ASSIGNMENT ENGINEERING

TECHNOLOGIST IN SOCIETY

EVOLUTION OF MOBILE PHONE

NAME: 1) NASYITAH BINTI MOHD SHARIF (55213217102)

2) SITI NURYASMIN BINTI JAMALUDDIN (55213217082)

LECTURER’S NAME: MADAM ASIMI ANA BINTI AHMAD

DATE: 15 JUNE 2017

MOBILE PHONE

In this era of globalization, there are various types of mobile phones that have strengths
and weaknesses. From the first phones that only offered one hour of talk time to the Apple
iPhone with internet access and limitless applications, mobile phones have exponentially
evolved over the past decades. The definition of mobile phone or also called as cell phone by
Merriam-Webster is a portable usually cordless telephone for use in a cellular system, (Merriam-
Webster, 2017). In today’s society, communication plays a very important.

In 1876, history tells Alexander Graham Bell received the first patent which Bell’s first
phone launched the era of the phone with the first two-way electronic transmission of the
spoken word, (Ben, 2013).

The first telephone launched is candlestick phone. It is popular from the 1890s to the
1930s. Next, the rotary phone is introduced. To dial, this type of phone have to rotate the
number and release. In 1963, AT&T introduced Touch-Tone phone, which has a keypad of
number. The keypad is used to dial numbers and make phone calls. After that, portable phones
or cordless, phones were the phone equivalent of the TV remote. The phone is no longer
physically attached to phone’s base station which is can bring the phone anywhere in a house.
Beginning in the 1980s, the mobile phone is introduced that can bring the phones around the
worlds, (Ben, 2013).

From teenagers to old men, most of them has one personal mobile phones. Mobile
phone is one of the most important things in life. A lot of improvement in technology of mobile
phone that has made a great change, from the huge brick likes mobile phone in era 1983 to the
sleek and stylish smartphones that can easily get now. Today, millions of people walk around
with an all-in-one computer, communication device and personal assistant in their pocket. Here,
the evolution of mobile phones will discuss in design and function each mobile from 1980s to
2000s.
THE EVOLUTION OF MOBILE PHONE

1) FROM 1980 TO 1989

The first mobile phone in history was the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x, whose appearance
was in 1983. This mobile phone is invented by Martin Cooper who is considered to be a key
player in the history of mobile phones, (Dev, 2016). Its weight is 4 kilograms which heavy and
measuring about 33 cm × 9 cm × 4.5 cm. It is analog and had small display, (Douglas, 2015).
The battery had a shelf life of no more than an hour talking, and 8 hours in standby. Other than
that, the sound quality was very poor and anti-aesthetic, (Graciela, 2016). These early mobile
phones are often referred to as 0G mobile phones, or Zero Generation mobile phones, (Dev,
2016). The first people to use mobile phone were businessman, executives and people with the
money to buy it, mainly because the economic development of a company needs effective
communication, (Graciela, 2016).
In 1989, Motorola release another mobile phone which is the first pocket size mobile
phone. Motorola gets rave because of its size and also life span for its battery life which is 75
minutes, (Nicholas, 2013). This type of Motorola mobile phone is more portable. Before its
release, most cellular phones were installed as car phones due to the inability to fit them into a
jacket pocket.

2) FROM 1990 TO 1999

In this 10 years, there are various types of mobile phones manufactured by several
companies. This mobile phone has been improve with various features, digital technology and
highly valued benefits, according to the times and the needs of consumers. For instances
extended battery life and greater definition and sound quality. These phones had the ability to
send and receive text messages (SMS), (Graciela, 2016). The prices of the mobile phone is
lower because of competition between different companies. The sizes of mobile phone also
become smaller which sleeker and more pocket friendly option, (Douglas, 2015).
In 1992, the first digital hand-size mobile telephone is released by Motorola and after
that, in 1996, the mobiles phones became a little more defined and have a better looking
compared to mobile phone in 1980s. The antennas were shortened, the designs modified and
the features were also upgraded. However, during 1997 the antennas vanished from mobile
phones that is improved look. This enhancement also saved space and marked the introduction
of internal antennas in the mobile phones. Nevertheless, there are several companies which
produces mobile phones retained the antennas and only improve the mobile phone with variety
of colours, for instances Nokia 5110 which was launched in 1998 and the first mobile phones
released by Nokia, (Rahul, 2013). In late 1990s, Nokia released mobile phones which have
more compact look, Nokia 3210. The features of this mobile phone are have cool colours,
internal antenna and better graphics in a smaller package, (Rahul, 2013).

3) FROM 2000 UNTIL NOW

From time to time, companies that produces mobile phone always find any ideas to
improve the technologies with new design and more functions. In the beginning of year 2000, a
lot of mobile phones with digital cameras and some of that even allowed to film a few minutes,
colour screen, fast internet connection which is 4G/LTE, multimedia messaging (MMS) and
access to e-mail box.
In 2000, the world’s first touchscreen phone came out. At that time it was a huge craze
and the introduction of a promising technology. In this period, people can choose any of mobile
phone’s type followed their needs. Nokia produces the world’s first monochromatic display cell
phone which had a single colour display and then, Nokia make a huge change in the history of
mobile phones by integrated 0.3 MP camera to mobile phones. Next, Sony enviled a model of
mobile phones that are create for delivering great music and with dedicated buttons for music
playback, (Rahul, 2013).

In 2007, Apple Inc launched iPhone which is the beginning of the mass move to
smartphone devices. It is the first phone to have an operating system, the IOS and by enabling
applications to run on the phone. Now, the new one is iPhone 7 plus. Not only Apple Inc, other
companies such as Samsung, Vivo and more also produces smartphones, an impressive mix of
telephone and computer with 4G. Users can consume without problem video content in HD,
music streaming and a thousand other things, besides, of course, everything that has to do with
our work so we can make several times faster without many complications, at the place and
time where we are, points that are vital to the daily functioning of millions of people around the
world today, (Rahul, 2013).

Through this years, we can see how mobile phones changed along the time. Now, apart
from having the basic functions of a mobile phone, users can play, take professional
photographs, record videos, and more.
PROS AND CONS OF MOBILE PHONE.
Year Pros
1980-1989 Faster communication with family
members.
 As we know, before
telephone was created,
people use letters as a
medium of communication.
Mobile phones shorten the
time for the news to spread
among the relatives
especially regarding the
event of a death or
sickness in the family. Able
to get in touch with people
nearly 24/7.
1990- 1999 Smaller size
 By the mid 1990s, mobile
phone became as small as
practically possible. The
keypad and display limited
any more reduction in size.
Cons
A very large size.
 During this time, mobile
phones were really big
and heavy. Called
transportables or
luggables. They were so
large mainly because of
the size of the battery.
Lead to miscommunication and
mis-interpreted
 During this time, mobile
phone introduced text
via messages. You
cannot see each other’s
body language, so a lot
of non verbal
communication is lost.
This also will cause
miscommunication and
mis-interpreted.
2000 until now Easy access to the web.
 Most cell phones these
days are well built with a
component that allows
users to connect to the
internet without utilizing a
computer. People will no
longer have any difficulty
with searching for essential
data they might need.
Addiction
 Leaving the phone at
home or turning them
off would give instant
anxiety. People also
obsessed with checking
in on Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter and
other social media
networks.
REFERENCE

1) Merriam-Webster (2017). Definition of Cell Phone. [Online]. [Acecessed 08-06-2017].

Available from world wide web: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cell
%2Bphone
2) Dev Monda. (2016). History of Mobile Phones And The First Mobile Phones. [Online].
[Accessed 08-06-2017]. Available from world wide web:
https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/guides/history-of-mobile-phones/
3) Rahul Chowdhury. (2013). Evolution of Mobile Phones: 1995 – 2012. Hongkiat.
4) Douglas R. (2015). The Evolution of Mobile Phones. Ezetop Unlimited Company.
Ireland.
5) Nicholas .S. (2013). Mobile Phones Evolution. WordPress. Spain.
6) Graciela Marker. (2016). The Evolution of Mobile Phones. [Online]. [Accessed 09-06-
2017]. Available from the world wide web: http://easytechnow.com/learn-technology/the-
evolution-of-mobile-phones/
7) Ben Zigterman. (2013). How We Stopped Communicating Like Animals: 15 Ways
Phones Have Evolved. BGR Media. Los Angeles.
8) GreenGarageBlog. (2015). 18 Essential Pros and Cons of Cell Phones. [Online].
[Acessed 09-06-2017]. Available from world wide web: https://greengarageblog.org/18-
essential-pros-and-cons-of-cell-phones
9) Crammond. T. (2015). Life before smartphones: The pros and cons of being the mobile
generation. [Online]. [Accessed 09-06-2017]. Available from world wide web:
https://recombu.com/mobile/article/life-before-smartphones-the-pros-and-cons-of-
mobile-phone#
APPENDICES