Phones have evolved from their earliest, bulky models to the sleek smartphones we use today. From the first suitcase phone evolution timeline invented by Alexander Graham Bell to the first cell phones, there is a lot of history behind the invention of this new technology. Today, these devices are an indispensable part of daily life. Alexander Graham Bell patented the first phone in 1876. His invention was a revolution in the world of communication.

Types of Cell Phones

In the brick era, telephones were mostly used for business purposes. They were also large and unpractical for most people. In the early 1990s, a new generation of mobile phones began to be produced. Some were designed as a desktop replacement, and others were installed in cars to improve mobility. Some were even fitted under the seats.

Advances in semiconductor fabrication also made it possible to manufacture cell phones. A key part of this technology was the development of the MOSFET, or metal-oxide-silicon field-effect transistor. Developed by Mohamed Atalla at Bell Labs in 1959, the MOSFET became the building block of the modern cell phone. The MOSFET also underwent a process called “MOSFET scaling” in which MOS transistors became smaller with decreasing power consumption. This enabled the production of highly integrated devices. Further, Moore’s law predicted that MOSFETs would continue to grow exponentially, making it possible to build highly portable cell phones.

As the evolution of smartphones continued, the number of new innovations increased. The first iPhone, known as the iPhone 2G, removed most of the physical buttons and introduced a touch-based interface. The Apple iPhone 4 brought a Retina display and FaceTime to the smartphone industry, as well as the first phone to have a front-facing camera. The next decade saw the introduction of the Samsung Galaxy S, which was the thinnest smartphone at just 9.9mm and had the fastest graphical processing speed. The phone also became the first to use 4G.