From DynaTAC to foldable smartphones: half a century of mobile revolution

From the single-tasking bricks of the beginning to the technological jewels offering infinite applications today, a look back at half a century of mobile phone revolution.1973: First "hello" On April 3, 1973, Martin Cooper, an engineer at Motorola, made the first call from a mobile device, the Motorola DynaTAC, on 6th Avenue in New York City. The recipient is Joel Engel, a competitor working for Bell Labs. It took ten years for the first mobile to be marketed in 1983. The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X costs $3,995. Nicknamed the brick, it measures 33 centimeters and weigh

1973: First "hello"

On April 3, 1973, Martin Cooper, an engineer at Motorola, made the first call from a mobile device, the Motorola DynaTAC, on 6th Avenue in New York City. The recipient is Joel Engel, a competitor working for Bell Labs.

It took ten years for the first mobile to be marketed in 1983. The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X costs $3,995. Nicknamed the brick, it measures 33 centimeters and weighs 794 grams.

1992: "Merry Christmas", first SMS

On December 3, 1992, the first text message in history, "Merry Christmas," was sent to Vodafone contributor Richard Jarvis from a computer.

This message, sold as an NFT, reached 132,680 euros ($150,000) at auction at the end of 2021.

Mobile phones on sale in a store in France in December 1996 © MYCHELE DANIAU / AFP/Archives

1997: Snake snakes on Nokia

Starting with the Nokia 6110, launched at the end of 1997, the Snake game offers a distraction to users of the Finnish brand's phones.

1999: Beginnings of the mobile Internet

Launched in 1999, the Nokia 7110 paves the way for mobile internet, thanks to WAP technology.

In the same year, the Nokia 3210 introduced predictive writing (T9) for the first time, which speeds up SMS writing. It is no longer necessary to press the same key several times to write a letter.

50 years since the 1st call with a mobile © phone Jonathan WALTER / AFP

In Japan, Kyocera launches the VP-210, featuring a front-facing camera for making video calls and storing up to 20 photos. Its competitor Sharp will release the following year the SH04, the first laptop with an integrated back camera.

2000: The iconic Nokia 3310

At the end of 2000, Nokia launched its legendary 3310 model, a bestseller appreciated for its robustness, simplicity and the endurance of its battery.

The game Snake on the new version of the mythical Nokia 3310, a bestseller during its first release in 2000 © Josep Lago / AFP / Archives

2001: 3G in Japan

In 2001, Japan was the first country to benefit from third-generation mobile telephony (3G), which provides access to high-speed Internet.

In late 2003, Nokia launched a new entry-level model, the 1100, targeting developing countries. Very cheap, it is the best-selling laptop in history (250 million copies).

2007: First iPhone

In 2007, Apple made a remarkable entry into the mobile phone market with the iPhone, featuring an innovative design and a touch screen. It costs 499 or 599 dollars depending on the model, when the current iPhone blithely exceeds 1,000 euros.

Apple boss Steve Jobs unveils the first iPhone, January 9, 2007 in San Francisco, California © TONY AVELAR / AFP/Archives

As of 2008, the device works with an online application store, the AppStore.

At the end of 2008, the HTC Dream was launched, the first smartphone with the Android operating system developed by Google.

2009: Launch of WhatsApp

The WhatsApp application, now number 1 instant messenger, was launched in 2009, followed by many others such as Viber, WeChat, Telegram or Signal. Their messages transmitted via the internet supplanted SMS in 2012.

In December 2009, Stockholm was the first city to offer users 4G coverage, a very high-speed mobile technology.

2011: Siri and "emojis" fever

Apple launched its iPhone 2011S in 4, which integrates for the first time the voice assistant Siri.

Japan's Shigetaka Kurita, who drew the first emojis in 1999, during an interview with AFP on November 30, 2016 in Tokyo © Behrouz MEHRI / AFP/Archives

It allows you to use your voice to send messages, set appointments, make calls or search the internet. Google and Amazon will develop competing voice assistants.

The fever "emojis" seized the planet in 2011 when these small images of emotions, sketched in 1999 by the Japanese Shigetaka Kurita, are integrated into the library of characters of the iPhone.

2016: Pokemon Go and augmented reality

From the summer of 2016, the worldwide success of the game Pokémon Go, which allows you to catch virtual creatures in the real world, democratizes augmented reality.

2019: 5G and the first foldable smartphones

On April 5, 2019, South Korea is the first country covered by 5G, promising near-instant browsing.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold, one of the first foldable screen phones, presented in Berlin, September 6, 2019 © Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP / Archives

The South Korean groups Samsung and Chinese Huawei are in 2019 the first major manufacturers to release smartphones with foldable screen, the Galaxy Fold and the Mate X.