In which country was the first mobile phone made? The history of the first telephones in the world. Ancient ways to “call”

One could only dream about this then. However, progress has taken its toll. It took a little over 60 years for the device, which appeared in the middle of the last century, to acquire the appearance familiar to us today. Let's consider a short history the emergence and development of the mobile cell phone, as well as cellular communications in general.

Go…

Back in 1947, Bell Laboratories (USA) officially came up with a proposal to create a mobile phone. This date can be considered a starting point. It was then that active work on creating a new device officially began.

However, the first mobile phone was not destined to appear within the walls of Bell Laboratories. The first prototype of a mobile cell phone was created by the American by Motorola. This happened in 1973. The creator of the device was engineer Martin Cooper. The weight of the first cell phone was about 1 kg, dimensions: 22.5x12.5x3.75 cm. The device did not have a display. The phone's battery allowed it to operate in standby mode for up to 8 hours, and in talk mode for up to one hour. It took quite a long time to charge the phone (about 10 hours). In 1984, a working model of the DynaTAC 8000X cell phone went on sale. The price of the new product was $3,995. However, despite this, thousands of people who wanted to purchase a new device signed up to buy the device!

In the USSR, the first experimental sample of a cell phone was created in 1957; it weighed as much as 3 kg! Moreover, the device was also accompanied by a base station, which was connected to the City telephone network(GTS). However, a year later the weight of the device was reduced to 0.5 kg.

The first cellular operator in the USSR appeared in 1991. The price of the phone, which was then offered by Delta Telecom, was $4,000, including connection. The device weighed about 3 kg. A minute of conversation cost $1. Moreover, in the period from 1991 to 1995, the number of subscribers of the company reached 10,000 people. In the Russian Federation, the first cellular operator operating using GSM technology, which is familiar today, appeared in 1994.

The number of cellular subscribers has been constantly and steadily growing. In 2009, about 190 million subscribers were registered in Russia. Of course, this number in our country, as well as throughout the world, continues to grow today.

There is no limit to perfection

The cell phone has been constantly improved since its inception. In 1993, the world's first cell phone with a built-in clock was released. Three years later, the German company Siemens began producing devices with a voice recorder and a color display. True, there were only three colors on such displays. In 2000, devices with a built-in camera went on sale. This happened in Japan. Around the same time, phones with a built-in mp3 player went on sale. In 2001, support for the Java platform appeared in cell phones. This made it possible to install many various applications. Among them the most famous service exchange instant messages– ICQ. The first mobile phone supporting Bluetooth technology was released by Ericsson in 2002. This technology made it possible to exchange various data between phones at a certain radio frequency (wireless). In this case, the phones should be located fairly close to each other. Depending on interference and obstacles, the range of Bluetooth is from 10 to 100 m. At the same time, a phone supporting EDGE technology appeared. It allowed you to access the Internet using your phone. And do this at a fairly high speed. The development of EDGE has pushed the earlier WAP technology into the background. The latter allows you to access the Internet at lower speeds. At the same time, you need to pay for the time spent on the network, and not for the amount of information viewed. Implementation EDGE technologies– thanks to the Finnish company Nokia.

It would take a long time to list all the new functions that appear in the process of improving cell phones. The improvement process continues today. While you are reading this article, another unique device is already being created in the world. For example, a phone that can type input text using only thoughts (“read” your thoughts and turn them into text). By the time such a device is released, it will be useful to know and understand the basic functions of mobile phones that already exist. Let's move on to consider them.

25 main functions

So, let's look at the most common features of modern mobile phones.

Phonebook . This function for any mobile phone – a necessary and mandatory thing. Available in all modern devices. Allows each phone number to have its own unique name. For example, 8-888-888-88-88 – Ivan Petrov. Contacts can be saved in the phone's memory, an additional memory card, or a SIM card. Concepts such as “memory card” and “sim card” are discussed in paragraphs 15 and 19, respectively.

More advanced devices have the ability to save many useful information for each contact (email address, home and work phone numbers, place of work, home address etc.). In this case, the phone functions as a full-fledged address book.

Call log . The function is extremely useful. Makes it easy to see where and when you called (or were called). Also, using the call log, you can see the duration of any of your calls. Today this function is present in every cell phone.

SMS (Short Message Service) short messages) . The same absolutely mandatory service today as the previous two. Allows you to send and receive short text messages in cellular networks. Today this feature is present even in the cheapest models.

MMS (Multimedia Message Service - multimedia message service). This function allows you to send and receive multimedia messages(video, audio, pictures) from one phone to another. It should be noted that the size of the transmitted content is quite limited. Most cellular operators in Russia and the CIS allow you to transfer up to 300 KB of information in one MMS message. Today, the largest cellular operators allow you to send SMS and MMS from their websites for free. You only need to pay for Internet services.

Watch . Today it is perhaps impossible to meet cellular telephone devoid of this function. Although, of course, if you want, everything is possible. After all, phones come in every taste and color. A clock is a useful, simple, necessary function. At the same time, no one forbids you to wear your favorite wristwatch.

Stopwatch . What it allows you to do is clear from the name. Stopwatches in modern phones have quite high accuracy. The function is useful for athletes. May be useful for students during laboratory work.

Timer . The opposite of a stopwatch. Allows you to count down time “backward”, do a countdown. You select a time interval and turn on the timer. At the end of this segment, the timer starts specific signal(sound, vibration).

Alarm . This function can be used instead of a regular stationary alarm clock. Or as another, safety alarm clock. A very convenient thing. Especially when you are visiting and you need to wake up early in the morning.

Calendar . Useful feature. Often you don’t have an ordinary calendar at hand at the right time. And you need to look at what day of the week it will be, for example, April 10. Pair quick presses- and you know. Very comfortably.

Calculator . Most often, phones have a simple (non-engineering) calculator installed. It is suitable for some quick simple calculations. When you need to add, subtract, divide, multiply or take a percentage. Having this feature can be really useful. After all regular calculator it is not always where it is needed now. Today this function is present in almost any mobile phone.

Converter . Allows you to convert various quantities (units of volume, area, length, etc.) from one measurement system to another. This also includes the ability to convert one currency into another at a rate known to you.

Radio . Allows you to listen to publicly available radio stations operating on FM frequencies absolutely free of charge. Required function for those who want to constantly stay up to date with events. Who likes to listen to news and favorite programs on the radio.

Flashlight . It will be very useful when you don’t have a regular flashlight at hand. And you will definitely need to highlight something somewhere. You can, of course, highlight it with a bright switched-on display. But a flashlight in this case is much better. Shines brighter, white light. Moreover, unlike the display, it shines pointwise, and not “smeared”.

Photo, video camera . A most useful feature. Present in most modern mobile phones. Sometimes you don’t have a camera or video camera at hand, but you urgently need to capture something. Even if not in the best quality. Although one can argue about the quality. There are phones that focus on ample opportunities cameras. Such devices allow you to obtain photos and videos of very decent quality. Such phones are called camera phones. An example of a camera phone is . It is equipped with an 8 million pixel camera. with LED flash; maximum photo resolution 3264x2448 pixels.

Memory card support . In cell phones, various information (your contacts, audio, video files, photos) can be stored in the memory of the device itself. However, most often the amount of this memory is very limited. Although there are devices with fairly decent own memory. To expand memory, phones are usually equipped with connectors (“slots”) for special cards memory (flash cards or “flash drives”). There are different types of memory cards. Today, the most common slots in mobile phones are microSD and microSDHC flash cards. The former allow you to store up to 4 GB of information, the latter – up to 32 GB.

MP3 player . For music lovers, this function is simply irreplaceable. Allows you to listen to audio files available on the phone (or on the inserted memory card). Moreover, the most advanced phone models in this regard reproduce sound not only in mp3 format. They support AAC, WMA, WAV and some other formats. Devices in which the main emphasis is placed on increased quality of reproduced sound are called “musicphones” ( music phones). An example of such a phone is .

Dictaphone . Useful feature. Imagine: you need to record it, but you don’t have time to write it down. Or just lazy. It’s much easier and faster to click the “record” button and save the desired audio file. It is very convenient to record some kind of conversation or conversation. This function will be useful for musicians. You never know where inspiration will come to them. I turned on the recorder and recorded the music I had composed, a vocal part or a song. Fast, simple, convenient.

Internet . Majority modern phones allow you to go out global network. Today there are four main options to get online. These are WAP, GPRS, Wi-Fi and 3G. We will not dwell on each of them in detail. This is a separate big conversation. Note that the most popular in Russia today is GPRS. Although this is not the most quick option Internet access. WAP technology in the form in which it exists today is not promising. Too expensive and slow. Moreover, you need to pay not for the amount of information viewed (as in the case of GPRS), but for the time spent on the network. There will definitely be no Wi-Fi unnecessary function in your device. It allows you to work on the Internet with high speed. However, for Wi-Fi to work, special access points, so-called hotspots, are required. They are paid and free. The latter are most often found in various in public places. Where there is a constant crowd of people (cinemas, bars, cafes, etc.). It should be noted that their number in all major cities of Russia is growing. 3G is a technology for high-speed mobile Internet access, the so-called third generation mobile communications. Based on the definition, it is clear that the data transfer speed is even higher than in the case of Wi-Fi. This service in the Russian Federation is under development. Moreover, this development is proceeding at a fairly rapid pace. It is quite possible that the 3G feature will soon become very popular among mobile phone users in our country.

“Multi-SIM” . This term refers to the ability of the device to simultaneously work with two or more active SIM cards.

Each operator mobile communications For one purchased phone number, it gives you its own SIM card. In this case, you yourself choose the tariff at which you will pay for your mobile communications in the future. Of course, each operator has its own conditions (communication prices), its own set of tariffs. It changes periodically. A clear question arises: what is actually good about the function in question? What’s good about it is that it allows you to simultaneously be in touch on two or even three different phone numbers. After all, today there are phones that support three active SIM cards at once. In this case, the numbers can refer to both to various operators cellular communications, and to one. Accordingly, you get the opportunity to “play” with tariff plans. You can choose the most profitable communication option. And in this case, it is enough to have just one turned on mobile phone with you. An example of a phone with two active SIM cards is.

Java support . This feature allows you to install various games and applications on the Java platform on your phone. For those who like to communicate via instant exchange service ICQ messages- a mandatory thing. Moreover, “Asya” allows you to communicate many times cheaper than the SMS short message service. For those who like to play all kinds of races, shooters, mini-quests, etc. on their phone, without java support also indispensable.

Possibility of connecting to a PC (data cable) . Allows you to carry various files from your mobile phone to your computer and vice versa. Today, phone manufacturers release special programs for their devices. These programs allow you to do many useful things with your phone. They are installed on your computer. Then connect your phone to your PC (using special cable). Now you get the opportunity, for example, to create backups data from mobile. In addition to this, there are a number of other interesting opportunities. The function is definitely the most useful.

IR port. Infrared port . The technology allows you to transfer data from one device to another. This happens through infrared light waves. Today this technology is almost completely replaced by other, more advanced ones (Bluetooth and Wi-Fi).

Bluetooth . This technology allows you to exchange various information between mobile phones, PCs and other devices on a specific radio frequency. You should know that for such an exchange, the distance between devices should not exceed 10-100 meters (it depends on various interferences and obstacles). Enough convenient feature. Available on most modern mobile phones.

TV tuner . TV on the screen of your mobile phone. In Russia today this function is poorly developed. The reason is the high cost of receiving a high-quality signal. However, in the world of mobile communications, nothing stands still. It is quite possible that in the near future the situation will change. And with the development of new technologies, we will watch television programs on the screens of our phones. Example similar phone – .

GPS . Satellite navigation system. Allows you to determine your location at any point with sufficient accuracy (error 1-2 m) globe. A mobile phone that has this function and is equipped special program, turns into a navigator. A useful feature for traveling and long trips.

Form factor (shape)

So, we looked at 25 main functions of modern mobile phones. But they did not touch upon such an important point as the shape of the device. It is also often called form factor. Based on their shape, phones are divided into:

Classic monoblock . This is a monolithic device that has no moving parts. Sometimes such a device is called a “brick” or “brick”. A monoblock is, for example, .

"Folding bed" ("book") . The body of the device is foldable. Consists of two parts. Reminds me of a folding notepad. Example – .

Slider . The device consists of two parts that move relative to each other. Such a device is, for example, .

Rotator . The phone contains a mechanism that rotates along its axis. An example can be given.

Bracelet . Such a device is worn like a watch on the wrist. An example of such a phone is .

There are phones with other form factors (dual slider, side slider, horizontal clamshell), etc. However, it is the options mentioned above that are most widespread today.

PDA, smartphone or “just a phone” – what’s the difference?

Modern phones are divided into “just phones”, smartphones and communicators (PDA - pocket laptop computers). Fundamental difference“just phones” from PDAs and smartphones is that the latter two have a full-fledged operating system ( Windows Mobile, Symbian OS, Android, etc.). It allows you to install on these devices various programs, expanding the functionality of devices. These could be packages office programs, electronic translators, audio and video players, etc. It should be noted that there is no clear division between PDAs and smartphones today. Sometimes these two terms do not separate at all. However, there is an opinion according to which communicators should include devices with full operating system And touch screen. With this classification, it turns out that a smartphone is a PDA with a regular, non-touch screen. There is a device that can easily be classified as a communicator, however, it is positioned by the manufacturer as a completely separate device. This is the famous one from Apple.

This company traditionally positions its products in the market this way. Sets them apart from the crowd similar devices. At the same time, he gives them sonorous names starting with the English letter “i”.

Weight, dimensions and battery capacity

It’s impossible not to mention three following characteristics any mobile phone: weight, dimensions and battery capacity. Most modern mobile phones weigh no more than 100 g. Heavy weight(above 100 g) PDAs and smartphones usually differ. Also, “increased” weight is typical for “fashion” phones. The reason is that their design uses different additional elements decorations. For example, gold or special sapphire glass. The most famous company, engaged in the production of expensive “fashion” phones, is Vertu.

The dimensions of mobile phones vary greatly. Of course, smartphones and PDAs will be larger than ordinary mobile phones. There are special “women's” or “ladies'” phones. They are not different large sizes allowing them to fit comfortably in your hand.

An important indicator is the battery capacity. The higher it is, the better. The device will need to be charged less often. The increased weight of smartphones and PDAs is often caused by the large size of the required battery. However, here it is better to pay attention not to the battery capacity, but to the operating time of the phone declared by the manufacturer. Moreover, there are two operating modes: talk mode and standby mode. It is clear that a phone with a large screen and high resolution A fairly powerful battery will be installed. Especially in comparison with a simpler device. But the “advanced” device will also consume more energy. This means that charging may end faster than with more simple phone. Even if the battery of the latter is weaker. Therefore, be careful! Pay attention to these parameters: the phone's operating time in standby mode and in talk mode. Of course, no one forbids you to look and evaluate the battery power. This will also be useful, especially if you have already had experience using a similar device. For example, a similar PDA or “musicphone”.

Screen

The phone's screen can be simple or touchscreen. The touch screen responds to touches on it. At the same time, it is a control element. The phone can be designed so that the only control element is the touch screen. This is exactly how it works famous iPhone. However, today it is still more common to find phones with auxiliary control elements - buttons. However, it is likely that push-button devices will be replaced by touch ones.

An important concept is screen resolution. Resolution is the number of pixels along the horizontal and vertical axes. Pixel is the smallest element (dot, grain) that is capable of displaying colors. The higher the resolution, the better. The image will be more detailed and will not appear grainy. The screen resolution of the iPhone mentioned above is 480x320. For most Nokia, Samsung, etc. phones it is 240x320.

Screen size also plays an important role. Work with a phone that has enough big screen, very nice. It is convenient to watch photos and videos on such devices. Large screens typical for smartphones and PDAs. In sunny weather, however, PDA touch screens glare a lot. They say they will “go blind.” In this case, managing the device becomes very problematic. The problem is partially solved by special protective anti-reflective films. They are glued directly to the device screen.

Conclusion

I hope that this article helped you understand the basic capabilities of modern mobile phones. I would like to believe that now choosing a device will be much easier for you. Which of the functions discussed above are really important is up to you to decide. The more functions the device has, the more it will cost. You have to pay for functionality. Whether you will use what you give your money for - time will tell. Therefore, approach your choice of phone carefully and reasonably. Follow the principle of a good tailor: “measure twice, cut once” (and in in this case or rather, buy it). Before purchasing, consult with your family, friends, and the seller. Feel free to ask even the stupidest questions in your opinion! It's not a shame not to know, it's a shame not to ask. Think carefully about your future purchase.

Happy and thoughtful shopping!

Before the appearance of the phones we are used to, there were prototypes of them. But electric telephones did not become the pinnacle of achievement; they were replaced by mobile (portable) telephones, which found wide application.

Prototypes of the first phones

An ancient prototype of the telephone existed among a Persian king in the sixth century BC. It was a service attended by about thirty thousand people. They were called “royal ears” and, located within earshot on watchtowers and hilltops, transmitted messages to the king and orders from him over vast distances. The distance over which a message could be transmitted in a day was approximately equal to a thirty-day journey.

We also know about a prototype telephone created in 968 in China by an inventor named Kung Fu Wing. He transmitted sound using pipes. “Rope” telephones have been known for many centuries. The disadvantage of transmitting sounds in such ways is the attenuation of sound vibrations by long distances. To use these non-electric telephones over long distances, you cannot do without intermediate points.

Who invented the first electric telephone

The word “telephone” was first used by Charles Bourcel. He developed the idea of telephony, based on the properties of electricity, which he began working on back in 1849. The principle of operation was outlined by him in 1854 in a dissertation, but the mechanical engineer never got to the point practical application your ideas.

The Italian inventor and scientist Antonio Meucci moved to the USA in 1860, conducted research and invented a device capable of transmitting sound through wires. Meucci called it a teletrophon. Soon the company became aware of this development of a little-known elderly inventor Western Union. Taking advantage of the deplorable financial situation of the Italian researcher, this company bought all the drawings from him and promised to provide assistance in filing a patent. However, the second promise was never fulfilled. Meucci filed his own application, trying to patent the telephony, but it was not granted.

In 1876, Bell Graham was the first to file a patent, calling himself the inventor of the telephone. Meucci for a long time was sued, and only in 1887 the US court still recognized his primacy in the invention. However, the Italian inventor’s patent had expired by that time, which gave Western Union the right to continue producing phones. So Meucci was left with nothing and died in poverty.

It is known that the telephone patented by Bell did not have a bell; the call was made through the handset using a whistle. It is known that he, being a religious person, believed in the ability to communicate with the souls of deceased relatives through the telephone.

The first portable (portable) telephone

The prototype of the first mobile phone is externally far from the small and light devices that are familiar to us today. The mobile phone was first introduced in 1973. It was bulky and heavy, powered by a single battery, which is why its operating time was very short. The cost of the first mobile phone turned out to be unacceptable for the average citizen.

The inventor of the first presented device is Martin Cooper. It should be noted that by that time several technical leading companies were already working on the creation of a mobile phone in parallel, however, Cooper managed to complete the work before others. Externally, the first mobile phone looked more like a mobile payphone: the handset was connected to the power source via a long wire. The device was in a large shoulder bag.

The very first phones

After the world saw the telephone invented by Martin Cooper, about a dozen more were invented. various models. The telephone in its familiar form was invented by the world famous company MOTOROLA. The first prototype could operate in standby mode for about eight hours and weighed about one kilogram.

The company named the first commercial mobile phone MOTOROLA DynaTAC 8000X. It was capable of remembering thirty numbers, weighed eight hundred grams and cost almost four thousand dollars. The company spent at least one hundred million dollars on its development, and the work took about ten years. Its battery only lasted for an hour of conversation, while charging lasted for ten hours.

In 1989, the same company introduced new model- Motorola MicroTAC. It cost three thousand dollars. At that time the device was considered the smallest mobile phone. In 1992, MOTOROLA introduced a miniature phone model that easily fit in the palm of a person. Soon consumers saw NOKIA model 1011, released by the famous Finnish company NOKIA - it was a mass-produced GSM phone.

The first phone connected to a PDA (the first communicator) was released by BellSouth / IBM in 1993, and the first flip phone (which became known as the “frog”) was produced by the same MOTOROLA in 1996.

The ability to contact loved ones and friends at any moment seems natural to us today, like breathing, but this was not always the case.

Even mobile phones became widespread no more than 15-20 years ago, and wired telephones appeared a little over a hundred years ago. Do you know who invented the telephone and in what year it happened?

Almost all modern textbooks and encyclopedias name the American Alexander Bell as the inventor of the telephone. However, this is not entirely true: Bell turned out to be just the person who was the first to patent the telephone, and this happened in 1876.

The real inventor is Antonio Meucci, born in Florence, Italy, who later moved overseas and settled in the United States. He founded the world's first factory producing paraffin candles, but later became interested in the idea of transmitting sounds to long distances. His work progressed successfully, and already in 1860 the inventor showed the public a device that he called a telectrophon. It used the principle of converting sound vibrations into electromagnetic waves and vice versa, which subsequently formed the basis of all telephone sets.

Unfortunately, soon after the demonstration of the new invention, an accident occurred, and the designer took to bed for a long time. During this time, his factory went bankrupt, and in order to somehow survive, his wife had to sell some of the devices made by Meucci, including the telephony. Later he was able to restore his invention and in 1871 tried to obtain a patent for it. However, due to extreme poverty, Meucci was unable to pay for the services of the patent office, and soon died in poverty and obscurity. Only in 2002 was justice restored, and the US Congress recognized Italian emigrant Antonio Meucci as the inventor of the telephone.

Few people know that the first mobile phone was created in the USSR in 1957. It consisted of the telephone itself and a base station, which was connected to a regular city telephone network. The telephone weighed about 3 kg, and its inventor was Leonid Kupriyanovich. The designer continued to work on his development, and by 1961 the weight of the telephone handset was reduced to only 70 grams. The distance between the handset and the base station reached 80 kilometers on flat ground. In 1957, the inventor received patent number 115494 for his development.

The disadvantage of Kupriyanovich's device was a small amount of phones that could connect to one base station. Their number was limited by the number of frequency channels allocated to the station. According to the inventor, in order to cover the entire area of Moscow, it would be necessary to install no more than a dozen base stations. Subsequently, based on Kupriyanovich’s development, since 1965, the Bulgarian enterprise Radioelectronics has produced mobile mini-PBXs for 15 subscribers. They were used mainly on large construction sites as departmental communications.

The inventor of the world's first cell phone is Motorola employee Martin Cooper. He manufactured the first copy of a mobile telephone operating on the cellular principle in 1973. The device weighed more than a kilogram and was later named Motorola DynaTAC. There were only 12 buttons on the handset, of which 10 were digital, and the remaining two were used to make a call and to end a call.

The first cell phone did not have a display, and the battery provided no more than an hour of talk time, but it was charged for as long as 10 hours in a row. In total, Motorola released five different prototypes of the DynaTAC phone before 1983. The first cell phones went on sale in 1983 under the name DynaTAC 8000x. They sold for $3,995, which was a very large sum for that time, but the queue to purchase them reached several thousand people.

The first phone equipped with a touch screen was manufactured in 1993 by employees of the famous computer corporation IBM. It was called IBM Simon, and its black and white screen was controlled by a stylus, although some operations could be performed with your fingers. The phone weighed about 0.5 kg.

The battery charge was enough for only an hour of talk time or 8-10 hours of standby. Although the new product aroused the interest of buyers, it was too high price And frequent breakdowns the gadget quickly reduced it to nothing. IBM Simon was soon discontinued.

As you know, iPhones are produced by the American corporation Apple, which has gained popularity thanks to its non-standard and high-tech solutions. The main generator of ideas at Apple from its very founding was the legendary computer scientist and entrepreneur Steve Jobs, creator. In 1999, Jobs came up with the idea that the company, in addition to computers, should also produce the world's best mobile phones. He came up with the concept of the iPhone, but the idea was realized only in 2005 together with Motorola specialists.

First apple phone called Purple-1, it was a symbiosis of a telephone and an audio player. It did not receive the expected popularity, but the Apple team continued to work, and in 2007, the iPhone, which later became a cult phone, was first presented to the public in San Francisco. Today, millions of people in all countries of the world are happy owners of iPhones.

Telephone communication has become such a common way of communication today that it is difficult to imagine that people once could do without devices that transmitted sounds over any distance. Modern subscriber rarely thinks about the question - Who invented the telephone? But the history of this device goes back to the distant past.

The official inventor of the telephone, capable of more or less clearly transmitting the sounds of human speech, is considered to be an American of Scottish origin, Alexander Graham Bell. The creation of the first telephone in the world was recorded in 1876; it was then that a patent application was filed for an invention that made a real revolution in the scientific world. Despite the fact that the principle of operation of the telephone was described twenty years before this event in the dissertation of Charles Boursel, only Bell was able to implement, and most importantly, patent in time, the bold idea of sound transmission using electricity.

Today, an idea of what the first telephone was like can only be obtained in a museum or from old photographs. The simplest mechanism was radically different from modern devices in the form to which we are accustomed. All manipulations with the device were carried out through a single tube, which served simultaneously as a transmitter and receiver. The sound quality was terrifying - through numerous noises and interference, the voice of the interlocutor was distinguished with great difficulty. However, both the creator of the phone and his admirers were not at all embarrassed by such inconveniences. The main thing is that the device worked and made it possible to significantly simplify the solution of many problems.

The period when the first telephone was created was deservedly considered the era of the telegraph. This means of telecommunication was considered the most popular and in demand. It seemed that no newfangled devices could displace the telegraph. In addition, the very first telephone transmitted sound over a distance of only a few hundred meters. Further improvements to which the first telephone model underwent significantly improved its quality characteristics.

Thanks to the talented developments of Thomas Edison, the device was eventually equipped with a microphone containing carbon powder. This invention had a significant impact on the development of telephone communications and in subsequent years began to be used everywhere.

Russian scientists also contributed to improving the phone. First domestic phone, the design of which used two tubes, was produced in St. Petersburg at the Siemens and Halske plant in 1877. The following 1878, the year of the creation of the telephone using permanent magnets and capacitors, became the prerequisite for a real telephone boom. The construction of numerous telephone exchanges made it possible to fulfill the aspirations of many enthusiasts - to seamlessly transmit sounds over long distances. And today, in almost everyone’s home you can find the good old telephone set- a dream turned into reality.

Mobile communications, which operate around the world today, are traditionally considered a relatively new invention. However, the first concepts for organizing infrastructure mobile communications appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. It is difficult to answer the question in which country the first mobile phones appeared and when. But if you try to do this, what are the facts about the development telephone communication with the use of radio equipment is worth studying first? Based on what criteria should certain devices be classified as mobile phones?

History of mobile phones: basic facts

We can answer the question of who invented the first mobile phone in the world, first of all, by familiarizing ourselves with the history of the creation of the corresponding communication devices.

Concepts and prototypes of communication devices, functionally similar to mobile phones, began to be discussed in various communities (scientific, engineering) at the beginning of the 20th century. But the cell phone itself, as a subscriber means of communication, was proposed to be developed in the late 70s by Bell Laboratories, which belonged to one of the largest American corporations - AT&T. Finland was among the first countries to successfully implement commercial mobile communication systems. Mobile communication systems were actively developing in the USSR.

But which state is ahead of the rest in introducing mobile phones?

It will be useful to dwell in more detail on Soviet inventions - familiarizing yourself with the facts about them will help us understand when the first mobile phone appeared in the world and in which country.

During the Great Patriotic War The idea of creating a special device, a monophone, was proposed by the Soviet scientist Georgy Ilyich Babat. This device was supposed to be a portable telephone operating in automatic mode. It was assumed that it would operate in the 1-2 GHz range. The fundamental feature of the apparatus proposed by G.I. Babat, was to ensure voice transmission through an extensive network of special waveguides.

In 1946, G. Shapiro and I. Zakharchenko proposed organizing a system radiotelephone communication, in which devices for receiving and transmitting voice were to be placed in cars. In accordance with this concept, the basis of the mobile communications infrastructure was to be existing city stations, supplemented by special radio equipment. Special call signs were supposed to be used as subscriber identifiers.

In April 1957, Soviet engineer Leonid Ivanovich Kupriyanovich created a prototype of a communication device - the LK-1 radiotelephone. This device had a range of about 30 km and had a significant weight - about 3 kg. It could provide communication through interaction with a special automatic telephone exchange, which could connect to city telephone lines. Subsequently, the phone was improved. Is not it. Kupriyanovich significantly reduced the weight and dimensions of the device. IN updated version the size of the apparatus was approximately equal to the size of 2 cigarette boxes stacked on top of each other. The weight of the radiotelephone was about 500 grams including the battery. It was hoped that the Soviet mobile phone would find wide application in the national economy, in everyday life and would become an object personal use citizens.

Radiotelephone L.I. Kupriyanovich allowed not only to make calls, but also to receive them - subject to the assignment of a personal number, as well as the use of infrastructure that allows transmitting signals from the automatic telephone exchange to automatic telephone radio stations, and from them to subscriber devices.

Research in the field of mobile communications was also carried out in other socialist countries. For example, in 1959, the Bulgarian scientist Hristo Bachvarov developed mobile device, similar in basic principle to L.I.’s telephone. Kupriyanovich, and patented it.

Is it possible to say that the world's first mobile phone was invented, therefore, in the USSR or in other socialist countries?

Criteria for classifying devices as mobile phones

First of all, it is worth deciding what is actually considered a mobile phone. According to a common definition, a device should be considered as such:

Compact (a person can carry it with them);

Works using radio communication channels;

Allows one subscriber to call another using a unique number;

Integrated in some way with wired telephone networks;

Publicly available (the ability to connect does not require permission from certain competent authorities and is limited by the financial and infrastructural resources of subscribers).

From this point of view, a full-fledged mobile phone has not yet been invented. But, of course, the above criteria for determining a mobile phone cannot be considered universal. And if we remove from them, in particular, accessibility and compactness, then the Soviet Altai system may well correspond to the rest. Let's take a closer look at its features.

Soviet experience in the development of mobile communications: the Altai system

When studying the question of what was the very first mobile phone in the world, it is useful to familiarize yourself with the basic facts about the corresponding communication system. The devices connected to it had, in principle, all the features of a mobile phone, except for being accessible to the public. This system is thus:

Allowed some subscribers to call others by numbers;

Was in a certain way integrated with city networks.

But it was not publicly available: lists of subscribers were approved at the departmental level. The Altai system was launched in the 60s in Moscow, and in the 70s it was deployed in more than 100 cities of the USSR. Actively used during the 1980 Olympics.

There were plans in the USSR to create a mobile communication system to which everyone could connect. But due to the economic and political difficulties of the mid-to-late 80s, work on the development of this concept was curtailed.

Western cellular standards were introduced in post-Soviet Russia. By that time, they had already been providing communications between devices for quite some time, which could be called full-fledged mobile phones. Let's study how the corresponding standards developed in the West. This, again, will help us answer the question of where and when the world's first mobile phone appeared.

History of mobile communications in the United States

As we noted at the beginning of the article, prototypes of mobile phones in the West began to appear at the beginning of the 20th century. In the 30s and 40s, real developments began to be implemented. In 1933, communications could be made between NYPD vehicles using half-duplex radio transmitters. In 1946, a mobile network was deployed in which private subscribers could communicate with each other using radio equipment through the mediation of an operator. In 1948, an infrastructure was launched that allowed one subscriber to call another automatically.

Can we say that it was in the USA that the world's first mobile phone was invented? If we consider the above criteria for classifying a radiotelephone as a device of the appropriate type - yes, we can say so, but in relation to later American developments. The fact is that the principles of its functioning of American cellular networks of the 40s were very far from those that characterize modern

Systems like those deployed in Missouri and Indiana in the 1940s had significant restrictions by frequencies and channels. This did not allow connecting a sufficiently large number of subscribers to mobile networks at the same time. A solution to this problem was proposed by Bell specialist D. Ring, who proposed dividing the radio signal distribution area into cells or cells, which would be formed by special base stations operating on different frequencies. This principle, in general, is implemented by modern mobile operators. The implementation of D. Ring's concept in practice was carried out in 1969.

History of mobile communications in Europe and Japan

In Western Europe, the first telephone communication systems using radio equipment were tested in 1951. In the 60s, work in this direction was actively carried out in Japan. It is noteworthy that it was Japanese developers who established that the optimal frequency for deploying mobile communications infrastructure is 400 and 900 MHz. Today, these frequencies are among the main ones used by cellular operators.

Finland has become one of the leading countries in terms of introducing developments in the field of organizing the functioning of full-fledged cellular networks. In 1971, the Finns began to deploy a commercial cellular network, the coverage area of which by 1978 had reached the size of the entire country. Does this mean that the very first mobile phone in the world operating on modern principles, originated in Finland? There are certain arguments in favor of this thesis: in particular, it has been established that Finnish telecommunications corporations have deployed the corresponding infrastructure nationwide. But in accordance with the traditional point of view, such a device nevertheless appeared in the United States. The main role in this, again, if we consider popular version, played by Motorola.

Motorola Cellular Concepts

In the early 70s, very fierce competition developed in the United States between service and equipment providers in a promising market segment - in the field of cellular communications. The main competitors here were AT&T and Motorola. At the same time, the first company focused on the deployment automotive systems communications - by the way, like telecommunications corporations in Finland, the second is on the introduction of compact devices that any subscriber can carry with them.

The second concept won, and on its basis, Motorola Corporation began the deployment of, in fact, a full-fledged in the modern sense cellular network using compact devices. The world's first mobile phone within the Motorola infrastructure, again in accordance with the traditional approach, was used as subscriber device in 1973. Ten years later, a full-fledged commercial network was launched in the United States, to which ordinary Americans could connect.

Let's consider what the world's first mobile phone was, invented, according to the popular point of view, by engineers of the American company Motorola.

First cell phone: characteristics

We are talking about the Motorola DynaTAC device. He weighed about 1.15 kg. Its size was 22.5 x 12.5 x 3.75 cm. It contained number keys for dialing, as well as two special buttons to send a call, as well as end a call. The device had a battery, thanks to which it could function in call standby mode for about 8 hours, and in talk mode for about 1 hour. It took more than 10 hours to charge the battery of the first cell phone.

What does the world's first mobile phone look like? Photo of the device is below.

Subsequently, Motorola released a number of modernized versions of the device. If we talk about Motorola's commercial network, the first mobile phone in the world was made for the corresponding infrastructure in 1983.

We are talking about Motorola device DynaTAC 8000X. This device weighed about 800 grams, its dimensions were comparable to the first version of the device. It is noteworthy that 30 subscriber numbers could be stored in its memory.

Who invented the first mobile phone?

So, let's try to answer our main question- who invented the world's first mobile phone. The history of the development of telephone communications using radio equipment suggests that the very first device that fully met the criteria for being classified as a mobile phone, which is still relevant today, was invented by Motorola in the USA and shown to the world in 1973.

However, it would be incorrect to say that this corporation has fundamentally introduced new development. Mobile phones - in the sense that they were radio equipment and provided communication between subscribers using a unique number - were by that time used in the USSR, Europe, and Japan. If we talk about when the world's first mobile phone was commercialized, the company that developed it launched the corresponding business in 1983, later than, in particular, similar projects were introduced in Finland.

Thus, Motorola Corporation can rightfully be considered the first to offer a mobile phone in the modern sense - in particular, one that operates on the principle of distributing base stations among cells, and also has compact format. Thus, if we talk about where exactly the world’s first mobile phone was invented, in which country - as a portable, compact device that is part of the cellular communications infrastructure, then it would be legitimate to determine that this state was the United States.

At the same time, it is worth noting that the Soviet Altai system functioned quite successfully even without the introduction of American-style technologies. Thus, engineers from the USSR fundamentally proved the possibility of deploying mobile communications infrastructure on a national scale, without using the principles of distributing base stations among cells.

It is possible that without the economic and political problems of the 80s, the USSR would have introduced its own mobile networks, operating on the basis of concepts alternative to the American ones, and they would have worked no worse. However, it is a fact that today Russia uses cellular communication standards developed in the Western world, which proposed and commercialized the first mobile phones.

It is worth noting that the Altai system actually worked until 2011. Thus, Soviet engineering developments remained relevant for a long time, and this may indicate that, perhaps, with the necessary refinement, they could compete with foreign concepts for building a cellular communications infrastructure.

Summary

So, who invented the world's first mobile phone? It is difficult to answer this question briefly. If by mobile phone we mean a compact subscriber radio equipment integrated with urban networks, operating on a cellular principle and available to everyone, this is probably the first time this infrastructure was introduced by the American company Motorola.

If we talk about the first commercial cellular networks - then these were probably implemented on a national scale in Finland, but with the use of devices aimed at placement in cars. Non-commercial closed mobile networks were also successfully deployed, in fact, on a national scale, in the USSR.