Did you know your cell phone has more computing power than the computers used for the Apollo 11 moon landing?
With the first unveiling of the cellphone in 1973, we have come a long way from holding a handheld cellular device to a smart gadget that holds the entire world in it.
With its ever-advancing features, you can even live stream to your fans from the top of Mount Everest or run a global online shop from a single application.
Today, a smartphone comes with endless possibilities!
Before the advent of the internet and microchip processors, you could only use a cellphone to talk to a limited number of people.
Sending texts and playing games through your smartphone only became possible with Nokia 1011 device in 1992.
Here is a brief history of cell phones as we know it.
Brief History of Cell Phone
The military previously used hands-free cellular technology before it became available to the public.
Thanks to Motorola's 'Brick phone' released in 1973, ordinary people like us could lay our hands on the first hands-free cell phone device.
It is called a brick phone because the first phone was shaped like a brick and weighed 2 pounds. It only offered a half-hour of talk time. Getting one was not cheap either because a single cell phone back then could cost you $3,995.
Motorola became the first valid cell phone brand; however, Nokia became the true innovator of cell phones.
The early 1990s saw the emergence of cheaper handheld devices developed by Nokia. The smaller device was called Nokia 1011 that allowed you to make a call, send SMS, and even play a mobile-based game.
A GSM phone with a storage facility of 99 contacts became an instant hit with the public in 1992.
The early cell phones were referred to as 0G mobile phones or Zero Generation.
With the advent of 2G and later 3G cellular networks, the outreach of cell phones increased rapidly
It was only during the 2000s that the cell phone price started growing down thanks to the emergence of new cell phone brands. It was also when the smartphone made its way into the market, bringing in a flock of consumers.
In 2007, iPhone debuted with its first 3G smartphone that came with a feature to add applications. With its debut, the history of the cell phone would never remain the same.
The first Android phone turned up in 2008 with many more applications, intelligent features, high-resolution cameras, and more.
It gave rise to the intense competition between many smartphone brands, where few succeeded in capturing consumer's attention. At the same time, others failed miserably, including Blackberry.
By the end of 2018, around 4.9 billion people worldwide owned a cell phone. A majority of them use the internet on their phone, giving way to a surge in e-commerce, social media, and advertising.
Interesting Facts about Cell Phone
Here is the list of the ten most interesting facts about the cell phone that is sure to blow your mind!
1. Nokia and Samsung are the best-selling cell phones
Nokia is the bestselling cellphone brand thanks to its long history with the cell phones, but when we talk about the best-selling smartphone, Samsung takes the lead with 1.38 billion units sold until 2020.
The Nokia 1100 was the best-selling electrical gadget in history, selling more than 250 million phones. It managed to sell many more millions of Nokia series afterward until the new smartphones entirely replaced it.
Nokia 3310 became the instant hit with the consumers because of its low price tag and added features.
The first Samsung smartphone, GT-I7500 Galaxy, came in 2009, which shook the market as the first Android-powered device from Samsung. It also kick-started the long-running Galaxy series.
2. The first cell phone in 1983 came with a hefty price tag of $4000.
The first cell phone ever made, the brick phone from Motorola, cost a whopping $3995. No wonder only a few wealthy people were able to afford them.
Originally named Motorola DynaTAC 8000x, the brick phone entered the market in 1973 and became an instant hit with the executives.
Motorola engineers played an essential role in redefining the cellphones' look from a sizeable brick-like structure to an ergonomic design known as "candybar" style phones.
Although it isn't as popular as other brands like Samsung, Xiaomi, and Apple, it still has a dedicated fan base.
3. Cell phones are not at all hygienic!
True, cell phones have eighteen times more bacteria than toilet handles.
According to an article published by Readers Digest, your cellphone has ten times more germs than the toilet seat.
Another study found that a typical high schooler's smartphone can have as many as 17,000 bacterial gene copies.
One of many reasons your cellphone is a breeding ground for germs is that we carry it with us around, even in the toilets. It remains warm throughout the day because of how often we use it. The friendly environment allows bacteria to proliferate.
Hence, you should clean your phone more often than you wash your hand!
Here is another interesting fact, In Britain, more than 100,000 cell phones are dropped in the toilet every year!
We are not sure why that happened, but it can be implied that cellphones in Britain are far dirtier than the rest of the world. Kidding!
4. 70% of Cell Phones are Manufactured in China.
Indeed, China is the sole manufacturer of phones that are used globally.
On average, 70 out of 100 people cellphone users in this world use a Chinese product.
This is not surprising at all because China provides significant concessions to major smartphone brands to produce their cellphones in the Chinese factory. It is mainly because China has the cheapest wageworkers, and it imports or makes most of the goods required to make a cellphone.
According to a Quora answer,
In China, iPhone and other Apple products are mainly assembled in Foxconn, whose workers' wages are about 2000 RMB(about $330 ) a month. They have to work about 11 hours a day.
5. Mobile phone addiction is called NOMOPHOBIA
The addiction to the mobile phone is called 'Nomophia.' Millions of people worldwide suffer from this. It is severe anxiety caused by the thought or act of losing your phone or running out of battery.
This is quite true because a study concluded that we check our mobile phones about 250 times a day on average every 6 minutes.
There is another term called 'ringxiety' which describes the feeling of hearing the phone ringing when it is not.
According to Pew Research, "A massive 46% of smartphone users say that they couldn't live without their device." That is almost half of the world's users.
Around 80% of the world's population has a cell phone, and smartphone users spend most of their time gaming (49%) and social networking (30%).
Conclusion
Smartphones are going nowhere. With time, we will see newer gadgets with unimaginable features that will make your lives better!
However, controlling yourself from misusing the gadget becomes ever more critical because using the phone for a longer time is linked to depression and anxiety.
This is true in the case of young smartphone users who spent significant time on their phones daily.
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