Motorola Martin Cooper First Cell Phone Call 50-Years-Ago
Martin Cooper, inventor of the Motorola DynaTAC, made the first cell phone call 50-years-ago today on April 3, 1973. This event took place while Martin Cooper was walking on Sixth Avenue in New York between 53rd and 54th streets. He used the 2.5-pound prototype to call Joel Engel of Bell Laboratories at AT&T.



Unlike the cell phones of today, this shoebox-sized prototype only allowed a user to talk for 35-minutes and required 10-hours to recharge. Motorola then spent the next decade clearing regulatory hurdles and dealing with technical issues before starting commercial service in 1983. The production Motorola DynaTAC (Dynamic Adaptive Total Area Coverage) 8000X featured an LED display for dialing or recalling one of 30 phone numbers and was priced at $3,995 USD ($11,567.43 in 2023).

Sale
Motorola Moto G Stylus | 2022 | 2-Day battery | Unlocked| Made for US by Motorola | 6/128GB | 50MP Camera...
2,249 Reviews
Motorola Moto G Stylus | 2022 | 2-Day battery | Unlocked| Made for US by Motorola | 6/128GB | 50MP Camera...
  • Stylus Pen: Use a push-pen stylus to sketch, write notes, and edit images with precision.
  • Long Battery Life: Get up to 2 days of battery life for extended use without worry.
  • Versatile Camera: Capture stunning photos and ultra-wide videos with the 50MP camera system.

Too many engineers are wrapped up in what they call technology and the gadgets, the hardware, and they forget that the whole purpose of technology is to make peoples’ lives better. People forget that, and I have to keep reminding them. We are trying to improve the human experience. That’s what technology is all about,” said Cooper to CNN.

Author

A technology, gadget and video game enthusiast that loves covering the latest industry news. Favorite trade show? Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.