We all know that a cell phone isn’t really just a phone anymore (c’mon, you’ve seen the Sprint commercial I’m sure). It takes our pictures, sends and receives our emails, plays our MP3s and it even keeps track of our hectic lives with advanced calendar functions.

Yes, a cell phone isn’t just a phone.  But before there was this all-encompassing smartphone, we turned to other gadgets to take our pictures, send our emails, play our music and keep track of our personal calendars.

What were these gadgets?  Gadget Lab recently reported the five devices“killed” by today’s cell phone.  After an explosion of responses, the blog shot off even more gadgets replaced by the cell phone.

So here are all 12 of the replaced gadgets. Have they moved on to that better place?  Check your closet.  I’m sure you’ll find some of them collecting dust in there.

1. PDA- When you have your contacts, addresses, numbers and calendars all in one place, why get a PDA to hold the exact same data?
2. Camera- Cameras on phones are becoming more and more advanced.  Have you seen a picture taken with the iPhone? Remarkable.  The best part?  You always have it on you.
3. Landline- Although the big operators will still pressure you into purchasing a phone line with your cable and Internet package, don’t give in.  If you’ve got a cell phone and a decent minutes plan, there is really no dire need for a landline.
4. Web Browser- Why wait to surf the ‘Net from your computer when most phones today come equipped with a browser, giving you anytime, anywhere access to all the information on the World Wide Web.
5. Instant Messenger- First came SMS text messaging allowing one person to send a short message from his phone to another cell phone.  Many of today’s mobile phones not only offer SMS text messaging and its multimedia cousin MMS for messages with photos and videos, but also come equipped with applications for popular instant messaging services.
6. MP3 Player- With all of your music in one place, it’s more of a hassle now to lug around an MP3 player.
7. Pager- With of course the exception to the medical field, no one can remember the last time they heard someone say “page me!”
8. Wristwatch- You’ve got your time right on the front of your phone, why would you need it on your wrist as well?  Plus, if you have an even more advanced mobile you most likely have an alarm clock and timer, too.
9. Pocket Calculator- The usage of these have become practically obsolete thanks to calculators coming standard on every cell phone.
10. Satellite Navigation- Google Maps, anyone?
11. Books – ’m still not completely sold on this one, but it would appear as though a massive number of cell phone users are reading from their mobile instead of the old fashioned dead-tree.
12. Handheld Game Consoles- With all the games you can play on your phone now, what’s the point in spending more cash for yet another device to lug around?

And if you’ve ever wondered what happed to a lot of these gadgets you can be sure they have a home here at MuMoh.

• Computers
• Entertainment
• Phones
• Wireless

Twenty-five years ago on October 13, 1983, the first commercial cellular call was placed to the grandson of Alexander Graham Bell in Germany from the president of Ameritech Mobile Communications at a ceremony held outside of Soldier Field in Chicago.

Weighing nearly two pounds and 13 inches long, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X used on that historic day only had a mere 30 minutes of talk time.

A “two-pound phone with 30 minutes of talk time” sounds improbable what with today’s Lilliputian offerings and if we didn’t actually own some of the earlier incarnations of cell phones I wouldn’t believe it either. Some phones in our museum are so heavy and clunky they make our arms ache if we carry them too long.

So what else has changed in the last 25 years in cell phone technology besides smaller phones with more power? CTIA has released some interesting facts on just how different the technology has changed. In fact, it’s changing so quickly that we can usually spot the age of a photograph not by a person’s hairdo or clothes they are wearing but by the cell phone they are holding.

Here are some compelling stats from CTIA on how far we have changed since 1983:

• Today, there are more than 262.7 million wireless subscribers— 83 percent of the total U.S. population. That equates to 2,869 times more subscribers today than in January 1985.
• During the last 21 years, wireless subscribers’ average local monthly bill has decreased by nearly 50%.  What started as a nearly $100 monthly bill in 1987 averaged just $48.54 in June 2008.
• In 1985, the first year CTIA surveyed the wireless industry, wireless revenues amounted to less than $500 million dollars. Now, wireless service revenues have reached $143.7 billion in the last 12 months, with wireless subscribership reaching 262.7 million on June 30, 2008.
• Wireless data revenues – from games and music to text and photo messaging, mobile TV and web-browsing — in the U.S. now amount to more than 20% of all wireless service revenues. Just a mere five years ago, wireless data revenues amounted to only 2 percent of total service revenues. How many articles were even written about mobile applications a couple of years ago? We’re guessing not too many.

What kind of cell phone did you have five years ago? Ten years ago? Fifteen years ago? We were digging through the desk drawers at home recently looking for spare change and came across a cell phone from 2000. It looked like it was from another universe. But in 2000, it was top of the line and did a great job. Great as in it made phone calls. In public. And not from home.

Where will cell phone technology be in another 25 years? Share your ideas and memories with us! We’d love to hear from you.

• Computers
• Phones
• Wireless

MobHappy’s Russell Buckley has a wonderful post that points to a presentation from 2000 that forecasts the future of mobility. Some of the technology:

• Wireless headset? Check.
• Pocket MP3 player? Check.
• Digital camera with built-in modem? Close.
• Glasses for watching DVD movies? Not quite yet – though on the way – we saw one at CTIA last April.

Slides from a presentation given by O2 – just a mere eight years ago — also show a mock-up of a mobile worker [done tongue in cheek but still pretty spot on] and how users will be using mobile devices.

Our museum is chock full of mobile devices that look like they’re from two decades ago but in reality are only a few years old. Years from now I suppose my toddler will get a nice chuckle at the expense of my iPhone [“You had to use your finger to move text?”].

Any guesses on where the mobile space will be in 2016?

• Computers
• Entertainment
• Uncategorized

The evolution of portable computing as told through advertising.

1983

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2008