Who invented the telephone? Development of telephone communications in the twentieth century

The very first telephone in the world was invented more than a century ago. Many of us are very accustomed to modern smartphones, and communicating at a distance is now commonplace. You can call anywhere on the planet by pressing just a couple of buttons. But in the last century, in order to contact each other, people wrote letters and waited for a response for a long time.

The first telephone and its design

The basis for the design of the first apparatus for receiving and transmitting sound was membranes that control devices that create a magnetic field when an electric current passes through them. And this discovery was made in 1875 in Boston by scientists Alexander Bell and Thomas John Watson.

Means of communication existed even in the most ancient times. Signal fires, conventional signs, drums were used as devices for transmitting information, and they even imitated the sounds that animals make. Therefore, the idea of ​​​​creating an object that would allow communication at a distance has long been present in society.

In Pskov in the Middle Ages, buildings had narrow tunnels in the walls, with the help of which people transmitted messages. And in the times of Great Rome, Gallic screamers, standing in a chain, could transmit a message at a speed of up to 100 km/h, thanks to which villagers learned long ago that the enemy was approaching.

In 1789, French mechanic Claude Chappe put forward the idea of ​​​​using a chain system for transmitting warnings using special bars and signal lights. For this purpose, towers located throughout the country were used, the devices on which were visible from a great distance. The worker watched the nearest tower and changed the position of the bar accordingly, thus transmitting the signal further.

American Page was the first to decide to use electricity as a means of transmitting information. This idea was later developed by the scientist from Friedrichsdorf, Phillip Reis, and the American inventor of Scottish origin, Alexander Bell, and his student Thomas Watson.

Bell patents the telephone in the United States on February 14, 1876, and on March 10, the first transmission of information takes place through it.

Invention of the first electric telephone

The principle of operation of an electric telephone was outlined in his qualifying work for the award of an academic degree and master's qualification by mechanical engineer Charles Bourcel; it was he who first used the term “telephone”. His work on the idea of ​​transmitting information was based on the properties of electricity, but the scientist was never lucky enough to bring his discovery to life.

In 1860, in the USA, the Italian inventor-engineer Antonio Meucci, based on his research, created a device with which signals could be transmitted through wires, calling it a telectrophon. Western Union took advantage of the poverty of a little-known Italian. Having promised to help in filing a patent, the company bought all the drawings of the device. But after the transaction was completed, the company happily left the inventor “without his nose.” Meucci's telephony patent was denied.

Bell Graham declared himself the creator of the telephone and in 1876 issued a document certifying exclusive authorship. After a year of court hearings, Meucci was awarded primacy in creating the device. However, by that time his patent application was no longer valid. Western Union continued to produce telephones, and Meucci died without getting rich.

In the telephone, which was patented by the American scientist Bell, there was no bell, and communication was established using a whistle. Bell also believed that using the telephone one could establish contact with the afterlife.

The first mobile phone model

The first portable telephone was invented in 1973. It was heavy, large and very different from modern models. Battery life was not long because the phone only ran on one battery. But the price for such phones was prohibitively high, and not everyone could afford this device.

Martin Cooper - inventor of the cell phone

Despite the fact that all leading companies were simultaneously working on the creation of a mobile phone, Martin Cooper was the first to release this invention to the masses. Externally, the device looked more like a portable payphone. The phone was in the backpack, behind the back, and consisted of a power source, handset and wire.

The first telephones

After the release of the phone, which was created by Martin Cooper, a dozen different types and models were released around the world, but they were still bulky and inconvenient. The first model familiar to us was assembled by MOTOROLA. Its weight was approximately 1 kilogram, and its working time was more than 8 hours in total.

DynaTAC8000x is the first commercial mobile device for transmitting and receiving audio over a distance. MOTOROLA's costs for the development of this device amounted to more than one hundred million US dollars. This model cost 4 thousand dollars and weighed about 800 grams, in addition, the phone could remember up to 30 different numbers of other phones. However, it took up to 10 hours to charge, and the battery only lasted for 60 minutes of talk time.

The next model, Motorola Micro TAC, released in 1989, already cost 3 thousand dollars, and was the smallest phone in the world. Three years later, the company also released a miniature device, the size of which did not exceed the size of a palm. A little later, the Finnish company NOKIA released the first model of a mass-produced GSM phone - NOKIA 1011.

In 1993, BellSouth/IBM released the first communicator phone that allowed you to interact with a computer. And in 1996, MOTOROLA released a clamshell phone, it was the first model of this type, which was later nicknamed the “frog”.

At the moment, phones are very different from the first models. Nowadays, phones are not only high-tech devices, but also fashion accessories. The famous Apple iPhone 4 DiamondRoseEdition costs about $8 million. However, there are phones that cost more than $10 million.

The telephone is an important invention that allowed people to have voice communications over long distances. There are different people behind this invention, they all made a certain contribution, but the main one among them can be considered the one who managed to register the patent. So who invented the telephone?

Inventor of the telephone

The person who was able to officially patent the invented device turned out to be Scottish professor Alexander Graham Bell. He had several predecessors. It is assumed that the French mechanic Charles Bourcel was the first to attempt to transmit sound information, but he failed to bring his idea to life.

The German physics teacher Philipp Reis was almost able to invent the telephone; his device even transmitted individual speech sounds. He was unable to create a full-fledged device, but this specialist managed to get into the history of telephony.

As for Alexander Bell, he tried to develop a harmonic telegraph. Bell's device was based on seven pairs of bendable metal plates, each tuned to a different frequency. Mechanic Tom Watson helped him.

They were in different rooms, Bell adjusted the receiving plates until he caught the sound coming through the wire. The electric current coming to the line changed in accordance with the air vibrations provoked by Watson.

Patent application

For several more months the inventor tried to improve his brainchild. The patent application was filed on February 14, 1876. The Bell apparatus included the following components:

• cylindrical wooden body
• a bar magnet with a winding coil that was connected to a telephone circuit
• metal membrane
• megaphone

The latter was intended to concentrate air vibrations during speech transmission. The specificity of Bell's device was such that it had to be applied alternately to the ear and mouth.

Other inventors

A similar thing was designed by Antonio Meucci, an Italian inventor who filed a provisional patent application in 1871. But then he was injured in an accident, which explained the fact that he never managed to finally patent the phone. But he sued Bell, having certain grounds for this.

The fact is that several years before Alexander patented his device, the Italian sent drawings of his phone to the Western Union laboratory. By a curious coincidence, Bell was working there at that moment. The sent documents have disappeared. The court at that time refused Meucci, but in 2004 the Americans still recognized the latter’s merits in creating the phone.

Another talented person who had a hand in modernizing this device was Thomas Edison. He saved the device from the need to alternately put the tube to one ear and then to the other by adding a microphone with carbon powder to the tube. Its development had a significant impact on the subsequent development of communications.

Who invented the mobile phone?

Cellular communications and the mobile phone were invented and patented by an American, Dr. Martin Cooper, who worked at Motorola. He made his first cell phone call in New York in 1973. On the third of April he called from a city street and was proud of his invention. In offline mode, his mobile phone could only last half an hour, but a start had been made, now the cell phone market is huge, and everyone has at least a simple model.

In the Soviet Union, any American inventions were met with hostility, and this was no exception; information surfaced about a citizen of the USSR who created a cell phone even earlier. A photo of Leonid Kupriyanovich was published in the popular science magazine “Science and Life”; he was the man who called on a mobile phone 15 years before the American.

Little was known about his personality; the press called the inventor a simple radio amateur. It is noteworthy that Kupriyanovich had a car in the early 60s. Why its development in the USSR was not given due attention remains a mystery. According to the inventor's calculations, the cost of the phone should have been about 300 Soviet rubles. He gave interviews to various magazines, but in 1960 information about the further fate of the development ceased to be published. Kupriyanovich does not disappear, but continues to write interviews and articles about his other inventions.

What happened to the “radiophone” of the Soviet inventor, as well as why the idea was discarded, remains unknown to this day. Therefore, the official creator of cellular phones is Martin Cooper, who, using connections at his work, was able to attract public attention. Several decades passed before the mass distribution of such devices, but now they are present in every pocket.

We cannot imagine modern life without the use of a cell phone; it has become an integral part of it. But just ten years ago, not everyone could afford to buy a cell phone; it was mostly considered a luxury item.

Currently, the mobile technology industry is developing dynamically, with more and more new models being created every year. However, the real revolution in this was the one that gained wide popularity among users and practically replaced the usual “push-button” ones from sales.

Creator of the first touch phone

Few people know this, but in fact the first one was invented in 1993 by the IBM Corporation, which devoted most of its activities to the creation of computer equipment.

This company was created back in 1896 by engineer Herman Hollerith. Initially, it had the name Tabulating Machine Company and was engaged in the production of tabulating and analytical machines. In 1911, TMS merged with Charles Flint's companies - International Time Recording Company and Computing Scale Corporation. As a result of this process, the Computing Tabulating Recording (CTR) corporation was formed. In 1917, CTR entered the Canadian markets under the International Business Machines (IBM) brand, and in 1924 the American division changed its name.

It turned out that that same record began to play the role of a membrane that reacts to the sound of the voice. There was a magnet underneath, and the vibrations of the membrane affected the magnetic flux, causing the current in the line to change in rhythm with the vibrations. On the other end of the line the effect was reversed, and Bell heard the voice of his assistant.

For a year he worked on improving the device and in 1986 demonstrated it at an exhibition. Strictly speaking, the telephone has not changed since then: sensitive membranes still convert human speech into speech, which is transmitted through the wires, and at the other end turns them back into sounds.

Only in 2002 did the US Congress recognize that the real inventor of the telephone should be considered the Italian emigrant Antonio Meucci, who back in 1860 published a note in the press about the invention of a device capable of transmitting speech over wires. He filed an application for his patent in 1871, that is, 5 years earlier than Bell, but due to confusion with documents and a conflict with the Western Union company, he was able to defend his claim for the invention of the device only in 1887, when the patent had already expired.

Moreover, the United States admits that Bell also borrowed the main idea, since his work was carried out under the auspices of Western Union. However, in 1889, Meucci died, and in 1893, Alexander Bell’s patent expired, so further clarification was only of historical significance.

Video on the topic

Choosing a phone is a responsible process that requires a certain approach. You need to be very careful when choosing a phone, because it is unlikely that you can change it every week.

Phones

Today on the store counter you can see various phone models that differ from each other not only in color and functions, but also in the presence or absence of buttons. At the moment, the majority of phones on the market are touchscreen models, but push-button models are also quite sufficient. In this regard, you can often hear the dilemma - which phone to choose, touch or push-button?

Phone selection

The final choice must be made based on many different nuances. First of all, you need to understand whether you can live with the new screen and also work well with it. Of course, almost every person has a fear of the new and, first of all, this is due to natural instincts. For the older generation, it is better to choose push-button phones, since working with them is much easier (calls and SMS can be sent by simply pressing buttons), while a touchscreen phone still needs to be sorted out.

The second reason is directly related to the button itself, because it does not always work well, while the buttons always work as they should. Today there are two types of sensors: resistive and capacitive screens. Resistive sensors respond to any pressure. The first touchscreen phones had just such a screen. It is worth noting that such a screen had two films. When you clicked on the top one, a certain signal was sent, which was eventually read by the program. This kind of film was often scratched and dirty, because sometimes you had to press very hard on the screen. As a result, the phone lost its original appearance. The new generation of phones has a capacitive screen that reacts exclusively to current conductors (fingers, styluses, etc.). This type of touchscreen is fairly easy to use (you don't have to press hard with your fingers to get the phone to respond), but you need to be aware that these screens have thin glass that can break.

The following reason for choice follows from the latter. A person may drop a touchscreen phone. If its screen breaks, the phone will be impossible to use, which means that such phones must be treated very carefully. Push-button phones, for the most part, retain their own functions when the screen breaks, and if you need to call such a phone with a broken screen, this can be done simply by pressing the buttons.

The last thing is the inconvenience of using touch phones for people with large fingers. Most often, the touch screen is pre-programmed for a certain size of icons that cannot be changed (unless you reflash or use other special software), and if these icons are small, you can press other icons at the same time, which causes additional inconvenience.

The history of the mobile phone

Back in the middle of the 20th century. the option of making calls using a portable communication device was proposed. In 1963, Soviet engineer L. Kupriyanovich developed the first experimental model of a cell phone. However, this model weighed about 3 kg and came with a special portable base. This option required major revision.

The idea of ​​using a communication device in a car came from Bell Laboratories. And at the same time, Motorola specialists were also considering the option of a compact portable communication device. At that time, this company was already successfully producing portable radio stations.

The man who created the first portable mobile phone

It is worth noting that the first inventor of the mobile phone was Martin Cooper, who was the head of the communications department at Motorola. At first, everyone around this talented inventor was skeptical about this option for a means of communication.

In April 1973, Martin Cooper used his invention to call the boss of Bell Laboratories from the streets of Manhattan. This was the first call in the history of a mobile phone. It should be noted that the choice of subscriber for Cooper was not accidental. At that time, both companies tried to be the first to create a communication device. Cooper and his team were first.

Only in 1983, after much development, was an approximate version of a modern telephone presented to the public. This model was called DynaTAC 8000X, its price was almost $4,000. Nevertheless, there was a huge number of people who wanted to buy a new device, they even signed up for the purchase of the device.

What did the very first mobile phone look like?

It is worth considering the appearance of the first portable communication device, which was significantly different from today's devices:

The length of the tube was about 10 cm, and a fairly long antenna protruded from it;
- instead of the now familiar display, the phone had large buttons for dialing the subscriber’s number;
- the weight of the first cell phone was approximately 1 kg, dimensions: 22.5x12.5x3.75 cm;
- the telephone was intended only for making calls;
- in talk mode the battery worked for 45 minutes - 1 hour, and in quiet mode - up to 4-6 hours;
- it took about 7-9 hours to charge the first mobile phone.

With the advent of the first telegraph in 1837, which gave the world the ability to transmit information over a distance, people's lives changed radically. But the appearance of the first telephone, with the help of which remote sound transmission was realized, became a real sensation.

Today, no one can even imagine themselves without a personal mobile phone. Technologies do not stand still; the telephone market is constantly expanding and presents consumers with new, improved models every year. But let's remember how it all began, who invented the first telephone, how mobile phones appeared, and what is the success of modern Apple models.

Creating your first phone

The first telephone was introduced in 1876 in the United States of America, and the creator who patented his invention was. Initially, Bell's telephone worked at a distance of 200 meters, but the scientist did not stop working and improving his invention, and a year later the telephone underwent such modernization that it remained unchanged for another 100 years.

The creation of the telephone itself was not planned by Bell. The goal facing the scientist was to improve the telegraph - he tried to achieve the transmission of 5 telegrams at the same time. In the process of work, records with different frequencies were created, one of which once failed. Bell's partner became angry and started cursing. And Bell, who was at the receiving apparatus at that time, unexpectedly heard the distant voice of his own partner. From this moment the history of the creation of the first telephone begins.

The “telephone” patent obtained by Bell is considered one of the most profitable both in the United States and in the world. It brought wealth and worldwide recognition to the creator, and the name of Alexander Graham Bell went down in history forever.

First mobile phone

The idea of ​​​​creating mobile phones appeared in the middle of the 20th century, and again in the United States of America.

In 1947, Bell Laboratories put forward a proposal to create a mobile phone. True, by this they meant a device that would be built into a car, since the weight of the phone was 30-40 kg without a power source. Only in the 70s was it possible to reduce the weight of phones to 14 kg, but the power supply was still located in the car.

Until 1972, Motorola had nothing to do with cell phones; the company's main goal was to create portable radios. Everything changed thanks to a simple company employee, Martin Cooper, who at one random moment came to the conclusion that it was possible to create an oversized cell phone. Having shared this discovery with his colleagues, he began development, which continued for a year.

In 1973, Dyna-Tac was ready. It was a small-sized cell phone by those standards, weighing 1.15 kg and measuring 22.5 * 12.5 * 3.75 cm. It had 10 numeric keys, a call and end call button. The phone had no display. The battery lasted 35 minutes of continuous conversation, but after that it took 10 hours to charge the phone.

To implement the invention, all that remained was to test it in practice. It happened on April 3, 1973 in New York. The first “training” station was installed on the roof of a 50-story building and Martin Cooper personally conducted the experiment by dialing the head of Bell Laboratories and talking to him on a cell phone. It was a triumph, which became the first step in the rapid development and improvement of “handheld” mobile phones.

The emergence of touch phones

This may seem surprising, but the first touchscreen phone was not widely used by users, and the company that created it even refused to continue working in the field of mobile devices.

This happened in 1993. IBM Corporation, specializing in the production of computer equipment, introduced the world's first touchscreen mobile phone, calling it “IBM Simon”. At that time, it represented the maximum in terms of possible characteristics, weighed 0.5 kg, and most of the operations on the display were actually performed with your fingers.

The phone's battery was designed for 1 hour of continuous talk time or 8 hours of standby time. Its RAM was 1 MB, and the developers also provided for receiving e-mail and faxes on the phone.

However, as we have already noted, IBM Simon was not distributed. Firstly, this was due to the inflated price of the phone – $1100. Secondly, the device was unreliable and often needed expensive repairs. As a result, the development company simply liquidated itself from the mobile phone production market.

Apple in the life of a person of the 21st century

Today, Apple products are not only compact devices, the quality of which is noted all over the world, but also the most fashionable brand of the 21st century. People literally cannot imagine their life without an “apple,” and the start of sales of a new company product is always a great success.

It's hard to imagine, but the first iPhone was released 10 years ago. True, the creation of famous smartphones began back in 2002 - by the founder of Apple.

His main idea was to create a device that would meet the needs of consumers: stylish design, built-in player and mini-computer, as well as high power of the phone. But the first iPhone did not live up to the expectations of even Jobs himself; the smartphone lacked power, but the main disadvantage was the low speed of the Internet connection. Therefore, the first iPhone model did not receive mass distribution.

Work on upgrading the product continued, and a year later a new model was introduced - the iPhone 3G. The problem with Internet speed in this model was almost solved, the design was also modernized, and the operating memory was replaced. The success of this model was confirmed by information received from sales: more than 70 countries were interested in the new product.

Afterwards, the iPhone 3G S was released, billed as high-speed. New features have appeared, such as voice control and encryption of personal information. Like the previous model, the new iPhone quickly filled the markets and was sold out.

Today, Apple smartphones are sold with great success in more than 80 countries around the world. iPhones have moved from an affordable smartphone to the “above-average” category, since the cost of even old models rarely falls below 25,000 rubles, and new items cost 130-150 thousand rubles from the start of sales.

• People might consider the inventor of the telephone not Alexander Bell, but Antonio Meucci, who also developed the telephone, but refused to patent his invention for $10, and Bell took advantage of this.
• Today, Nokia is developing a method that will make it possible to recharge a phone using radio waves.
• The first telephone did not have a bell; instead, it used a whistle.
• Waterproof phone models are popular in Japan, as the Japanese even use them in the shower.

• Antarctica also has its own telephone code, starting with +682.
• 150 million mobile phones are sent to landfill every year because they were replaced with an improved device, not because the phone was faulty.

The invention of the telephone and its upgrading to a mobile phone is, of course, a breakthrough for science and an extremely important discovery for humans. Now everyone, regardless of distance, feels close to friends and family, talking with them every day.

Also, modern phones provide instant access to necessary information 24 hours a day. The main thing is to correctly use the achievements of the 21st century and not stop there, because new requests from people lead to world discoveries, being a “push” and a call for development.

A person constantly needs communication. For information exchange and just for fun. And it’s not enough for him to communicate with the people who are nearby. There will always be something to say even to those who are on the next street, in another city or overseas. It has always been this way. But it was only at the end of the nineteenth century that we had such an opportunity. In this article we will trace the history of the appearance of the telephone, find out who invented the telephone and what difficulties scientists faced.

Over the years, there have been a variety of ways to transmit information. Our ancestors sent letters with messengers and carrier pigeons, burned bonfires, and used the services of heralds.

In the 16th century, the Italian Giovanni della Porta invented a system of speaking pipes, which were supposed to “permeate” the whole of Italy. This fantastic idea was not brought to life.

In 1837, American inventor Samuel Morse created the electric telegraph and developed the telegraph alphabet, which was called " Morse code».

In the 1850s, an unexpected discovery was made by Italian Antonio Meucci, living in New York. Convinced of the positive effects of electricity on human health, he assembled a generator and opened a private medical practice. One day, after connecting the wires to the patient’s lips, Meucci went into the back room to turn on the generator. Once the device is working, the doctor heard the patient scream. It was so loud and clear, as if the poor fellow was nearby.

Meucci began experimenting with the generator, and by the beginning of the 70s, the drawings of the device were already ready. telephony" In 1871, the inventor tried to register his brainchild, but something prevented him. Either the Italian did not have enough money for the registration procedure at the patent office, or the papers were lost during shipment, or perhaps they were stolen.

Who first invented the telephone and in what year

In 1861, German scientist Philip Rice came up with a device that could transmit all kinds of sounds via cable. This was the first telephone. (It’s worth familiarizing yourself with that and its history of creation) Rice failed to register a patent for his invention, so he did not become as widely known as the American Alexander Bell.

On 02/14/1876 Bell took the application to the Patent Office in Washington to patent “ A telegraph device that can transmit human speech" Two hours later, Elisha Gray, an electrical engineering major, showed up. Gray's invention was called "A Device for Transmitting and Receiving Vocal Sounds by Telegraph." He was denied a patent.

This device consisted of a wooden stand, an ear tube, a battery (a vessel with acid) and wires. The inventor himself called it a gallows.

The first words spoken on the phone were: “Watson, this is Bell speaking!” If you can hear me, go to the window and wave your hat.”

In 1878, a series of trials against Alexander Bell began in America. About thirty people tried to take away his inventor's laurels. Six claims were dismissed outright. The claims of the remaining inventors were divided into 11 points and considered separately. On eight of these points, Bell's superiority was recognized; on the other three, the inventors Edison and McDonough won the case. Gray did not win a single case. Although a study of Bell's diaries and documents filed by Gray with the Patent Office many years later showed that the author of the invention is Gray.

Development and improvement of the phone

Thomas Edison took charge of the further fate of Bell's invention. In 1878, he made some changes to the structure of the telephone: he introduced a carbon microphone and an induction coil into the circuit. Thanks to this modernization, the distance between interlocutors could be significantly increased.

That same year, the first telephone exchange in history began operating in the small American town of New Chaven.

And in 1887 in Russia, the inventor K. A. Mossitsky created a self-acting switch - the prototype of automatic telephone exchanges.

Who invented the mobile (cellular) telephone

It is generally accepted that the birthplace of the mobile phone is the USA. But first mobile phone The device appeared in the Soviet Union. On November 4, 1957, radio engineer Leonid Kupriyanovich received a patent for “ Device for calling and switching radiotelephone communication channels" His radiotelephone could transmit audio signals to the base station at a distance of up to 25 kilometers. The device was a box with a dial dial, two toggle switches and a handset. It weighed half a kilo and worked for up to 30 hours in standby mode.

The idea of ​​​​creating cellular telephone communications appeared back in 1946 at the American company AT&T Bell Labs. The company was engaged in the rental of car radios.

In parallel with AT&T Bell Labs, Motorola also conducted research. For about ten years, each of these companies sought to get ahead of the competition. Motorola won.

In April 1973, one of the employees of this company, engineer Martin Cooper, “shared his joy” with colleagues from a competing company. He called the AT&T Bell Labs office, invited the head of the research department, Joel Engel, to the phone and said that he was currently on one of the streets of New York and talking on the world's first mobile phone. Cooper then went to a press conference dedicated to the miracle of technology that he held in his hands.

Motorola's "firstborn" was named Motorola DynaTAC 8000X. It weighed about a kilogram and reached 25 cm in height.. The phone could work in talk mode for about 30 minutes, and was charged for about 10 hours. And ten years later, in 1983, it finally went on sale. The new car cost a lot of money - $3500 - a little cheaper than a brand new car. But even despite this, there were plenty of potential buyers.

In 1992, Motorola released a mobile phone that could fit in the palm of your hand.

At the same time, the Finnish company Nokia introduced the first mass-produced GSM phone, Nokia 1011.

In 1993, thanks to BellSouth / IBM, the first communicator appeared - a telephone connected to a PDA.

And 1996 is the year the first flip phone was created. This is the merit of the same Motorola.

At this time, Nokia pleased the world with the first smartphone with an Intel 386 processor and a full QWERTY keyboard - Nokia 9000.

The average person makes almost one and a half thousand phone calls a year.

Who invented the touch phone

The great-grandfather of the famous iPhone is considered to be IBM Simon, released in 1994. It was the world's first touchphone. “Simon” cost a lot - $1090. But it was no longer just a phone. It combined the qualities of a telephone and a computer, and it could also be used as a pager or fax. It was equipped with a calculator, calendar, notepad, task list, a couple of games and even an email agent.

The device had a monochrome display with a resolution of 160×293 pixels and a diagonal of 4.7 inches. Instead of the usual keys, a virtual keyboard has appeared. The battery lasted for an hour of talk time or 12 hours of standby time.

The too high price did not allow the model to become popular among users, but it was “Simon” went down in history as the first touchphone.

In 2000, the world saw the first telephone, officially called a smartphone— Ericsson R380. The R380's touchscreen was hidden under a hinged cover with regular buttons. The screen was monochrome, with a diagonal of 3.5 inches and a resolution of 120x360.

The smartphone was based on the new Symbian OS for mobile devices. The R380 supported WAP, a browser, notepad, email client, and games were installed.

In 2007, IBM released the first phone whose sensor responded to the touch of a finger rather than a stylus. It was LG KE850 Prada. This model is also remembered for its unusual design and wide functionality.

In the same year, Apple introduced its famous iPhone to the general public.