Today, the phone gets 150 years old. Johann Philipp Reis, a german physicist and inventor
brought out a device that was able to transmit sound using an apparatus that simulates the
ear. The receiver is getting the emitted electric pulses from the sending unit that has a tube
to catch the sound. in 1861 he publicly presented his communication-invention.

So while the telepone in 1861 looks like this (rebuilt model)…

…today’s communication devices look like this now:

Although the technics have changed vastly, the basic way of transmission is the same: Electric impulses are sent from the sender unit to thr receiver unit.
Today they look similar and allow bidirectional and simultaneous transmission and reception. And they allow much more than only Audio to be transmitted.

Although Philipp Reis invented the telephone, it was Graham Bell, who patented the idea first. So also Graham Bell can be seen as the inventor of the telephone.

And the first transmitted words?

“Das Pferd frisst keinen Gurkensalat” – translated: “The horse doesn’t munch gerkhin salad”

Did you know that the first cell phones have been built into cars in 1958? Me neither…

The first “mobile” device had a weight of approx 33 lbs. (16kg) and was equipped with radio tubes. You know, 1958 transistors have not yet existed. But radio tubes then were also very reliable. You find them in eigh-end HiFi- components.

Anyways the thing didn’t look like a common cell phone, we know of today or the older times. But hey, 1958 you were able to speak with others at home while driving. The so-called A-Netz from the Deutsche Post has been founded.

And when looking at the further evolution steps of the stationary phones…

No dial disc or keys – Just a crank!

At least a dial disc and thus the first IDing of callers!

Keys… finally – the legendary Deutsche Post FeTAp 755 (Fernsprech-Tischapparat)
In Germany, only the Deutsche Post was allowed to issue and sell phones.
With the monopoly falling in 1991, also other devices could be used then.

So you see… the phone has dramatically changed. Also the dialling tones as we know them today are only available since the late 70’s when a modified variant of the FeTAp (the 71x series) was issued by the Deutsche Post.

And what about the cell phones? The classical cell phone as we know it today has been presented by Motorola in 1991 with the DynaTac 8000X:

1.6lbs (800gr) and only 45 minutes of speaking time…WOW!
We still use the old C-Netz carrier / USA: CDMA

0.5lbs (240g) “light” and SMS are available! Wooot! 1993 released…
The B-Netz (Later known as D1/D2) became famous
Home phones become more unpopular…

a bit lighter and finally with (3) color display! Released in 1994

folding cell phones since 1996 – a style, Motorola has stuck to 2008

Also came in 1996 from Nokia: the world’s first smartphone!

in 1999, the first WAP-enabled phone (Nokia 7110) was released.
In Matrix, the Nokia 8100 as the father of all sliders is used.

Sony-Ericcson T68I – Attachable cam and MMS in 2001

Nokia did better in 2002 with the 7650
Built-in cam. yet far from good pics and MMS were extremely expensive!
GPRS became more popular and allowed data transfers!

2003 – Sony-Ericcson brings out the P800 wiith touchscreen!
EDGE was mandatory for data exchange then!

2007 – Apple brings out the iPhone with no keys at all!
Just bare touchscreen and one home button.
The newer models support UMTS / HSDPA
Home phones have mostly vanished or at least connected to
the internet using VoIP. The classic telephone line is nearly gone!

Also interesting to see how the technics have advanced in the cell phone sector. So what will the future be? No one knows for sure…

LTE is yet to be evolving and handsets that support this network type that can provide up to 130 MBit/s are far from being sighted…