Motorola DynaTAC

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This article is about the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x.For the bag/car phone,see Motorola DynaTAC(bag phone)

Dr. Martin Cooper of Motorola, made the first analog mobile phone call on a larger prototype model in 1973.

The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X was the first mobile phone to receive FCC acceptance in 1983.^[1] DynaTAC was actually an abbrievation of Dynamic Adaptive Total Area Coverage.

[edit] History

The first handheld mobile phone call was placed in 1973 on a prototype model. The first mobile phone base station was installed atop New York's 50-story then Burlington Building. This first base station could serve no more than 30 subscribers by connecting them to ground communication lines. Dr. Martin Cooper made the first call from this "mobile telephone".^[2]

This phone call took place in the morning on April 3, 1973. Cooper dialed the number to Joel Engel, chief of the research department at Bell Laboratories. The call ushered in a revolution in the world of communications. Later Richard Frenkel, the head of system development at Bell Laboratories, said about the DynaTAC: "It was the true triumph".^[3]

[edit] Description

Several prototypes were made between 1973 and 1983. The product accepted by the FCC weighed 28 ounces and was 10 inches high, not including its flexible "rubber duck" whip antenna. In addition to the typical 12-key telephone keypad, it had nine additional special keys:

The display utilized red LEDs, and was severely limited in what information it could show. The battery allowed for a call up to 60 minutes, after which it was necessary to charge the phone up to 10 hours.^[4]

[edit] Portability

While it might be considered extremely unwieldy by today's standards, at the time it was considered revolutionary, because mobile telephones were bulky affairs installed in vehicles. The DynaTAC 8000X was truly the first mobile telephone which could connect to the telephone network without the assistance of a mobile operator and could be carried about by the user.

[edit] Model list

• 1983 DynaTAC 8000x
• DynaTAC 8000s
• 1987 DynaTAC 8500x
• 1989 DynaTAC 8900x
• 1992 America series
• 1994 International 3200/3300 (GSM)
• 1994 Ultra Classic/II

[edit] References

1. ^ Motorola DynaTAC 8000x. Retro Brick. Retrieved on 2007-06-07.
2. ^ Making History: Developing the Portable Cellular System. Motorola. Retrieved on 2007-06-07.
3. ^ "Cell Phones Ruin the Opera? Meet the Culprit", New York Times, January 6, 2000. Retrieved on 2007-06-07. 
4. ^ 20th Anniversary of the World's First Commercial Cellular Phone. Motorola. Retrieved on 2007-06-07.

[edit] Acessories

In Singapore , a swivel antenna was one of the aftermarket accessories then available.It was popularised by Henry Thia when he made a call on his DynaTAC complete with swivel antenna.

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