In 1973, the American Marty Cooper made the world’s first call from a handheld, wireless mobile phone in the streets of New York. The prototype could perhaps resemble a gray brick more than today’s smartphones, weighed around a kilo(!) and had a thick antenna on top. Not very pocket-friendly, that is. FATHER OF THE MOBILE: Cooper holds what was the world’s first commercially available mobile phone – the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x – launched ten years after the first mobile call. Photo: AP A lot has happened since then. Today, it is estimated that around 90% of the world’s population has a mobile phone in their pocket. For most of us, the little gadget is an absolutely essential part of everyday life – the mobile phone is a computer, wallet, TV and camera, all in one. If you ask a random person what their mobile phone will look like in 2023, the answer will often be the same – a clean, buttonless, blank touchscreen. Mobile dad Cooper has also noticed this development. He is not very impressed with the design we have now ended up with. – Just think about it. You take a piece of plastic and glass that is completely flat – and then you put it against your head and hold your hand in an uncomfortable position, he told the BBC earlier this year. Even Marty Cooper has to resort to a modern smartphone these days. Photo: NTB / AP Svindyr luxury In the same way that all our sofas suddenly started to look exactly the same, mobile phones have become more and more uniform – or featureless, if you like. – There was a time when mobile phones looked very different, and the design of the phone itself was an important selling point – more than what was inside, says technology advisor and media researcher at Volda University College, Eirik Solheim. But how did we actually end up here? 📱 In the early years of the mobile phone’s life in the 80s, it was considered a luxury item with a sky-high price tag. This made the mobile phone inaccessible to most people, and the products were mainly marketed towards men in business. IN A SUITCASE: In the past, mobile phones were so heavy that they had to be carried around in a suitcase. This is a Siemens advertisement from 1981. Photo: Siemens/Teknisk Museum – In the Yapp era, there were even “dummies” you could buy so you could pretend you were walking around and talking on the phone. The mobile phone was certainly a status symbol, says Laila Andersen in the Technical Museum. The reason the first mobiles were so big and heavy was because of the size of the battery. – Mobile phones at that time were also very robust and could withstand a lot, she says. It wasn’t until the 90s that more people started to get access to mobile phones. Motorola International 3300 (1993), Ericsson Hotline NH51 (1992) and Motorola StarTAC (1997). The latter is considered the world’s first flip phone – here in a colorful version. Photo: Cato Normann/Terje Norli/Teknisk museum At this time, technology developed at a tremendous pace – among other things, the mobile network went from being analogue to becoming digital through the introduction of GSM. The new technology quickly made the mobile phone common to everyone. – In terms of design, mobile phones at this time were very masculine in expression. Often they were black or gray in color, although some stood out. They also shrank considerably in size and weight throughout the 90s, says Andersen. Ericsson T10S (1999), Nokia Communicator 9000 (1996) and Siemens S10 (1998). the latter was the world’s first mobile phone with a color screen. Photo: Cato Normann/Terje Norli/Teknisk museum The mobile phone becomes “mainstream” The first really big best-selling mobile phones came around the turn of the millennium. At this time, buyers had more and more models to choose from, and the various brands began seriously experimenting with mobile design. It was easy to be fascinated 🤩: THAT TIME: In 2003, news tested MMS mobile phones. Video: news Integrated camera in the mobile phone will become the new must-have product. Some mobiles came with replaceable covers with different motifs. The characteristic protruding antennae disappeared slowly but surely. Finnish Nokia dominated the market, got the price down to cheap and really made a trend out of owning a mobile phone. DEATH BREAKS SOLD: Nokia 3210 (1999), Nokia 6620 (2005) and Sony Ericsson P800 (2002). As many as 160 million copies were sold of the Nokia 3210, making it one of the best-selling mobile phones of all time. Photo: CATO NORMANN/TERJE NORLI/TEKNISK MUSEUM The producers also focused on young people, which was perhaps extra visible when they were going to reach young women. – Pink phones and mobiles with “bling” were, for example, marketed towards teenage girls. In the 2000s, color variations and different design elements completely disappeared, says Laila Andersen in the Technical Museum. Nokia 7380 (2005), Samsung X830 (2006) and Nokia 7280 (2004). These thin mobiles were about the size of a lipstick and were popular with young women. Photo: TERJE NORLI/TEKNISK MUSEUM NIGHT CLUB MOBILE?: This mobile with integrated light from Samsung (2003) was advertised as a “perfect mobile to take with you to the club or to immortalize a romantic evening out”. Photo: SAMSUNG/TECHNICAL MUSEUM A golden age for strange mobile phones The years after the turn of the millennium were a kind of wild west for mobile phones. The future was a fact: the mobile phone was man’s new best friend. The new “boom” meant that the various brands fought to make the most innovative, ground-breaking mobile phone – with varying degrees of success. Nokia 7600 (2003), Motorola V70 (2002) and Nokia 6810 (2004) were some of the most unique mobiles from the early 2000s. Photo: AP Some manufacturers took the word “mobile” quite literally and made their products so small that consumers began to complain that it was difficult to handle the tiny buttons. Many experimented with the different shapes a mobile phone could have. It was by no means a given that the mobile phone should be square, as almost all smartphones are today. For example, were you a “gadget” geek and wanted a games console that you could also use to make phone calls? The Nokia N-Gage (2002) was a console and mobile phone in one. Photo: AP Or do you wish there was a mobile that was also a… pen? It was perhaps not so surprising that this pen-inspired mobile from Siemens (2004) never caught on. Photo: REUTERS How about a mobile phone that could also function as a make-up mirror? Egg-shaped Siemens CL 75 (2006) came with a floral pattern on the outside and a pocket mirror on the inside. Photo: Ap Or did you want a mobile phone that you could twist and turn into a portable mini TV? Do not despair. There was a phone for you. The Nokia N92 (2005) was marketed as a mobile phone that could also be used to watch TV while on the go. Photo: REUTERS LG F2300 (2005), Motorola Razr V3 (2004), Sony Ericsson W580i (2007) and Sony Ericsson W300i (2006) Photo: PHOTO: CATO NORMANN/TERJE NORLI/TEKNISK MUSEUM Everyone tried to create the phone of the future. Then came the mobile phone which changed everything. The great smart revolution When Steve Jobs launched the world’s first iPhone in 2007, he turned the whole world upside down. In the now famous speech, the Apple founder introduced that his new smartphone was three devices in one: A music player, a mobile phone and a machine with which you could surf the Internet. Simply a mini-computer, right in your pocket. Steve Jobs and the world’s very first iPhone. Photo: Paul Sakuma / AP Apple had also removed all the buttons normally found on a traditional mobile and replaced them with a large touch screen. It was, as we all know, an unparalleled worldwide success. Other popular mobile phone manufacturers at the time, such as Blackberry and Nokia, stuck to the old design with a physical keyboard for several years to come. Eventually it was just a matter of realizing that the clean, glossy touch screen had become the new standard. BEST SELLERS FROM THE SAME YEAR: BlackBerry Curve 8300 (2007) Apple iPhone 1 (2007) and Nokia N95 (2007) Photo: Terje Norli/Teknisk Museum/AP Technology advisor Eirik Solheim thinks it’s about the screen being the absolute most important element on mobiles today . – As mobile phones in the past were not just a screen, it was perhaps more important to stand out with the help of external design. Today, we do everything on mobile through the screen. Then it’s all about having the most and best possible screen and as few other things as possible, he says. Android or Apple: today’s mobiles mostly compete on capacity, user interface and screen quality – not external design. NOT MUCH VARIETY: Huawei Ascend P7 (2014), Samsung Galaxy S9 (2015), Google Pixel 3 XL (2018) and iPhone 15 (2023). Photo: AP So, what now? – In general, the development regarding mobile phones has slowed down. Unfortunately, new mobile launches are boring at the moment, says Solheim. He singles out the new foldable mobile phones that have arrived recently as an exciting development, and believes they may be on to something if this folding technology improves over time. The mobile phone as we know it today is not the end of the line anyway. SHOULD IT BE A FOLDABLE MOBILE? The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is one of the most popular foldable phones on the market today. Photo: AP – If we are going far into the future, we will probably get the screen up in a form of glasses or something similar. When this screen becomes high-resolution and has battery life and everything in place, then it could really be something, predicts Eirik Solheim. – So it will be exciting to see if they find a real breakthrough soon or if we have to walk around with this large flat screen for many years to come. Were mobile phones cooler before? Happy with design? Check out some of our other online cases:
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How has the mobile phone changed in 50 years? – news Culture and entertainment
