The cellphone turns 40

Since the first mobile phone call 40 years ago, the cellphone has evolved to offer users computer-like technology.

The first ever call from a cellphone was made on 3 April 1973, by Martin Cooper, a senior engineer at Motorola. Cooper called someone from a rival company at the time and said he was speaking from "a 'real' cellular telephone". In 1983, Motorola released the DynaTAC 8000X, the first commercial handheld cellphone.

Seventeen years ago, the world was introduced to the smartphone and, according to a survey by Strategy Analytics, in the third quarter of 2012 the number of smartphone users worldwide topped the one billion mark. According to the latest IDC report on the shipment of smart connected devices, shipments of smartphones worldwide increased by 46.1% year-on-year in 2012 and are expected to grow by another 27.2% in 2013.

When SA's biggest cellular network provider, Vodacom, underwent a rebrand in 2011, CEO Pieter Uys told ITWeb that, when the company launched 17 years ago, it expected the entire local cellular market to hit 500 000 subscribers within a decade, and Vodacom anticipated signing up half of these users. By September 2012, Vodacom had 30.7 million active subscribers and more than 50% of the market share in the country.

World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck says it is interesting to note that the process has come full circle since the first cellphone made by Motorola. "The first phone from Motorola was actually the evolution of a car radio. Now we are seeing the demand in SA and in India for cellphones to have a built-in FM radio."

Features of the DynaTAC 8000X included a talk time of 30 minutes, a battery that would last up to eight hours between charges, a charge time of 10 hours, and the capacity to store about 30 contacts. It also cost close to $4 000, in 1983.

Modern smartphones are competing with features such as 13MP cameras, five-inch high-resolution displays, and 1.5GHz processors.

While the first cellphone's goal was to enable users to communicate while being mobile, the modern smartphone has taken the mobile experience to new technological and communication heights. "The simplest way to describe the evolution of the cellphone is to say that it has become a computer. It has a computer chip and thus has computing power," says Goldstuck.

Some of the most common uses of smartphones that attract buyers, according to Goldstuck, include GPS mapping, FM radio, as well as gaming. "The new generation of smartphones has the same gaming capabilities as a sophisticated handheld controller, even though it's not designed to be a gaming device."

Besides calling, the camera is one of the most sought-after features when looking for a modern cellphone. "Even though smartphones are packed with technology, we still use them to communicate and sharing photos forms part of that communication process," says Goldstuck.

Goldstuck says there are two different trends to look out for in the evolution of the smartphone. "We are moving towards thinner and lighter phones, and screens are getting bigger. No one expected Samsung's Note, with a 5.3-inch screen, to take off, but it turned out to be huge success." He believes this is where the iPhone 5 might fall behind, as Apple is not moving towards larger screens for its handsets.

People will have more expectations from smartphones, says Goldstuck. "Consumers want a better experience and it will not only be about the look and hardware." This also includes a simpler experience, with the demand for entry-level, simpler smartphones set to increase. "Samsung has taken the lead with this with the Galaxy Pocket, offering an entry-level and affordable Android experience."

This, according to Goldstuck, could in turn have an impact on the feature phone market, which is set to shrink over the next two to three years.