Cell Phone Technology Turns Twenty Years Old

Way back when only the coolest, richest people had cell phones, they were large monstrosities that had to be carried around like a shoulder bag or mounted inside cars with that little telltale antennae that stuck out the back window, giving thieves another good reason to break into that Mercedes parked on the city street. These days, even our grandparents carry cell phones, and we even chuckle a little when we see those octogenarians pulling out their dated Kyoceras with the monotone screens to execute the most basic functions with a puzzled look on their faces. It just goes to show how far a couple of decades can take you.

That's right, twenty years ago this month cell phone technology went public and changed the way the world communicates. Before camera phones, downloadable ringtones, and instant messaging, cell phones were clunky, unreliable, and extremely expensive. Even still, cell phones quickly became an enviable status symbol that began an agreement between fifteen companies who took a risk to revolutionize the world's need to keep in touch.

There are an estimated two hundred million cell phones in the United States alone. According to Lunchover IP (www.lunchoverip.com), it took 12 years for the first billion cell phone connections to take place, but only an additional 30 months for the second billion. These astonishing figures are attributed to the sweeping globalization of cellular technology soon after it was initially established.

The recent introduction of the iPhone is just the latest must have in the cell phone craze. Future technology is expected to take wireless phones into the very fabric of our lives... literally. Online technology website Geeksugar (www.geeksugar.com) reports that clothing is already in the works that incorporates a Bluetooth connection right into the fabric. Another piece of clothing offer built-in solar cells that will charge your cell phone. Cell phone technology may even revolutionize our healthcare system. Research is being developed that may use wireless connections to transmit vital signs and other medical data using portable monitors worn by patients.

Now that we can see how far the cell phone has come in twenty years, we can only imagine where the technology will take us twenty years into the future. Most of today's teens cannot remember a time when cell phones weren't a vital part of our everyday lives. The question remains, what will the technology be like when their children come of age?