Mobile phones were born when a number of mobile radio users decided to make mobile phone technology more popular. Mobile telephones were initially installed in vehicles on a permanent basis, but later versions of them, which were named transportables, could also be carried. This meant that they could be used as a mobile or as portable two way radio. During the early 1940s, Motorola developed a two way radio in a rucksack, the walkie-talkie, and this was widely regarded as one of the first mobiles.

First Generation Phones

The very first mobile phones are now referred to as first generation (1G) mobile phones. The first handheld phone to be released on the us market was the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X in 1983. Mobile phones started to gain popularity in the eighties with the introduction of cellphones that were based on cellular networks.

Mobile phones were originally much larger than current ones, & they were initially designed for installation in vehicles only, which is why they were called the car phone. These chunky units were later converted for use as transportable phones the size of a small suitcase & the rest is history.

Second Generation Phones

Second generation, also called 2-G, mobile telephones were introduced in the nineties. 2-G telephone systems were different because of their use of digital circuit switched transmission & the introduction of advanced & quick telephone to network signals. The introduction of 2-G systems saw telephones move from historic 1G telephones to small hand held items, which were much more portable. This change was made possible through improvements in technology such as more advanced batteries & energy efficient electronics.

The second generation mobile telephones had several advantages over 1G items. These included SMS messaging, which initially became possible on GSM networks & eventually on all digital networks. The very first machine-sent message was sent in Great Britain in 1991. The very first person-to-person SMS text message was sent in 1993 in Finland. SMS text messaging soon became the communication method of choice & the general public now prefer sending messages to placing voice calls.

The first pre-commercial 3-G mobile phone network was launched in Japan in May of 2001. 3G was later commercially released in Japan on October, 1 2001.

3-G is the third generation of mobile phone standards & technology, which succeeded 2-G mobile technology. The birth of 3-G technologies enabled network operators including orange to give their users a wider range of advanced services. This includes broadband internet, in addition to high-tech video calls.

Despite the success of 3-G, there has also been many complaints about it. These include criticism over the cost of 3G phones, a lack of network coverage because it's still a new service & the high power usage of 3G phones.

Ever since the launch of 3G mobile telephone technology, people have been discussing 4-G. 4-G technology will signify the future of mobile telephones, producing the most advanced handsets & best services to date. In actual fact, one of the next services to be developed is thought to be the live streaming of radio and television shows to 3G handsets is & businesses including Disney & Real recently announced that they'll be offering services like these.