that pretended to do internet. I then got an Evo 4G. Now, I was cooking with fire. I could Fark while waiting for the kids' school concerts.

/The fan boys having fits in the comments on the site are hilarious.

PluckYew		2013-04-04 12:01:19 PM

Thank you subby for linking to the view all page instead of the gallery page!!

Spadababababababa Spadina Bus		2013-04-04 12:13:50 PM

Leader O'Cola: "
Never mind that it also was the last Motorola phone that truly mattered.

.....

<next phone discussed>

...

Motorola Rokr -- 2005The Rokr was the first phone to play nicely with iTunes, and it was such a big deal that Steve Jobs himself introduced the phone to the public. Too bad it was a horrible, horrible phone.

Sure it worked with iTunes, but it held no more than 100 songs. And getting them onto the phone was as quick and comfortable as a root canal without anesthesia. And then there was the UI. Dear god, the UI. Sluggish doesn't begin to describe it.
Still, the Rokr was a milestone because it opened the door to the phone as a media player. It could have been the iPhone. Instead, it inspired Apple to make the iPhone.

"

JFC, how can anyone be so farking stupid and clueless about what they themselves are writing?

/picard facepalm dot jpg
//etc
/// DIAF retard author

Indeed.

I would have replaced the ROKR's entry with this Motorola product, the first Android phone that anybody who wasn't a nerd wanted:

phandroid.com

Egoy3k		2013-04-04 12:50:27 PM

I loved my RAZR, best 'dumb' phone ever. It did everything I wanted it to do reliably and was downright impossible to kill.

Snakeophelia		2013-04-04 02:19:41 PM

Is it just me, or does that example Blackberry look like a child's toy? No wonder Crackberry addicts got so much bad press.

As for breakability - well, I'm a grade-A butterfingers, and can break any phone, anywhere, any time. I just drop things, constantly. I've broken a Nokia, a RAZR, and an HTC Incredible that I can recall, and probably a few others. My Incredible 2 is currently encased in a rubber and hard plastic contraption that is a tad on the industrial-looking side, but at least I've been able to keep the phone in one piece for 18 months (a record for me).

/Verizon Wireless loves me - I've had the same phone number with them since 1999 and have bought at least 9 different phones

haydenarrrrgh		2013-04-04 04:47:16 PM

Snakeophelia: Verizon Wireless loves me - I've had the same phone number with them since 1999 and have bought at least 9 different phones

So it's not just me. I've had the same number since 1997, although with three providers.

MBP2112		2013-04-04 05:33:37 PM

This is the Toshiba 2032. Cell phone with speech recognition, PDA, easily update-able GPS with turn-by-turn voice directions and real time traffic updates (with bluetooth GPS receiver and Ostia software). Music and video player, web browser. Pretty cool, eh? Yes, it was, since it was doing all this... 10 years ago! I was pissed when Verizon killed the analog cell service, supposedly because it couldn't do enhanced 911.

Gordon Bennett		2013-04-05 02:45:05 AM

Missing:

That one, by the way is the QD model with no sidetalking and no need to remove the battery to change games. And it's ace. It's the only phone of its time actually made for games, and thanks to being comaptible with Series 60 it has hundreds (if not thousands) to choose from.

And the battery lasts for ages. I still carry mine around for games and I love it.

shizbgby_v2		2013-04-05 01:46:02 PM

I pre-ordered the G1 as soon as it launched. I fell in LOVE with that phone and was so depressed when some a-hole broke into my car and stole it. I got the CLIQ as a replacement and although it was a nice solid phone from Motorola it was not powerful for the software.

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