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[eyecre8]

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The cellphone turned 40 on Wednesday, April 3!

In 1973, Motorola was working to create the first real-live, portable cell phone, and they were not alone. AT&T’s Bell Labs was also trying to get this technology working. Apparently both companies had a hunch that cell phones would one day be big tech. Its creator, Martin Cooper, 84, placed the first mobile phone call on the streets of New York City. Using a prototype of the world's first commercial cell phone, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x, Cooper called his chief rival, AT&T Bell Labs' Joel Engel, to personally let him know he'd beat him to the punch.

"Joel, this is Marty. I'm calling you from a cell phone, a real handheld portable cell phone."

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The call couldn't last too long — the Motorola Dynatac's battery life only squeezed out 20 minutes of talk time. The 40 years since that first historical phone call have fostered enormous mobile accomplishment. Not to mention, better value. Some of the first cellphones came with heavy price tags ($3,995, or $8,700 by today's standards). And that barbell of a brick phone has since shrunk to a few handheld ounces. The DynaTAC didn’t make it to market for another ten years and more closely resembled a giant plastic brick as opposed to what we now know as a cell phone.

“We built the phone to prove to the world that you didn't have to have a monopoly running the business,” said Cooper, “to make cellular a reality.”

Those giant handhelds were made famous by shows such as 'Saved by the Bell' and the movie 'Wall Street'. Car phones were a thing for a while, too, complete with antenna and a receiver that could physically be hung up with an actual switch.

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So, how far has the cell phone come? According to the Pew Research center, a whopping 87 percent of American adults have a cell phone. A recent study conducted for Verizon Wireless and Parenting.com has found that the average age for a first cell phone has fallen to 11.6-years-old. We've become quite dependent on them. It’s no longer a sign of status to simply own a cell phone, it’s the type of cellphone you own which lends you some street cred.

What was your first cellphone?

Here are some fun cell phone facts (Infographic courtesy of Mashable)

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[tucstwo]

Oh how I loved the Brick. My Dad had one. I was still too young for a brick. I do remember having a star-tac. I was the flippin man with that piece of tech. Things have come a LONG way.

[KaChow]

This was my first, which I broke it the second day. I think every phone manufacturer like this Ericsson, at that time wanted to do a flip style, like ^^^ tucstwo's clamshell. Moto just dominated with the flip phones.

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[eyecre8]

First three phones I had (not sure the order) all with keyboards.

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[tmyinc]

My first if I remember correctly.

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[Thach]

My first cell phone is something that I dont even remember lol. I do know that I never had my first one until 2002 after joining the military and actually needing to have a phone on me all the time. I love how far we have come with these and just tech in general. It wasn't but 2 years ago I was only able to contact my family while deployed using a land line which sucked because we were restricted on how long we could talk. Now I am sitting here in my little dorm room with my Droid razr and a couple apps which allow me to call my family over wifi for free anytime I want.

Back to the main article though, I have read a lot of news on this site but I loved this article in general. A lot of people now days are unaware of just how far we have come in the cell world. Kinda makes us older folks look REAL old lol.

[cdavid469]

my first was this one

[portscan]

My first cell, in the US was also the StarTac. I had it through Alltell. Had to be between 1998 and 2000. I was in the Army at Ft Bragg when I got it and that's when I was there. We have came a long way.. I had a cell phone in Korea in 1997, but I don't remember what it was. To look back on it, I remember having the StarTac and was afraid to use it lol. I was afraid to make a call on it. I don't remember what kind of plan I was on, but all I could think about was if I use this, I am going to get some ridiculous bill. Now it's not even a second thought to place a call on one, text or get some data flowing.