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The cell phone has dramatically changed how we communicate, and information technology's connected u.s. more than than always before.

While jail cell phones are now must-have devices, they weren't always equally accessible. When early models were released, their high cost made them more than of a status symbol than an everyday tool.

How did we get to this bespeak? This prison cell phone timeline takes you on a bout of the mod prison cell phone, from that first call on a New York Metropolis sidewalk in 1973 to the characteristic-packed smartphones of today and tomorrow.

infographic of cell phone cost comparisons

Cell Phone Prices Timeline over the Years

In the graphic in a higher place, we see that the cost of cell phones dropped rapidly in the eighties. Then, at that place was a period of low-cost during the nineties and early 2000s with early camera phones. The release of the starting time iPhone in 2007 changed everything, and in recent years, the cost of smartphones has risen as the hardware continues to get more powerful.

Here are the major prison cell phone milestones.

The 1960s-1980s: Motorola Leads the Manufacture

Early Prototypes: 10 years earlier the beginning portable prison cell telephone was sold commercially, Motorola was on the cut border of cellular engineering science. The visitor's R&D squad spent the '60s and '70s researching how to plow war machine-style radio phones into consumer devices. Information technology eventually succeeded, and in 1973, it completed the showtime successful demonstration of a handheld mobile phone. The phone was huge; it measured xi inches alpine and weighed about 2.5 pounds.

Motorola DynaTAC ($three,995): Later on the first mobile cell phone demonstration, it took about a decade of further development before it was available to consumers. The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X hitting the marketplace in 1983 with a hefty price tag of $3,995. By today's standards, the DynaTAC was woefully basic; its peak capacity was xxx minutes of talk time, and the battery lasted only vi hours.

Motorola MicroTAC ($3,000): Motorola engineers got to work reducing the cell phone's size and its battery limitations. In 1989, they released the Motorola MicroTAC. The phone size shrunk to ix inches long, the weight dropped to thirteen ounces, and the battery could now accommodate xc minutes of talk time. Along with the production'south advancements, the price dropped to $3,000.

The 1990s: Prison cell Phones Go Affordable

Reducing Cost Through Service Contracts: The cost of a cell phone was ane of the manufacture's biggest bug, as it prevented many people from adopting this new technology. In an effort to reduce upfront costs and get the public to encompass the technology, phone carriers began offer reduced prices for consumers who signed up for jail cell phone plans. In return for signing a two-year contract, the carrier would "subsidize" or pay for part of the telephone's cost.

Simon Personal Communicator ($900): In 1993, an early precursor to the modern smartphone debuted. BellSouth and IBM collaborated on the Simon Personal Communicator, a PDA-like device that was the kickoff to have a touchscreen interface. Information technology could send and receive email, which was groundbreaking. It had autocorrect, fax capability, a agenda and to-exercise lists, plus a sketch pad that could be used with the included stylus. Nevertheless, IBM'south Simon was ahead of its fourth dimension, and fewer than fifty,000 devices were sold.

Motorola StarTAC ($1,000): Consumers wanted small and portable mobile phones, and so in 1996, Motorola released the StarTAC with a toll tag of $1,000. It was 3.ane ounces and not much bigger than the size of a man'southward wallet. It as well further pushed the flip-phone design by having the entire device fold in half like a clamshell. Besides, the StarTAC was one of the outset devices to adapt text messages, or SMS. It used a lithium-ion battery, which shrunk battery size while accommodating a longer talk fourth dimension. The StarTAC was a precursor to the 2004 Motorola RAZR flip phone, which eventually sold 130 million units.

Nokia's 6110 ($900): Released in 1997, the Nokia cost $900 upfront, simply its price was $200 when purchased with a prison cell service contract. This lower price indicate made the phone i of the best-selling in the 1990s. It focused on the business organization traveler by offering capabilities for overseas networks and adding business organisation-axial functions such every bit currency conversion, a figurer, a clock, and a calendar.

The 2000s: Smartphones Are Developed

Handspring Treo ($700): There was a rush to add more functionality to cell phones. In 2001, Handspring released the Treo, a combination of a cell phone and personal digital assistant (PDA). This merger of technologies foreshadowed the devices to come by demonstrating that a cell phone could be the unmarried, main device for managing all aspects of your life. Information technology had a shelf toll of $700, which put it inside reach of many consumers.

BlackBerry Pearl ($350-$400): Early BlackBerrys, such every bit the BlackBerry 5810 of 2002, were clunky and more pager-like. Nonetheless, the 2006 release of the BlackBerry Pearl was a hit, and information technology became one of the best selling BlackBerrys ever. The 1.3-megapixel camera on the Pearl was i of the manufacture'southward best at that fourth dimension, and a new navigation trackball became a staple of nearly every subsequent BlackBerry. Its price was about $350 retail or $199 with a contract. In 2006, BlackBerry was a major player in the market with five million active subscribers. It was fifty-fifty dubbed "CrackBerry" considering of the addictive nature of the phone.

1st Generation iPhone ($600): The Apple tree iPhone debuted in 2007, and its features were both a source of praise and criticism. Gone were trackballs and qwerty keyboards, replaced past touchscreens. Taking centre stage were features such as a 2-megapixel camera, full web browsing, and iTunes integration. At a price of $600, it was more expensive than other jail cell phones on the market, but that didn't matter; months subsequently its release, information technology was still difficult to find.

Some reviews were positive: "Words cannot describe how incredibly wonderful this thing feels to touch and hold. Information technology is an absolute curiosity of engineering. Gorgeous in every mode," said an Engadget write-up.

Other reviews were negative: "There's no denying the wow gene, but overall the iPhone isn't worth the money. For $300 I'd give it the thumbs upward, but at $600, yous're improve off with something else for one-half the price," said Wired.

Samsung Galaxy ($645): Released in 2009 with a price tag of $645, the starting time generation Samsung Milky way had a 1 GHz processor, 512 MB of RAM, a iv-inch display, and a 5-megapixel camera. Its functionality was on par with, if not slightly better than, the iPhone iv, and it was available on almost every major carrier, whereas the iPhone was only available through AT&T and Verizon at that time. The widespread availability allowed Samsung to sell more 24 meg handsets globally.

The 2010s and the Future: The Smartphone Evolves

Smartphones Become Popular: In 2013, smartphones overtook "dumb" phones in worldwide sales. Today, nigh 77 percent of Americans have smartphones and 18 percent have basic cell phones. These figures, gathered past Pew Research Center, take remained abiding since November 2016, indicating that the market may have plateaued at maximum saturation, at least temporarily.

Apple vs. Samsung: Apple and Samsung accept dominated global smartphone sales for the past decade. As of 2017, both companies were neck-and-neck based on the number of phones being sold. However, Apple was making near $70 billion more than per yr from the sale of its mobile devices. By 2018, Apple'southward revenue from mobile device sales was double that of Samsung. Consumer economics do factor into this difference, but so does product supply. In 2016, Samsung was flooding the marketplace with a shocking 31 new devices, compared to Apple's three new phones in the same year.

Increasing Connectivity: Today's smartphones are powerful computing devices, merely in many ways, they remain truthful to their beginnings as a device that helps usa connect. For example, nosotros take the ability to phone call Mom from just about anywhere, which no incertitude makes her happy.

What's changed is that now we're able to connect in so many unlike ways. Smartphones keep us connected to other phone lines via a free calling app or an function phone app. Of course, social media offers tremendous connectivity. People are managing small businesses right from their phones. Plus, today's smart devices make information technology possible to utilise your phone to remotely lookout a live video feed from your abode security cam. Now, with the rollout of 5G already starting, we're poised to exist even more continued.

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Dennis Peng profile image

Dennis Peng

Dennis is the vice president of product management and technical advisory board member of Ooma and is responsible for creating an intuitive, compelling user experience.

Prior to joining Ooma, Dennis worked at Cisco Systems for xi years where he began his career as a customer back up engineer. He later joined the Escalation Team where he focused on fixing the most technically challenging issues, as well every bit supporting the pattern, rollout and operations of the largest remote access and broadband aggregation networks worldwide. He was honored with the title of Distinguished Support Engineer because of his expertise in networking protocols, isolating and fixing highly complex bug, and leadership among his peers.

Dennis holds Bachelor of Science and Primary of Science degrees in Electric Applied science from Stanford Academy.