mobile phone The Mobile phone celebrates it's 40th anniversary

[Coast]

The first mobile phone call was made 40 years ago today, on 3rd April 1973.

Martin Cooper, a senior engineer at Motorola, called a rival colleague at another telecoms company and announced he was speaking from "a 'real' cellular telephone".

In 2012 a report carried out by the International Telecommunication Union found that there were six billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide. At the time the global population was seven billion.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...nology-22013228

So could you manage without a mobile phone or are you one of the few people who doesn't actually own one?

My first mobile phone was an in-car, installed Motorola system in 1987, when the truly mobile version of that particular phone looked like this:

Do you remember when a compact new mobile phone looked like this?

We all thought that was incredible miniaturisation of new technology!!

[4wd]

They don't work due to no coverage for miles round here so relying on one would be futile and I certainly don't carry one around.

I am quite a fan of smartphones though and use one a fair bit round the house on wifi - plus when I'm out further afield, I can look at the IPCams to see if a cow is calving or anything.

[I remember Atlantic 252]

My mobile model 11 years old, Nokia 6310i the best, no need for any other phones

[Methuselah]

I've neither charged nor topped mine up, for 6 months! Better off without it!

[Backtrack]

Had the Nokia 3310. The one where you drop it and it breaks the floor.

That was my first phone.

I now have an iPhone 4.

[nitro_deluxe]

Who would've imagined way back then, that mobs today would include built in cameras, FM radios, temp/pressure sensors, detailed nav/gps maps, internet/email/tv capability, hundreds of useful apps, games to name just a few..

Whether we could do without them altogether is a difficult one to answer - we seemed to manage beforehand lol! with a brand new mobile phone starting from one yes one pound each! call tariffs may of course vary.. chances are they'll be around for a lot longer still.

[cheeky_monkey]

The nokia was the 1st mobile i had..the blackberry bold is my current work phone (soon to be changed to the I phone 5) and the Sony is the last UK mobile i had

[Bumpkin]

i have a 5 year old Sony Ericsson K770i that is held together with parcel tape. Its suffered a lot of abuse and a couple of pixels have died but it lives on. I don't want a smart phone, just something to call and text. My first phone was a Nokia I bought second hand from my brother in 98/99. I remember my husband bringing home a new work phone with the ability to send text messages and i thought it was brilliant!

[I remember Atlantic 252]

http://nokia6310i.co.uk will never change it

[Cheshire Freeze]

i have a 5 year old Sony Ericsson K770i that is held together with parcel tape. Its suffered a lot of abuse and a couple of pixels have died but it lives on. I don't want a smart phone, just something to call and text. My first phone was a Nokia I bought second hand from my brother in 98/99. I remember my husband bringing home a new work phone with the ability to send text messages and i thought it was brilliant!

You sound like my dad! Have tried to show him the array of features on my new Xperia Z but he's not that interested.

If anything I use my phone less for calling and texting and more as a tablet to access the internet, apps etc on the move.

[Mr_Pessimistic]

I should think that some of those original mobiles would fetch a good price to a collector..

I own an imported samsung captivate glide (with a hardware slide out keyboard - I'm a geek), and I'm betting I'm the only person in the uk to own one of those! - sorry just had to boast.

[Sprites]

For anyone interested in getting weather info when out, a mobile is very handy.

Some of the new phones are starting to rival the huge 1980s phones for size now.

i have a 6230i from 2007 that i use sometimes, and a Viewty iv'e owned since 2008 for weather info.

[Bumpkin]

You sound like my dad! Have tried to show him the array of features on my new Xperia Z but he's not that interested.

If anything I use my phone less for calling and texting and more as a tablet to access the internet, apps etc on the move.

You calling me old? My husband has a Samsung galaxy and my son has a xperia and i can see why they can be useful. I just don't need one as I do all internet stuff on the laptop.

[Methuselah]

You calling me old? My husband has a Samsung galaxy and my son has a xperia and i can see why they can be useful. I just don't need one as I do all internet stuff on the laptop.

Can you make Spurs win, with any of those mysterious devices, B?

[Bumpkin]

Can you make Spurs win, with any of those mysterious devices, B?

I wish I had that power!

[frogesque]

I wonder if the invention of superglue has anything do with mobile use. Kids round here seem to have ears permanantly stuck to to the beastly things.

It's not that I'm particularly technophobe or anything but I do object to the intrusion in my life. I mean, I'm driving down the road and the phone bleeps, burps, purrs or plays some silly tune so I pull over to discover that a spamming pre-recorded git wants me to use their wonderfull company for mis-sold PPI or some such rubbish. I now 'forget' to take the contraption with me when I'm out and wish not to be disturbed.

[Methuselah]

My only quibble with all these gadgets is: what use are they?

[frogesque]

My only quibble with all these gadgets is: what use are they?

To make phone companies a lot of money?