The history of the cell phone. The author of masterok found the information in LiveJournal. There are interesting moments - as always, Russia is ahead of everyone
Dr. Martin Cooper with his first mobile phone 1973 Photo 2007
Usually, the history of the creation of a mobile phone is told something like this.
On April 3, 1973, Martin Cooper, head of Motorola's mobile communications division, was walking through midtown Manhattan and decided to call on his cell phone. The mobile phone was called Dyna-TAC and looked like a brick that weighed over a kilogram and worked in talk mode for only half an hour.
Prior to this, the son of the founder of Motorola, Robert Gelvin, who in those days served as the executive director of this company, allocated $ 15 million and gave his subordinates a period of 10 years to create a device that the user can carry with him. The first working sample appeared in just a couple of months. The success of Martin Cooper, who came to the company in 1954 as an ordinary engineer, was facilitated by the fact that since 1967 he has been developing portable radios. It was they who led to the idea of a mobile phone.
It is believed that until this moment there were no other mobile telephones that a person can carry with him like a watch or a notebook. There were walkie-talkies, there were "mobile" phones that could be used in a car or train, but there was no such thing as just walking down the street.
Moreover, until the early 1960s, many companies refused to conduct research into the creation of cellular communications at all, because they came to the conclusion that, in principle, it was impossible to create a compact cellular telephone. And none of the specialists of these companies paid attention to the fact that on the other side of the "Iron Curtain" in popular science magazines, photographs began to appear, which depicted ... a man talking on a mobile phone. (For those who doubt, the numbers of the magazines where the pictures are published will be given, so that everyone can make sure that this is not a graphic editor).
Hoax? Joke? Propaganda? An attempt to misinform Western electronics manufacturers (this industry was known to be of strategic military importance)? Maybe it's just an ordinary walkie-talkie? However, further searches led to a completely unexpected conclusion - Martin Cooper was not the first person in history to call on a mobile phone. And not even second.
Engineer Leonid Kupriyanovich demonstrates the capabilities of a mobile phone. "Science and Life", 10, 1958.
The man in the picture from the Science and Life magazine was named Leonid Ivanovich Kupriyanovich, and it was he who turned out to be the person who made the call on a mobile phone 15 years earlier than Cooper. But before we talk about it, remember that the basic principles of mobile communications have a very, very long history.
Actually, attempts to give the phone mobility appeared soon after the appearance. Field telephones were created with coils for quick laying of the line, attempts were made to quickly provide communication from the car, throwing wires on a line running along the highway or connecting to a socket on a pole. Of all this, only field phones have found relatively wide distribution (at one of the mosaics of the Kyiv metro station in Moscow, modern passengers sometimes mistake a field phone for a mobile phone and a laptop).
It became possible to provide genuine mobility of telephone communication only after the advent of radio communications in the VHF band. By the 1930s, transmitters appeared that a person could easily carry on his back or hold in his hands - in particular, they were used by the American radio company NBC for operational reporting from the scene. However, connections with automatic telephone exchanges have not yet been provided by such means of communication.
Portable VHF transmitter. Radio Front, 16, 1936
During the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet scientist and inventor Georgy Ilyich Babat in besieged Leningrad proposed the so-called "monophone" - an automatic radiotelephone operating in the centimeter range of 1000-2000 MHz (now the frequencies 850, 900, 1800 and 1900 Hz are used for the GSM standard), number which is encoded in the phone itself, is equipped with an alphabetic keyboard and also has the functions of a voice recorder and an answering machine. “It weighs no more than a Leica film apparatus,” G. Babat wrote in his article “Monofon” in the Tekhnika-Molodezhi magazine No. 7-8 for 1943: “Wherever the subscriber is - at home, away or at work, in the foyer of the theater, on the podium of the stadium, watching the competition - everywhere he can turn on his individual monophone in one of the many endings of the wave network branches. Several subscribers can connect to one ending, and no matter how many there are, they will not interfere with each other. friend". Due to the fact that the principles of cellular communication had not yet been invented by that time, Babat proposed using an extensive network of microwave waveguides to connect mobile phones with a base station.
G. Babat, who proposed the idea of a mobile phone
In December 1947, Bell employees Douglas Ring and Ray Young proposed the principle of hexagonal cells for mobile telephony. This happened just in the midst of active attempts to create a phone with which you can make calls from the car. The first such service was launched in 1946 in St. Louis by AT&T Bell Laboratories, and in 1947 a system with intermediate stations along the highway was launched, allowing you to call from a car on the way from New York to Boston. However, due to imperfection and high cost, these systems were not commercially successful. In 1948, another American telephone company in Richmond managed to set up a car radio telephone service with automatic dialing, which was already better. The weight of the equipment of such systems was tens of kilograms and it was placed in the trunk, so an inexperienced person did not have a thought about a pocket version of looking at it.
Domestic automobile radiotelephone. Radio, 1947, No. 5.
Nevertheless, as noted in the same 1946 in the journal "Science and Life", No. 10, domestic engineers G. Shapiro and I. Zakharchenko developed a telephone communication system from a moving car with a city network, the mobile device of which had a capacity of only 1 watt and fit under the instrument panel. Power was from a car battery.
The telephone number assigned to the car was connected to the radio receiver installed at the city telephone exchange. To call a city subscriber, it was necessary to turn on the device in the car, which sent its call signs on the air. They were perceived by the base station at the city PBX and immediately turned on the telephone, which worked like a regular phone. When calling a car, the city subscriber dialed the number, this activated the base station, the signal of which was perceived by the device on the car.
As can be seen from the description, this system was something like a radio tube. In the course of experiments carried out in 1946 in Moscow, a range of over 20 km was achieved, and a conversation with Odessa was carried out with excellent audibility. In the future, the inventors worked to increase the radius of the base station up to 150 km.
It was expected that the telephone system Shapiro and Zakharchenko will be widely used in the work of fire brigades, air defense units, police, emergency medical and technical assistance. However, further information about the development of the system did not appear. It can be assumed that it was considered more expedient for the emergency services to use their departmental communication systems than to use the GTS.
Alfred Gross could have been the creator of the first mobile phone.
In the United States, Alfred Gross was the first to attempt the impossible. Since 1939, he has been fond of creating portable radios, which decades later were called "walkie talkies". In 1949, he created a device based on a portable radio, which he called the "wireless remote telephone." The device could be carried with you, and he gave the owner a signal to answer the phone. It is believed that this was the first simple pager. Gross even implemented it in one of the hospitals in New York, but the telephone companies showed no interest in this novelty, as well as in his other ideas in this direction. So America lost the chance to be the birthplace of the first practical mobile phone.
However, these ideas were developed on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, in the USSR. So, one of those who continued to search in the field of mobile communications in our country was Leonid Kupriyanovich. The press of that time reported very little about his personality. It was known that he lived in Moscow, his activities were sparingly characterized by the press as a "radio engineer" or "radio amateur". It is also known that Kupriyanovich could be considered a successful person at that time - in the early 60s he had a car.
The consonance of the names of Kupriyanovich and Cooper is only the initial link in the chain of strange coincidences in the fate of these personalities. Kupriyanovich, like Cooper and Gross, also started with miniature walkie-talkies - he made them from the mid-50s, and many of his designs amaze even now - both in their dimensions and in the simplicity and originality of their solutions. The tube radio station he created in 1955 weighed as much as the first transistor walkie talkies of the early 60s.
Pocket radio Kupriyanovich 1955
In 1957, Kupriyanovich demonstrates an even more amazing thing - a walkie-talkie the size of a matchbox and weighing only 50 grams (together with power supplies), which can work without changing the power supply for 50 hours and provides communication at a distance of two kilometers - quite a match for the products of the 21st century, which can be seen on the windows of the current communication salons (picture from the magazine YUT, 3, 1957). As evidenced by the publication in UT, 12, 1957, mercury or manganese batteries were used in this radio station.
At the same time, Kupriyanovich not only managed without microcircuits, which simply did not exist at that time, but also used miniature lamps together with transistors. In 1957 and 1960, the first and second editions of his book for radio amateurs were published, with a promising title - "Pocket Radio Stations".
The 1960 edition describes a simple three-transistor radio that can be worn on the arm, much like the famous watch walkie-talkie from Dead Season. The author suggested it for tourists and mushroom pickers to repeat, but in life, students showed interest in this design of Kupriyanovich mainly - for tips on exams, which even entered the episode of Gaidai's comedy film "Operation Y"
Handheld radio of Kupriyanovich
And, just like Cooper, pocket walkie-talkies led Kupriyanovich to make such a radiotelephone from which one could call any city telephone, and which one could take with you anywhere. The pessimistic mood of foreign firms could not stop a man who knew how to make walkie-talkies from a matchbox.
In 1957 L.I. Kupriyanovich received a copyright certificate for the "Radiofon" - an automatic radiotelephone with direct dialing. Through an automatic telephone radio station, from this device it was possible to connect with any subscriber of the telephone network within the range of the Radiophone transmitter. By that time, the first operating set of equipment was also ready, demonstrating the principle of operation of the Radiophone, named by the inventor LK-1 (Leonid Kupriyanovich, the first sample).
LK-1, by our standards, was still difficult to call a mobile phone, but it made a great impression on contemporaries. “The telephone set is small in size, its weight does not exceed three kilograms,” wrote Science and Life. “Batteries are placed inside the body of the device; the term of their continuous use is 20-30 hours. LK-1 has 4 special radio tubes, so that the power given off by the antenna is sufficient for short-wave communication in 20-30 km ranges. 2 antennas are placed on the device; on its front panel there are 4 call switches, a microphone (outside of which headphones are connected) and a dialing dial.
Just like in a modern cell phone, Kupriyanovich's device was connected to the city telephone network through a base station (the author called it ATP - automatic telephone radio station), which received signals from mobile phones to a wired network and transmitted from a wired network to mobile phones. 50 years ago, the operating principles of a mobile phone were described simply and figuratively for inexperienced cleaners: “The connection of the ATP with any subscriber occurs, like with a conventional telephone, only we control its operation at a distance.”
For the operation of the mobile phone with the base station, four communication channels were used at four frequencies: two channels were used for transmitting and receiving sound, one for dialing and one for hanging up.
Kupriyanovich's first mobile phone. ("Science and Life, 8, 1957"). On the right is the base station.
The reader may suspect that the LK-1 was a simple radio receiver for a telephone. But it turns out that this is not so. “The question involuntarily arises: will several simultaneously operating LK-1s interfere with each other?” - writes all the same "Science and Life". “No, since in this case different tonal frequencies are used for the device, forcing their relays to operate on the ATR (tonal frequencies will be transmitted on the same wave). The frequencies of transmission and reception of sound for each device will be different in order to avoid their mutual influence.
Thus, LK-1 had number coding in the telephone set itself, and not depending on the wired line, which allows it to be considered with good reason as the first mobile phone. True, judging by the description, this coding was very primitive, and the number of subscribers who could work through one ATP turned out to be very limited at first. In addition, in the first demonstrator, the ATP was simply included in a regular telephone in parallel with the existing subscriber point - this made it possible to start experiments without making changes to the city exchange, but made it difficult to simultaneously “go to the city” from several handsets. However, in 1957, LK-1 still existed in only one copy.
Using the first mobile phone was not as convenient as it is now. ("UT, 7, 1957")
Nevertheless, the practical possibility of implementing a wearable mobile phone and organizing such a mobile communication service, at least in the form of departmental switches, has been proven. “The range of the device is ... several tens of kilometers,” writes Leonid Kupriyanovich in a note for the July issue of the magazine “Young Technician” in 1957. "If there is only one receiving device within these limits, this will be enough to talk with any of the inhabitants of the city who has a telephone, and for as many kilometers as you like." “Radiotelephones ... can be used on vehicles, on airplanes and ships. Passengers will be able to call home, work, book a hotel room directly from the aircraft. It will find application among tourists, builders, hunters, etc.” In addition, Kupriyanovich foresaw that the mobile phone would also be able to displace telephones built into cars. At the same time, the young inventor immediately used something like a “hands free” headset, i.e. a speakerphone was used instead of an earpiece. In an interview with M. Melgunova, published in the magazine "Behind the wheel", 12, 1957, Kupriyanovich suggested introducing mobile phones in two stages. “In the beginning, while there are few radio telephones, an additional radio device is usually installed near the car enthusiast's home telephone. But later, when there will be thousands of such devices, the ATP will no longer work for one radiotelephone, but for hundreds and thousands. Moreover, all of them will not interfere with each other, since each of them will have its own tone frequency, which makes its relay work. Thus, Kupriyanovich essentially positioned two types of household appliances at once - simple radio tubes, which were easier to put into production, and a mobile phone service, in which one base station serves thousands of subscribers.
One can be surprised how accurately Kupriyanovich more than half a century ago imagined how widely the mobile phone would enter our daily life.
“Taking such a radiophone with you, you take, in essence, an ordinary telephone set, but without wires,” he wrote a couple of years later. “Wherever you are, you can always be found by phone, you just need to dial the known number of your radiophone from any city phone (even from a pay phone). The phone rings in your pocket and you start a conversation. If necessary, you can dial any city telephone number directly from a tram, trolleybus, bus, call an ambulance, fire or emergency vehicle, contact the house ... "
It is hard to believe that these words were written by a person who has not been in the 21st century. However, for Kupriyanovich there was no need to travel to the future. He built it.
The mobile phone model of 1958, together with the power supply, weighed only 500 grams.
This weight limit was again taken by world technical thought only ... on March 6, 1983, i.e. a quarter of a century later. True, Kupriyanovich's model was not so elegant and was a box with toggle switches and a round dialer dial, to which an ordinary telephone receiver was connected on a wire. It turned out that during the conversation either both hands were occupied, or the box had to be hung on the belt. On the other hand, holding a light plastic handset from a household phone was much more convenient than a device with the weight of an army pistol (According to Martin Cooper, using a mobile phone helped him pump up his muscles well).
According to Kupriyanovich's calculations, his apparatus should have cost 300-400 Soviet rubles. It was equal to the cost of a good TV or a light motorcycle; at such a price, the device would be available, of course, not to every Soviet family, but quite a few could save up for it if they wished. Commercial mobile phones of the early 80s with a price of 3500-4000 US dollars were also not affordable for all Americans - the millionth subscriber appeared only in 1990.
According to L.I. Kupriyanovich in his article published in the February issue of the journal "Technology-Youth" for 1959, now up to a thousand communication channels of radiophones with the Asia-Pacific Region could be placed on one wave. To do this, the coding of the number in the radiophone was carried out in a pulsed way, and during a conversation, the signal was compressed using a device that the author of the radiophone called a correlator. According to the description in the same article, the correlator was based on the principle of the vocoder - the division of the speech signal into several frequency ranges, compression of each range and subsequent restoration at the reception point. True, the recognition of the voice should have deteriorated, but with the quality of the then wired communication, this was not a serious problem. Kupriyanovich proposed installing the ATP on a high-rise building in the city (Martin Cooper's employees installed a base station fifteen years later on top of a 50-story building in New York). And judging by the phrase “pocket radiophones made by the author of this article”, we can conclude that in 1959 Kupriyanovich manufactured at least two experimental mobile phones.
The device of 1958 was already more like mobile phones
“So far there are only prototypes of the new device, but there is no doubt that it will soon be widely used in transport, in the city telephone network, in industry, at construction sites, etc.” writes Kupriyanovich in the journal Science and Life in August 1957. However, three years later, any publications about the further fate of the development, threatening to make a revolution in communications, disappear in the press altogether. Moreover, the inventor himself does not disappear anywhere; for example, in the February issue of YUT for 1960, he publishes a description of a radio station with an automatic call and a range of 40-50 km, and in the January issue of the same "Technology - Youth" for 1961, a popular article on microelectronics technologies, in which there is never any mention of a radiophone.
All this is so strange and unusual that it involuntarily suggests the thought: was there really a working radio background?
Skeptics first of all pay attention to the fact that in the publications that popular science publications devoted to the radio background, the sensational fact of the first telephone calls was not covered. From the photographs, it is also impossible to accurately determine whether the inventor is calling on a mobile phone, or just posing. Hence the version arises: yes, there was an attempt to create a mobile phone, but technically the device could not be completed, so they did not write about it anymore. However, let's think about the question: why should the journalists of the 50s consider the call a separate event worthy of mention in the press? “So that means phone? Not bad, not bad. And on it, it turns out, you can also call? This is just a miracle! I would never have believed it!"
Common sense suggests that in 1957-1959 not a single Soviet popular science magazine would write about a non-working design. Such magazines already had something to write about. Satellites fly in space. Physicists have established that the cascade hyperon decays into a lambda null particle and a negative pi meson. Sound technicians restored the original sound of Lenin's voice. Thanks to the TU-104, you can get from Moscow to Khabarovsk in 11 hours and 35 minutes. Computers translate from one language to another and play chess. The construction of the Bratsk hydroelectric power station has begun. Schoolchildren from the Chkalovskaya station made a robot that sees and speaks. Against the backdrop of these events, the creation of a mobile phone is not a sensation at all. Readers are waiting for videophones! “Telephone sets with screens can be built even today, our technology is strong enough,” they write in the same “TM” ... in 1956. “Millions of viewers are waiting for the radio engineering industry to start producing color television sets. It is high time to think about television broadcasting by wire (cable TV - O.I.),” we read in the same issue. And here, you understand, the mobile is somehow outdated, even without a video camera and a color display. Well, who would write at least half a word about her if she did not work?
Then why did the “first call” come to be considered a sensation? The answer is simple: Martin Cooper wanted it that way. On April 3, 1973, he held a PR campaign. In order for Motorola to be able to obtain permission to use radio frequencies for civilian mobile communications from the Federal Communications Commission (Federal Communications Commissions or FCC), it was necessary to somehow show that mobile communications really have a future. Moreover, competitors claimed the same frequencies. It's no coincidence that Martin Cooper's first call, according to his own account to the San Francisco Chronicle, was to a rival: “It was this guy from AT&T who was promoting car phones. His name was Joel Angel. I called him and told him that I was calling from the street, from a real "manual" cell phone. I don't remember what he said. But you know, I could hear his teeth grinding."
Kupriyanovich did not need to share frequencies with a competing company in 1957-1959 and listen to their gnashing of teeth on a mobile phone. He did not even need to catch up and overtake America, due to the absence of other participants in the race. Like Cooper, Kupriyanovich also conducted PR campaigns - the way it was customary in the USSR. He came to the editorial offices of popular science publications, demonstrated devices, and wrote articles about them himself. It is likely that the letters "YuT" in the name of the first apparatus are a trick to interest the editors of the "Young Technician" in placing its publication. For unknown reasons, only the leading amateur radio magazine of the country, Radio, as well as all other designs of Kupriyanovich, except for the pocket radio of 1955, bypassed the topic of the radio background.
Did Kupriyanovich himself have motives for showing a non-working apparatus - for example, in order to achieve success or recognition? In the publications of the 50s, the place of work of the inventor is not indicated, the media present him to readers as a "radio amateur" or "engineer". However, it is known that Leonid Ivanovich lived and worked in Moscow, he was awarded the degree of candidate of technical sciences, later he worked at the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR and in the early 60s had a car (for which, by the way, he himself created a radiotelephone and anti-theft radio alarm) . In other words, by Soviet standards, he was a successful person. Doubters can also check out a couple of dozen published amateur designs, including one adapted for young technicians, the LK-1. From all this it follows that the 1958 mobile phone was built and worked.
Altai-1″ at the end of the 50s looked like a more real project than pocket mobile phones
Unlike Kupriyanovich's radiophone, Altai had specific customers on whom the allocation of funds depended. In addition, the main problem in the implementation of both projects was not at all in creating a portable device, but in the need for significant investments and time in creating the communication infrastructure and its debugging and the cost of maintaining it. During the deployment of "Altai", for example, in Kyiv, the output lamps of the transmitters failed, in Tashkent there were problems due to poor-quality installation of base station equipment. As the Radio magazine wrote, in 1968 the Altai system was deployed only in Moscow and Kyiv, Samarkand, Tashkent, Donetsk and Odessa were next in line.
In the Altai system, it was easier to provide coverage of the area, because. the subscriber could move away from the central base station at a distance of up to 60 km, and outside the city there were enough linear stations located along the roads for 40-60 km. Eight transmitters served up to 500-800 subscribers, and the transmission quality was comparable only to digital communications. The implementation of this project looked more realistic than the deployment of a national cellular network based on Radiofon.
Nevertheless, the idea of a mobile phone, despite the apparent untimeliness, was not buried at all. There were also industrial samples of the device!
Western European countries also made attempts to create mobile communications before the "historic Cooper call". So, April 11, 1972, i.e. a year earlier, the British firm Pye Telecommunications demonstrated at the Communications Today, Tomorrow and the Future exhibition at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London, a portable mobile phone that could call the city's telephone network.
The mobile phone consisted of a Pocketphone 70 walkie-talkie, used by the police, and a set-top box - a handset with a push-button dial that could be held in the hands. The phone operated in the range of 450-470 MHz, according to the Pocketphone 70 radio, it could have up to 12 channels and was powered by a 15 V source.
There is also information about the existence in France in the 60s of a mobile phone created with semi-automatic switching of subscribers. The digits of the dialed number were displayed on the decatrons at the base station, after which the telephone operator manually switched. There is no exact data on why such a strange dialing system was adopted at the moment, we can only assume that the possible reason was errors in transmitting the number that the telephone operator eliminated.
instead of an epilogue. 30 years after the creation of LK-1, on April 9, 1987, at the KALASTAJATORPPA hotel in Helsinki (Finland), General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee M.S. Gorbachev made a mobile call to the USSR Ministry of Communications in the presence of Nokia Vice President Stefan Widomski. So the mobile phone became a means of influencing the minds of politicians - just like the first satellite in the Khrushchev era. Although, unlike the satellite, the operating mobile phone was not really an indicator of technical superiority - the same Khrushchev had the opportunity to call on it ...
"Wait!" - the reader will object. "So who should be considered the creator of the first mobile phone - Cooper, Kupriyanovich, Bachvarov?"
It seems that it makes no sense to oppose the results of the work here. Economic opportunities for the mass use of the new service were formed only by 1990.
It is possible that there were other attempts to create a wearable mobile phone that were ahead of their time, and humanity will someday remember them.
Mobile communications in the USSR
We are all used to the fact that mobile technologies and devices come from abroad. And communication standards (for example, GSM), and the phones themselves, and all the equipment of operators - bear the stigma "Made in not-with-us". The USA, Europe, Japan and even China supply us with communications. And somehow it was already forgotten that earlier we ourselves were leaders in this area. At one time, it was in our country that the world's first network of automatic mobile communications was launched. And if not for the attitude of the Soviet leadership, (sabotage?) Perhaps we would now speak not by “nokia”, but by “volemot” ...
Did the USSR have mobile communications?
Such a question may seem strange to many, especially from a generation for which mobile communications are strongly associated with a plastic box with a large color screen, a bunch of buttons and buzzwords such as GPRS, WAP, 3G. Where in the Cursed Scoop (c) could mobile communications come from?
Well, firstly, what is a mobile connection? What is the definition of this term?
Mobile communication is a radio communication between subscribers, the location of one or more of which changes.
Mobile communications can be cellular, trunking, satellite, plus paging systems and zonal SMRS (fixed channel via repeater).
In other words, cellular communications (although this term is probably not familiar to all users of this very type of communication) is just a variation of a broader concept - mobile communications. Moreover, it appeared much later than the first mobile radio systems in general.
In the world, the first mobile communication systems appeared after the First World War. So in 1921, the first radio-equipped police cars began to be used in the United States. But mobile communications of that time were almost completely used in highly specific forms, primarily military, police and all kinds of specialized services. They did not have access to public telephone networks, they were not automatic, so this period can be skipped.
The first mobile communication systems for the average consumer began to appear after the Second World War. However, these were also rather limited systems in terms of capabilities. The connection was one-way (simplex), that is, in the image of military radio stations - you pressed the PTT - you speak, let go - you listen. And the choice of a free radio channel with subsequent connection to the landline telephone network was completely manual. The presence of a control room with telephone ladies and a manual switchboard was an indispensable attribute of such systems.
Those who remember the French film of the 60s "Razin" can remember the episode when the hero of Louis de Funes spoke on such a "mobile phone" from his car. "Hello, young lady, give Smolny!".
From this follows a simple conclusion. The process of calling from a mobile phone should be indistinguishable from a call from a regular phone. This is what will be the criterion for a mobile communication network for widespread use.
So, the world's first fully automatic mobile communication system was created and put into operation in the Soviet Union. And for several years the USSR was the world leader in the field of mobile communications.
"Altai". The first in the world.
See the first US patent 1972!
U.S. Patent 3,663,762 -- Cellular Mobile Communication System -- Amos Edward Joel (Bell Labs), filed Dec 21, 1970, issued May 16, 1972 http://www.google.com/patents?vid=3663762 at this link and other patents , later
Work on an automatic mobile communication system called "Altai" began in 1958. In the city of Voronezh, in the Voronezh Research Institute of Communications (VNIIS), subscriber stations (in other words, telephones themselves) and base stations for communication with them were created. Antenna systems were developed at the Moscow State Specialized Design Institute (GSPI), the same place where Soviet television was born. Leningraders worked on other components of Altai, and later enterprises from Belarus and Moldova joined. Specialists from different parts of the Soviet Union joined forces to create an absolutely unique product at that time - automatic mobile communication.
"Altai" was supposed to become a full-fledged telephone installed in a car. It was simply possible to speak on it, as on a regular phone (that is, the sound passed in both directions at the same time, the so-called duplex mode). To call another "Altai" or a regular phone, it was enough just to dial the number - as on a desktop telephone, without any channel switching or talking with the dispatcher.
Realizing this possibility at the then technical level was not easy. There was, of course, no digital communication yet; the voice was transmitted over the air in the usual way. But, in addition to voice, it was necessary to transmit special signals, with the help of which the system itself could find a free radio channel, establish a connection, transmit a dialed telephone number, etc.
It now seems natural to us to simply dial a number on the buttons of a mobile phone. And in 1963, when the experimental zone of the Altai system was launched in Moscow, a real telephone in a car made an indelible impression. The developers tried to make it as similar as possible to the usual devices: Altai had a handset, and in some models even a dialing dial. However, the disk was soon abandoned and replaced with buttons, since it turned out to be inconvenient to turn the disk in a car.
Party and economic leaders were delighted with the new system. Car telephones soon appeared in the ZILs and Chaikas of the upper echelons of the Soviet leadership. They were followed by "Volga" directors of the most important enterprises.
"Altai" of course was not a full-fledged cellular system. Initially, one city, together with the suburbs, was served by only one base station with sixteen radio channels. But for a small number of senior leaders who had access to mobile communications, this was enough at first.
The system used a frequency range of 150 MHz - these are frequencies of the same order as the meter range of television. Therefore, an antenna mounted on a high tower made it possible to provide communication at a distance of up to tens of kilometers.
A similar system in the US, IMTS (Improved Mobile Telephone Service), was launched in the pilot area a year later. And its commercial launch took place only in 1969. Meanwhile, in the USSR, by 1970, "Altai" was installed and successfully operated in about 30 cities!
By the way, about the IMTS system. There is one very interesting paragraph in the description of this system.
In the 70s and the early 80s, before the introduction of cellular phones, there were "waiting lists" of up to 3 years for those wishing to have mobile telephone service. These potential subscribers were literally waiting for other subscribers to disconnect their subscription in order to obtain a mobile telephone number and mobile phone service.
I translate:
In the 70s and early 80s, before the use of cellular communications, there were "waiting lists", up to 3 years, for those who wanted to have a mobile connection. Potential subscribers were forced to wait until existing subscribers disconnected from the network in order to receive a telephone number and mobile network services.
Queues! Lists! Numbers! Here it is, the Cursed Scoop (c)!!!
Of course, such severe restrictions were caused by a limited number of radio channels. But I specifically draw attention to this so that readers understand that such systems could not be mass-produced purely for technical reasons, and not because of someone's malicious intent.
For this reason, the phones of this system were very expensive (from 2 to 4 thousand dollars) and a minute of conversation cost from 70 cents to 1.2 dollars. Often the phones were rented from the company rather than bought.
And by the way, this system is still in operation in Canada and the United States.
Now in Moscow, Leningrad, Tashkent, Rostov, Kyiv, Voronezh and many other cities (and regions) of the USSR, party and economic leaders could easily talk on the phone from the car. Our country, strange as it may seem to hear now, was confidently leading in the field of mobile communications.
In the 1970s, the Altai system was actively developed. New radio channels were allocated (22 "trunks" of 8 channels each) in the 330 MHz band - i.e. at slightly longer wavelengths than decimeter television, which made it possible to provide a considerable range and simultaneously serve more subscribers. Thanks to the use of the first microcircuits, subscriber stations became more and more compact - although they still remained automobile (it was possible to carry the phone along with the batteries in a heavy suitcase).
By the mid-70s, the geography of the Altai system gradually expanded to 114 cities of the Soviet Union.
Special work on the modernization of equipment had to be carried out for the Moscow Olympics in 1980. Moreover, it was for the Olympics that the base station "Altai" moved to the Ostankino television tower. Prior to that, she occupied the top two floors of a high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya embankment.
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The famous building on Kotelnicheskaya embankment. The top three floors in the 60s were occupied by the Altai system equipment, which provides the Central Committee and the Supreme Council with excellent mobile communications.
At the Olympics-80, the communication of the modernized Altai-3M system was used very widely and showed its best side. So, almost all journalistic reports from the competitions passed through Altai. Soviet signalmen became the winners of the Olympics along with Soviet athletes; True, they did not get Olympic medals, but many leading developers received the USSR State Prize.
However, during the Olympics, the limitations of Altai began to appear. Sometimes journalists complained about poor communication; the engineers advised them to rearrange the car a little, and everything immediately got better.
In total, by the beginning of the 80s, the number of subscribers of the Altai system was about 25 thousand.
In order for the wireless telephone to become widespread, further development of the system was required - in particular, the transition to the now familiar use of many base stations covering neighboring areas of the territory. And Soviet engineers were quite ready for this development. Unfortunately, not everything depended only on this readiness.
A VOLEMOT that came too late.
In the early 1980s, specialists from VNIIS and other enterprises were ready to work on a new generation communication system. It was named "Volemot" (short for the names of the cities where the developers were located: Voronezh, Leningrad, Molodechno, Ternopil). A feature of "Volemot" was the ability to fully use many base stations; during a conversation, it was possible to switch from one of them to another without losing connection.
This feature, now known as "handover" and allowing you to carry on conversations on the move without any problems, made "Volemot" a full-fledged cellular communication. In addition, automatic roaming was supported: the Volemot device, registered in the network of one city, could be used in another. In this case, the same 330 MHz band was used, and each base station could, if necessary, "cover" tens of square kilometers with communications.
Volemot" could become a mass connection for the countryside, a "true friend" of collective farmers, summer residents and tourists. For this purpose, it would have been better suited than the Western cellular systems developed during the same period (AMPS, NMT), since it was easy to operate over a very wide area. But to serve many subscribers in a small area (in the city), Volemot was inferior to AMPS and NMT, however, further development, however, could solve this problem.
Mobile communications could well fit into the Soviet way of life, and into the communist ideology. Initially, telephones could, for example, be installed in villages and summer cottages for collective use and rented out in tourist clubs (for the duration of a trip). Call service from "Volemot" could appear in long-distance trains or buses. And, of course, there was no threat to "state security" - mobile communications without encryption devices are very easy to listen to. Therefore, in the future it could well become available to all citizens of the country.
However, for several years, the Volemot project failed to obtain the necessary funding and the development of the system was very slow. Meanwhile, cellular systems in the West were actively developing and gaining popularity. For the beginning - the middle of the 1980s, the former leadership was lost.
"Volemot" was nevertheless completed by the end of the 1980s and was ready to begin deployment, but at that time the "process had already begun" and there was no longer any talk of the possibility of catching up with Europe and the United States.
Nevertheless, the system was launched in a number of cities in the early 90s and is still in operation, just like Altai. Today their main positioning is professional communications for various services, from taxis to ambulances.
But despite this, a full-fledged cellular communication managed to appear in the USSR. The first operator - Leningrad "Delta Telecom" began its work on September 9, 1991, three and a half months before the collapse of the USSR. This means that work on its installation began six months or a year before this event, when the events that followed in December in Belovezhskaya Pushcha were not predicted even by CIA analysts.
Something interesting. The first cell phones.
Mobile (or rather - car!) phone of the early 80s by Nokia - Mobira Senator. The weight of the apparatus is 15 kilograms.
Mobira Talkman - phone of the second half of the 80s - early 90s. Its weight is only 3 kg.
Motorola's first cell phone, the DynaTAC 8000X, was released on March 6, 1983. Its development cost about 100 million dollars (of that time!).
The phone weighed 794 grams and had dimensions of 33x4.4x8.9 cm. The battery charge was enough for 1 hour of talk time or 8 hours of standby time. He had a memory for 30 numbers and ONE melody.
This phone cost $3995. He has been on the cellular communication market for 10 years.
In the network of America's first commercial cellular company, Ameritech Mobile, the monthly fee was $50, plus one minute of conversation cost users from 24 to 40 cents (depending on the time of the call). A year after its launch, its network had 12,000 subscribers.
At that time, one could only dream of this. However, progress has taken its toll. It took a little more than 60 years for the apparatus that appeared in the middle of the last century to acquire the appearance familiar to us today. Consider a brief history of the emergence and development of a mobile cell phone, as well as cellular communications in general.Go…
Back in 1947, the Bell Laboratories (USA) officially proposed to create a mobile phone. This date can be considered a starting point. It was then that the active work on the creation of a new device officially began.
However, the first mobile was not destined to appear within the walls of Bell Laboratories. The first prototype of a mobile cell phone was created by the American company Motorola. This happened in 1973. The device was designed by engineer Martin Cooper. The weight of the first cell phone was about 1 kg, dimensions: 22.5x12.5x3.75 cm. The device had no display. The battery of the phone allowed him to work in standby mode up to 8 hours, and in talk mode - up to one hour. It took 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 novelty was $3,995. However, despite this, thousands of those wishing to purchase a new device were enrolled in the queue for the purchase of 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. At the same time, 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 on the GSM technology 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. After 3 years, the German company Siemens began to produce 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 appeared on sale. It 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 different applications on the devices. Among them is the famous instant messaging service - ICQ. The first Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone was released in 2002 by Ericsson. This technology made it possible to exchange various data between phones on a certain radio frequency (without wires). In this case, the phones should be close enough to each other. Depending on interference, obstacles, the range of Bluetooth is from 10 to 100 m. At the same time, a phone appeared that supports EDGE technology. She allowed to use the phone to access the Internet. And do it at a fairly high speed. The development of EDGE overshadowed the earlier WAP technology. 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. The introduction of EDGE technology is the merit of the Finnish company Nokia.
Enumerate all the new functions that appear in the process of improving cell phones can be long. 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 capable of typing input through thoughts alone (“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 existing basic functions of mobile phones. Let's move on to their consideration.
25 main functions
So, let's look at the most common features of modern mobile phones.
Phonebook . This function for any mobile phone is 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 stored in the phone's own memory, an optional memory card, or a SIM card. Concepts such as “memory card” and “sim card” are discussed in paragraphs 15 and 19, respectively.
In more advanced devices, it is possible to save a lot of useful information for each contact (email address, home and work phone numbers, place of work, home address, etc.). In this case, the phone performs the function of a full-fledged notebook.
Call log . The feature is extremely useful. Allows you to easily see where and when you called (or called you). Also, using the call log, you can see the duration of any of your conversations. Today, this feature is present in every cell phone.
SMS (Short Message Service) . The same absolutely obligatory service today as the two previous ones. 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). This feature 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 mobile operators in Russia and the CIS allow you to transfer up to 300 Kb of information in one MMS message. Today, the largest mobile operators allow you to send SMS and MMS from their websites for free. You only need to pay for the services of using the Internet.
Clock . Today, perhaps, it is impossible to meet a cell phone devoid of this function. Although, of course, if you want - everything is possible. After all, phones are for every taste and color. The clock is a useful, simple, necessary function. At the same time, no one forbids you to wear your favorite wristwatch.
Stopwatch . What allows you to do - it is clear from the name. Stopwatches in modern phones have a fairly high accuracy. The function is useful for athletes. It can be useful for students during laboratory work.
Timer . The opposite of a stopwatch. Allows you to count the time “back”, to do a countdown. You choose some time interval and turn on the timer. At the end of this segment, the timer gives a certain signal (sound, vibration).
Alarm . This feature can be used in place of the regular stationary alarm clock. Or as another, safety alarm clock. A very handy item. Especially when you are visiting, and in the morning you need to wake up early.
Calendar . Useful feature. Often there is no ordinary calendar at hand at the right time. And you need to see what day of the week it will be, for example, April 10. A couple of quick taps and you're in the know. Very comfortably.
Calculator . Most often, a simple (non-engineering) calculator is installed in phones. It is suitable for some quick simple calculations. When you need to add, subtract, divide, multiply, or take a percentage. Having this feature can really come in handy. After all, a conventional calculator is not always where it is needed now. Today, this feature 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 possibility of converting some currencies into others at the rate you know.
Radio . Allows you to listen to public radio stations operating on FM frequencies absolutely free of charge. A necessary feature for those who want to constantly be in the know. Who likes to listen to the news and favorite programs on the radio.
Flashlight . It will be very useful when there is no ordinary flashlight at hand. And you will certainly need to highlight something somewhere. You can of course highlight and bright included display. But the flashlight in this case is much better. Shines brighter, white light. Moreover, unlike the display, it shines pointwise, and not “smeared”.
Photo, video camera . The most useful feature. Present in most modern mobile phones. Sometimes you don’t have a camera or video camera at hand, and you urgently need to capture something. Even if not in the best quality. Although the quality is debatable. There are phones in which the main emphasis is placed on the wide possibilities of the camera. Such devices allow you to get 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; the maximum resolution for a photo is 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 a fairly decent memory of their own. To expand the memory, phones are usually equipped with connectors (“slots”) for special memory cards (flash cards or “flash drives”). There are different types of memory cards. The most common slots in mobile phones today are microSD and microSDHC flash card slots. The former allow you to store up to 4 GB of information, the latter - up to 32 GB.
MP3 player . For music lovers - the function is simply irreplaceable. Allows you to listen to audio files on your phone (or on an inserted memory card). Moreover, the most advanced phone models in this respect 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 the increased quality of the reproduced sound are called “music phones” (music phones). An example of such a phone is .
Voice recorder . Useful feature. Imagine: you need to fix it, but there is no time to write it down. Or just laziness. It is much easier and faster to press the “record” button and save the desired audio file. Recording a conversation or conversation is very convenient. This feature will be useful for musicians. You never know where inspiration comes to them. Turned on the recorder - recorded composed music, a vocal part or a song. Fast, simple, convenient.
Internet . Most modern phones allow you to access the global network. There are four main options to get on the Internet today. These are WAP, GPRS, Wi-Fi and 3G. We will not dwell on each of them in detail. This is a separate big conversation. It should be noted that GPRS is the most demanded in Russia today. Although this is not the fastest way to access the Internet. WAP technology as 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 in the network. Wi-Fi, of course, will not be an extra feature in your device. It allows you to surf the Internet at high speed. However, Wi-Fi requires special access points, the so-called hot spots. They are paid and free. The latter are most often found in various public places. Where there is a constant crowd of people (cinemas, bars, cafes, etc.). It should be noted that their number in all large cities of Russia is growing. 3G is a technology of high-speed mobile access to the Internet, the so-called third generation mobile communication. Based on the definition, it is clear that the data transfer rate 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 possible that soon the 3G function will become very popular among mobile phone users in our country.
“Multi-Symbol” . This term refers to the ability of the device to simultaneously work with two or more active sim-cards.
Each mobile operator gives you a SIM card for one purchased phone number. At the same time, you yourself choose the tariff at which you will continue to pay for your mobile communications. Of course, each operator has its own conditions (prices for communication), its own set of tariffs. It changes periodically. An understandable question arises: what is actually good about the function in question? And it is good because 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 different mobile operators, 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 only one switched 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 through the ICQ instant messaging service, this is a must. Moreover, “Asya” allows you to communicate many times cheaper than the SMS short message service. Those who like to play all sorts of races, “shooters”, “mini-quests”, etc. on their phone, cannot do without java support either.
Ability to connect to a PC (data-cable) . Allows you to transfer 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 the phone to the PC (using a special cable). Now you get the opportunity, for example, to create backup copies of data from your mobile. In addition, there are a number of other interesting possibilities. This feature 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 be aware that for such an exchange, the distance between devices should not exceed 10-100 meters (it depends on various interferences and obstacles). Pretty handy 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 possible that things will change in the near future. And with the development of new technologies, we will watch television programs on the screens of our phones. An example of such a phone is .
GPS . Satellite navigation system. Allows you to determine your location anywhere in the world with sufficient accuracy (error 1-2 m). A mobile phone with this function and equipped with a special program turns into a navigator. A useful feature for travel and long trips.
Form factor (form)
So, we have considered 25 main functions of modern mobile phones. But they did not touch upon such an important point as the shape of the apparatus. It is also often referred to as the form factor. By form, phones are divided into:
Classic monoblock . It is a monolithic machine with no moving parts. Sometimes such an apparatus is called a “brick” or “brick”. Monoblock is, for example,.
"Clamshell" ("book") . The body of the device is foldable. Consists of two parts. Reminds me of a fold out 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 is .
A 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 widely used today.
PDA, smartphone or “just a phone” - what's the difference?
Modern telephones are divided into “simple telephones”, smartphones and communicators (PDAs – pocket portable computers). The fundamental difference between “just phones” and 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 various programs on these devices that expand the functionality of the devices. These can be office software packages, electronic translators, audio and video players, etc. It should be noted that there is no clear separation between PDAs and smartphones today. Sometimes these two terms are not separated at all. However, there is an opinion according to which communicators should include devices with a full operating system and a touch screen. With this classification, it turns out that a smartphone is a PDA with a conventional, non-touch screen. There is a device that can be considered a communicator, however, it is positioned by the manufacturer as a completely separate device. This is the famous from Apple.
This company traditionally positions its products on the market in this way. It distinguishes them from the total mass of all similar devices. At the same time, he gives them sonorous names starting with the English letter “i”.
Weight, dimensions and battery capacity
It is impossible not to touch on the following three characteristics of any mobile phone: weight, dimensions and battery capacity. Most modern mobile phones weigh no more than 100 g. PDAs and smartphones usually differ in weight (above 100 g). Also, “increased” weight is typical for “image” phones. The reason is that various additional decoration elements are used in their design. For example, gold or special sapphire glass. The most famous company involved in the production of expensive “image” phones is Vertu.
Cell phones come in a variety of sizes. Of course, smartphones and PDAs will be larger than ordinary mobile phones. There are special “women's” or “ladies'” phones. They are small in size, allowing them to fit comfortably in the hand.
An important indicator is the capacity of the battery. The higher it is, the better. The device will need to be charged less often. The increased mass 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 will have a fairly powerful battery. Especially in comparison with a simpler device. But the “advanced” device will also consume more energy. This means that charging can end faster than a simpler phone. Let the battery last and weaker. Therefore, be careful! Pay attention to these parameters: the phone's standby and talk time. Of course, no one forbids you to look at and evaluate the power of the battery. It will also be useful, especially if you have already had experience using a similar device. For example, a similar PDA or "music phone".
Screen
The screen of the phone can be simple or touch. The touch screen responds when you touch it. At the same time, it is a control element. The phone may be designed so that the only control element is a touch screen. This is how the well-known iPhone works. However, today phones with auxiliary controls - buttons are still more common. However, it is likely that push-button devices will be replaced by touch ones.
Screen resolution is an important concept. Resolution is the number of pixels along the horizontal and vertical axes. A 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, will not appear “grainy”. The screen resolution of the iPhone mentioned above is 480x320. For most Nokia, Samsung and other phones it is 240x320.
Screen size also plays an important role. Working with a phone that has a fairly large screen is very pleasant. On such devices it is convenient to view photos and videos. Large screens are typical for smartphones and PDAs. In sunny weather, however, the PDA touch screens glare a lot. They are said to be "blind". Managing the device in this case becomes very problematic. Partially the problem is solved by special protective anti-reflective films. They are glued directly to the screen of the device.
Conclusion
I hope that this article has helped you understand the main features of modern mobile phones. I would like to believe that now the choice of the device will be much easier for you. Which of the above functions are really important is up to you. The more features a device has, the more it will cost. You have to pay for functionality. And whether you will use what you give your money for - time will tell. Therefore, approach the choice of a phone thoroughly and reasonably. Follow the principle of a good tailor: "measure seven times - cut once" (and in this case, it's more accurate to say - buy). Before buying, consult with relatives, friends, the seller. Feel free to ask even the most stupid 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.
Good luck and happy shopping!
© Yakovenko Denis,
Date of publication of the article - April 20, 2010
The history of mobile phones dates back to the early days of the 1920s, the period during which radios became the means of communication. The very first use of cordless phones was in taxis. Like any other electronic equipment, mobile phones have evolved over time and each stage or era has certainly been interesting.
The first official mobile phone was used by the Swedish police in 1946. They connected a portable telephone to the central telephone network. It was very similar to the telephone transceiver that had been used earlier in taxis.
An engineer from Bell Labs has created a cell tower, with the help of which it became possible not only to transmit, but also to receive signals in three different directions. Prior to this discovery, cell phones only worked in two directions.
Background of mobile phones
For the first time, mobile communications were provided by AT&T. The mobile phone was located in the car and weighed 12 kg. It was something between a receiver and a telephone, in which reception and transmission were carried out at different frequencies. Communication could only operate through a repeater or base station.
The electronic components used in today's mobile phones were first developed in the 1960s. The only problem was limited coverage. Base station coverage covered only a small area of land. If the mobile phone user went beyond the area of the cell, then he no longer received and could not transmit signals.
This problem was soon solved by an engineer at Bell Labs. Amos Edward Joel discovered and developed what he called system handover. This technology made it possible to keep the conversation moving from one area to another.
The first mobile phones
Motorola was the first company to introduce the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X portable cell phone pilot.
The FCC approved it for public use after much deliberation and testing of the device. Motorola DynaTAC took 15 years of development before it was introduced to the market. This phone weighed about 1.15 kg. Its dimensions were 22.5x12.5x3.75 cm. There were 12 buttons on the front panel: 10 of them were digital, and 2 were for sending and terminating a call. The model was designed by Dr. Martin Cooper.
Cell phones became popular and received demand from the public between 1983 and 1989. Apart from the car phone, the earliest models of the first generation of cell phones were shaped like bags. They were connected to a car charger. Other models came in the form of briefcases. This was necessary in order to carry a battery with you. These phones were only used in emergencies.
First smartphone
The very first Simon smartphone was developed by IBM in 1992. Although it was called a "smartphone" a little later, IBM managed to sell 50,000 phones in the first 6 months.
Main technical characteristics.
The first IBM smartphone, Simon, had a 4-inch monochrome touch screen. (293*160 dots). it had a clock speed of 16MHz. The amount of RAM was only 1 megabyte. With the tasks set, the phone coped quite tolerably. Also, the smartphone had a capacity of 1.8 MB, to which it was possible to connect a PCMCIA card, additional programs were recorded on it. Smartphone features such as calendar, address book, calculator, notepad and games were a breakthrough in the electronics industry.
Externally, the phone was devoid of any design, had an impressive weight and dimensions, but for those times this was not the main thing. Simon boasted a functional filling, a touch screen and became the progenitor of our current smartphones.
Humans need constant communication. For the exchange of information and just for the soul. And it is not enough for him to communicate with people who are nearby. There is always something to say even to those who are on the next street, in another city or across the ocean. It has always been so. But only at the end of the nineteenth century did we have 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, lit fires, and used the services of heralds.
In the 16th century, the Italian Giovanni della Porta invented the trumpet system, which were supposed to "permeate" all of Italy. This fantastic idea was not realized.
In 1837, American inventor Samuel Morse created an electric telegraph and developed a telegraphic alphabet, which was called " morse code».
In the 1850s, an unexpected discovery was made by the Italian Antonio Meucci, who lives in New York. Confident in the positive effect of electricity on human health, he built a generator and opened a private medical practice. Once, after connecting the wires to the patient's lips, Meucci went into a back room to turn on the generator. Once the device is working, the doctor heard the cry of the patient. It was so loud and clear, as if the poor man was right next to him.
Meucci began to experiment 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 the shipment, or perhaps they were stolen.
Who first invented the telephone and in what year
In 1861, German scientist Philip Rice invented a device that could transmit all sorts of sounds through a cable. This was the first telephone. (It is 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 February 14, 1876, Bell took the application to the Patent Office in Washington to patent " A telegraph device that can be used to transmit human speech". Two hours later, Elisha Grey, an electrical engineer, 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 auditory tube, a battery (a vessel of acid) and wires. The inventor himself called it the gallows.
The first words spoken on the phone were: “Watson, this is Bell! If you can hear me, then go to the window and beckon with your hat.
In 1878, a series of lawsuits began in America against Alexander Bell. About thirty people tried to take away the laurels of the inventor from him. Six lawsuits were dismissed outright. The other inventors' claims 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 court. Gray has not won a single case. Although a study of Bell's diaries and papers 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
The further fate of Bell's invention was taken up by Thomas Edison. 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 the interlocutors could be significantly increased.
In the same year, the first telephone exchange in history opened in the small American town of New Chaven.
And in 1887, in Russia, the inventor K. A. Mostsitsky 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 United States. 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 channels of radiotelephone communication". His radiotelephone could transmit sound signals to the base station. up to 25 kilometers. The device was a box with a disk for dialing, two toggle switches and a tube. He weighed half a kilo and worked up to 30 hours in standby mode.
The idea of creating cellular telephone communications appeared in 1946 from 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 competitor. 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 office of AT&T Bell Labs, 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 was talking on the world's first mobile phone. Cooper then went to a press conference dedicated to the miracle of technology, which he held in his hands.
Motorola's "firstborn" was named Motorola DynaTAC 8000X. He weighed about a kilogram, and reached a height of 25 cm.. The phone could work in talk mode for about 30 minutes, and charged for about 10 hours. And ten years later, in 1983, he finally went on sale. The novelty cost a lot of money - $ 3,500 - a little cheaper than a brand new car. But even so, 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 of the creation of the first clamshell phone. 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.
On average, a 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 IBM Simon, released in 1994. It was the world's first touchphone. Cost "Simon" 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 machine. It was equipped with a calculator, calendar, notepad, to-do list, a couple of games and even an email agent.
The device had a monochrome display with a resolution of 160 × 293 pixels with a diagonal of 4.7 inches. Instead of the usual keys, a virtual keyboard appeared. The battery lasted for an hour of talk time or 12 hours of standby time.
Too high a 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 smartphone Ericsson R380. The touch screen of the R380 was hidden under a hinged cover with conventional buttons. The screen was monochrome, with a diagonal of 3.5 inches and a resolution of 120 × 360.
The smartphone was based on the new Symbian OS for mobile devices. R380 supported WAP, browser, notepad, e-mail client, games were installed.
In 2007, IBM released the first phone with a sensor that 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.
