Telephones have changed a lot since the first. Down below will be the evolution of the telephone. (2)
the original phone
1876- On March 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell spoke into his device and said to his assistant, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.” In doing so, Bell launched the telephone era with the first bi-directional electronic transmission of the spoken word. At least that is how the story typically goes. While Bell received the first patent for a telephone, the origin of the telephone is complicated and inconclusive, with Elisha Gray, Antonio Meucci of Italy, and Innocenzo Manzetti each claiming to be the phone’s true inventor. (2)
Candlestick
1890s-1930s- The candlestick phone is make up of to pieces. The mouth piece formed the candlestick part, and the receiver was placed by your ear during the phone call. This style died out in the ’30s when phone manufacturers started combining the mouth piece and receiver into a single unit. Thankfully. (2)
Rotary
1960s-1970s-The rotary phone became really popular during its time. To dial you would turn the dial with the number you would want and then release. (2)
Push-Button
1963-In 1963, AT&T introduced Touch-Tone, which allowed phones to use a keypad to dial numbers and make phone calls. Each key would transmit a certain frequency, signaling to the telephone operator which number you wanted to call. While much better than the rotary dial, these dial tones were subject to spoofing by what were called “blue boxes.” Using a blue box, you could make free long-distance phone calls. (2)
answering machine
1960-The answering machine transformed phone behavior, allowing callers to leave a message if no one was on the other end. Not popular until the 1960s, these phone accessories originally used cassette tapes to record messages. In the past 15 years, digital answering machines replaced the miniature cassette tapes, and in the past 10 years, we all just use our cell phones voicemail. (2)
Portable phones
1980s-Portable, or cordless, phones were the phone equivalent of the TV remote. You were no longer physically attached to your phone’s base station. Beginning in the 1980s, portable phones were like a small-scale cell phone. You could talk on your phone anywhere in your house. Now that you can talk on your phone anywhere in the world, portable phones seem quaint. But at the time, a well-placed portable phone could save you a trip across the house. (2)
Motoroal DynaTac
1984-The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X was the first commercially available mobile phone. In 1973, Martin Cooper made the first cell phone call ever with a predecessor of this beast. At 1.75 pounds, this phone had 30 minutes of talk time and cost a not-so-modest $3,995. (2)
Nokia 5110
1998-One of many classic Nokia candybar-style phones, the Nokia 5110 was rugged and had a long battery life. More importantly, you could play Snake on its 47 × 84 pixel screen. The 5110 was also customizable, with replaceable face plates. (2)
m\otorola startca
1999-The Motorola StarTAC was the first successful flip phone, and in many ways, the first successful consumer cell phone. Introduced in 1996, Motorola eventually sold 60 million StarTACs. Weighing in at just 3.1 ounces, and combined with its innovative clamshell design, the StarTAC was a milestone in the trend toward smaller and smaller cell phones. (2)
Sanyo scp-5300
2003-The Sanyo SCP–5300 was one of the first phones to include a camera. It was already clear that digital cameras would replace film cameras, but it wasn’t clear that a camera could fit in a phone. By today’s standards, the SCP–5300’s camera is pathetic. The SCP–5300 could take 640 × 480 pixel photos and store 10 to 15 of them. It had a built-in flash with a range of only three feet. Still, this phone broke ground, and today it is clear how central cameras are to our phones. (2)
Palm Treo
2008-2009-With the Treo, Palm expanded its popular PDA line to become one of the first smartphones. The Treo looked very similar to Blackberry’s phones, with a tiny keyboard at the bottom. The Treo ran Palm OS, and like many leading phones at the time, began to lose its appeal after the introduction of touchscreen smartphones. In 2009, the Treo was replaced with the Palm Pre, Palm’s failed response to the iPhone. (2)
Motorola razr
2004-The Motorola RAZR represented the culmination of the flip phone. Unable or unwilling to experiment with new designs, mobile phone companies continued their push for smaller and smaller phones. With the RAZR, Motorola perfected the flip phone design. At just 0.54 inches thin, the RAZR was as much a fashion device as a cell phone. Announced in 2004, Motorola would eventually sell 130 million RAZRs. However, the RAZRs popularity rapidly declined in the face of a new generation of touchscreen smartphones. (2)
blackberry
2006-Canadian-based Research in Motion, now BlackBerry, was by far the leading smartphone manufacturer in the 2000s. With their advanced email capabilities, BlackBerry Messenger, and physical keyboards, BlackBerry smartphones were the ultimate business phone. When the iPhone was announced in 2007, many BlackBerry fans scoffed at its lack of a physical keyboard. Now that touchscreen smartphones have proved themselves worthy, BlackBerry has fallen rapidly, with many failed attempts at touchscreen smartphones, and is currently struggling to survive. (2)
iphone and android
2007-2015 When the iPhone was introduced in 2007, Apple brought the smartphone to the masses. With its intuitive touchscreen, intelligent sensors, and sleek design, the iPhone has been an incredible success. The iPhone quickly showed just how clunky previous smartphones and flip phones were. While initially lacking some basic features such as copy-and-paste, the iPhone has consistently improved with annual updates to both its hardware and software and runs a mobile-optimized version of OS X, the company’s desktop computing operating system. Still the iPhone is one of the most poplar today in 2015. Who knows if any phones will become more popular than the iPhone in the future. (2)