New York, New York — Can anyone imagine a time when cellular phones didn't exist?

The idea of a cellular phone is only 50 years old. 1973 is the year the first portable cellular phone was invented by Motorola. On April 3, 1973, the very first cellular phone call was made by Martin Cooper, who was a Motorola engineer. He used the DynaTAC 8000X to make the call. At the time this phone cost 3,995 dollars, which would be about 10,000 dollars today.

In 1990, around 11 million people had cellular phones. This was the beginning of the cellular revolution. By 2020, the number of cellular phone users went up to 2.5 billion.

In 1985, the first Siemens mobile phone was the Siemens Mobiltelfon C1. This phone was bulky and in the form of a suitcase. After this phone, mobile companies were determined to make cellular phones more compact.

In 1987, the first Nokia cellular phone came out. It was the Mobira Cityman 900. With the battery in it, this phone weighed 28oz, which is just shy of two pounds, and was very expensive. Only people with higher statuses had this phone.

In 1988, the first Samsung cellular phone came out, which was the SH-100. It was the first cell phone designed and manufactured in Korea. It looked a lot like a cordless phone many homes in the 1990s had as landlines.

In 1989, Motorola came out with the first flip phone, which was their MicroTAC model. Before the flip phone, most cellular phones were installed into cars because they were too big to just carry around. The flip phone could fit in a bag or purse.

In 1992, the first GSM — which means 2G — phone came out. This phone was the Nokia 1011 and it was the first mass-produced 2G phone. Also, in 1992, the first text message was sent out by the developer during a Christmas Party that read, "Merry Christmas."

In 1994, the first touchscreen and smartphone came out. This phone was IBM's Simon. It had applications and a touchscreen, so it is considered a smartphone. This phone never took off like other smartphones. Also, this was the year the slider phone came out.

In 1996, Motorola did it again with the first clam-shell phone and the first phone to vibrate. This phone was the Motorola StarTAC. Another first to come out this year was the first phone with a QWERTY keyboard, which was the Nokia Communicator 9000. This phone also featured e-mail, web browsing, fax, word processing, and spreadsheets.

In 1997, the first cellular phone with no visible external antenna came out, which was the Hagenuk GlobalHandy.

In 1998, the first phone featuring a colored screen came out. This phone was the Siemens S-10. The launch of the 3G network and custom ringtones also happened in 1998. Custom ringtones were also the first downloadable content for cellular phones.

1999 was a big year for cellular phones. Motorola came out with the Motorola TimePort which could work around the world. Nokia released the Nokia 7110, which featured a WAP browser that let users browse the internet. Samsung put a phone and MP3 player together with their SPH-M100. This allowed users to use their phone to play music. The Nokia 5210 was the first splash-proof phone and this made it one of the most popular phones in 1999. Also during this year, the first GPS-enabled phone came out with the Benefon Esc! and the first camera phone came out with the Kyocera VP-210 VisualPhone. It had a front-facing camera and could only store 20 pictures.

In 2000, the Nokia 3310 came out. It was smaller and lighter than previous phones. This phone remains one of the biggest-selling cellular phones.

In 2001, the Nokia 8310 came out and was the first to feature IR, radio, and a calendar. When it came out it costs $500, which was considered expensive. Also in 2001, the Ericsson T39 was the first phone with Bluetooth.

In 2002, the Sanyo SCP-5300 became the first phone to display a picture on the screen instead of having to plug it into a computer to see the picture. This phone also was the first dual-color display and the first with a camera that had a flash. Also in 2002, Nokia stepped up the game with the Nokia 7610. This phone was their first smartphone with a 1-megapixel camera.

In 2005, the Casio G'zOne was the first waterproof phone. It could be put into a 1-meter depth of water and still be ok to use.

In 2007, the first iPhone came out, which was the iPhone 2G. This phone was called "mind-blowing" as it took away buttons and became a complete touch screen.

In 2008 the first Android phone came out, which was the HTC Dream. This phone had notifications and was integrated with Google's services.

In 2009, the launch of the 4G network began in Norway and Sweden. Since then it has made its way through most of the world. Also in 2009, Samsung came out with their first Galaxy phone, the GT-17500, and the Motorola Droid became the first phone with google maps on it.

In 2010, the Samsung Galaxy S became the first phone without front navigation buttons and was the thinnest smartphone at 9.9mm. Samsung also launched the first 4G smartphone with the Samsung SCH-R900. Motorola launched the Razr, which became the smallest phone at 7.1mm. iPhone began using Siri, which is a personal digital voice assistant. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play became a gaming phone. The Motorola Atrix became the first phone to have a fingerprint sensor.

In 2012, Samsung came out with its voice assistance with the Galaxy 3. Also this year Nokia Lumia 920 became the first phone with optical image stabilization.

In 2013, iPhone came out with their iPhone 5S, which was their first phone with a fingerprint sensor.

In 2014, LG's G3 became the first cellular phone with a QHD screen and Samsung's Galaxy S5 became the first cell phone that could monitor heart rates.

In 2015, the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge became the first cell phone with a curved edge to help with functionality. Google also released its first phone, which was the Google Pixel. This phone came with unlimited cloud storage.

In 2016, Sony's Xperia XZ became the first cell phone with an HDR display and Motorola's Moto Z became the first cell phone with magnetic accessories. Also in 2016, iPhone came out with their iPhone 7 Plus, which was the first to have a dual-lens system, no headphone jack, and became the first officially waterproof cell phone.

In 2017, the first cell phone with 8GB of RAM came out. It was the Asus Zenfone AR. IPhone came out with the iPhone 8, which was the first cellular phone to be able to charge wirelessly. Also, the iPhone X came out with the first facial recognition feature instead of using fingerprint ID. The Axon M was a phone that had dual screens, which allowed users to use multiple apps at the same time.

In 2018, the Huawei P20 Pro became the first mobile phone to have a triple camera. This phone had a 40 MP lens, a 20 MP lens, and an 8 MP lens. Also this year the Vivo X20 Plus UD became the first cellular phone to have a fingerprint sensor on the screen.

In 2019, the 5G network was launched. Also in 2019, the first 108 MP camera came out on the Xiaomi Mi Note.

Today we have many cellular phones that no one would have ever imagined would be possible. One example is the Samsung Galaxy Flip Z 5G, it folds across the screen. What will come next?

This article presented with permission by nicenews.com.