The cell phone is 40 years old today

[Bruce Wayne]

Does it now count as vintage?

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Funny, after all these months and years of saying that I don't have a cell phone and don't want one, I just finally got one recently. [huh]

 

[LizzieMaine]

It's as vintage as mutton-chop sideburns, Fu Manchu moustaches, polyester shirts with big pointy collars, and pastel neckerchiefs. But it isn't Golden Era, unless you're talking about one of these:

 

[tonyb]

Does it now count as vintage? he asks.

To those under 40, I suppose it might.

It doesn't seem all that long ago that the first "compact" cell phones (those Motorola "brick" phones) were the latest, greatest thing. But how long ago has that been now? Something like 20 years, ain't it?

The thoroughly used cars I could buy for less than a hundred bucks when I was a teenager are now "collectible," if not "classic," and they carry asking prices to suit. Nineteen-fifties and '60s and even '70s vintage hi-fi gear you could buy for a few bucks at garage sales 20 years ago (or even find alongside the road with "free" signs taped to it) might now sell for considerably more than it cost new.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

An the lounge received Tap to Talk. Upgrade today also.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

A quick search reveals that the cell phone is 40, but wireless phone conversations are nothing that new. 1947 to be precise.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_mobile_phones

 

[JazzyDame]

I rarely use mine--it's a 'relic' compared to today's Smartphones (it doesn't have web access AND it has a handy-dandy antenna extension!). I've had it for just over a decade with no intention of upgrading. I appreciate the convenience of mobile phones when out-and-about, but only for security reasons--if there was an emergency, I wouldn't even consider relying upon the assistance of a complete stranger and am therefore grateful that a relative or acquaintance is merely a phone call away. I would trade my mobile phone in a heartbeat for a society in which I could trust the kindness of strangers in times of need.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

ARINC (Aeronautical Radio Incorporated) has been providing "Cell Call" (Cellular Telephonic Communications) to the airline industry since 1929. "Cell Call's" are the way that airline crews can communicate with dispatch, maintenance control, crew scheduling, etc. from altitude outside of regular VHF airband radio communications used for air traffic control. -dixon cannon

 

[LoveMyHats2]

Does it now count as vintage?

What label is on the two tin cans, and what sort of twine is connecting them? LOL!

 

[LoveMyHats2]

It's as vintage as mutton-chop sideburns, Fu Manchu moustaches, polyester shirts with big pointy collars, and pastel neckerchiefs. But it isn't Golden Era, unless you're talking about one of these:

View attachment 413

You don't notice this in that picture however the gentleman kneeling was actually finishing his shopping list so he could transmit it to his Wife in Boise, Idaho!

 

[JazzyDame]

…and let’s not forget to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Hedy Lamarr, that stunning beauty of the silver screen who, in 1942, co-patented (U.S. Patent Number 2,292,387) spread spectrum radio, the technology which was the underpinning of today's mobile telephones, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. Brains and beauty, indeed.

P.S. Ms. Lamarr also invented the bouillon cube, a fluorescent dog collar, and modifications to the Concorde airliner. Lovely.

 

[this one guy]

I rarely use mine--it's a 'relic' compared to today's Smartphones (it doesn't have web access AND it has a handy-dandy antenna extension!). I've had it for just over a decade with no intention of upgrading. I appreciate the convenience of mobile phones when out-and-about, but only for security reasons--if there was an emergency, I wouldn't even consider relying upon the assistance of a complete stranger and am therefore grateful that a relative or acquaintance is merely a phone call away. I would trade my mobile phone in a heartbeat for a society in which I could trust the kindness of strangers in times of need.

Understandable.

Funny, after all these months and years of saying that I don't have a cell phone and don't want one, I just finally got one recently. [huh]

I still don't have one, but may someday need to get one just for taking pictures.

 

[MisterCairo]

40 years of being able to listen in on fifty percent of a stranger's conversation with an absent person in any social setting.

Yay.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

P.S. Ms. Lamarr also invented the bouillon cube, a fluorescent dog collar, and modifications to the Concorde airliner. Lovely.

According to Wikipedia, this man invented the bouillon cube.

 

[GoldenEraFan]

Technology advances so fast these days that anything computerized becomes "vintage" within less than a decade I've noticed. The phones now especially, since before a cellular phone was used for the purpose of making calls whereas now it multi-tasks as a phone, camera, radio, television and PC. I remember when the only screen those phones had were just for displaying the numbers dialed.

 

[this one guy]

40 years of being able to listen in on fifty percent of a stranger's conversation with an absent person in any social setting.

Yay.

Annoying.
A further behavioral change I'm beginning to notice in myself is that if
I'm in a public place and hear someone who is alone talking, I no longer
turn to see if he/she is speaking to me. It's as if the presumption of face
to face communication is no longer the correct default.

 

[JazzyDame]

According to Wikipedia, this man invented the bouillon cube.

My apologies, Sir. Perhaps my sources were mistaken:

• http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203518404577094881332782996.html

• http://www.examiner.com/article/hed...tist-actress-and-inventor-of-wi-fi-technology

• http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/shortcuts/2011/dec/04/hedy-lamarr-wifi

• http://digitaljournal.com/article/315458

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Actually, I believe that I'm mistaken.

 

[MisterCairo]

It wasn't Mr. Oxo????

 

[sheeplady]

Annoying.
A further behavioral change I'm beginning to notice in myself is that if
I'm in a public place and hear someone who is alone talking, I no longer
turn to see if he/she is speaking to me. It's as if the presumption of face
to face communication is no longer the correct default.

I wish I could break myself of thinking they are speaking to me. I think part of it is limited hearing in one ear, which throws off my ability to tell direction of a sound, including if someone is turned towards me or away from me if outside of my line of vision.