Top 10 mobile phone firsts
There were plenty of firsts in the development of mobile phones. They are not always the phones you expect. Check our list of firsts.
These are the ten phones that have contributed most to mobile life in the UK:
1983 - world's first hand portable
The Motorola 8000X was the first hand held mobile phone. Motorola experimented with prototypes in the 70s and Dr Martin Cooper made the first ever cell phone call in 1973.
Read more: Motorola 8000X
1991 - world's first GSM phone
The British made Orbitel TPU 900 was the world's first GSM phone.
1992 - first consumer phones
The first consumers were interested in easy to use phones for emergency calls only. The Personal Phone was Motorola's first UK consumer phone.
1993 - the first One2One phones
With the promise of free evening and weekend calls, Mercury targeted consumers with the M200 and M300 phones.
1994 - the first Orange phone
When the Orange network started, customers had the opportunity to own one of the top mobiles of the time. The Orange branded Nokia 2140 was a variation of the Nokia 2110.
1997 - first customisable phone
Ericsson's GA628 was the first phone you could officially customise to your own taste. It was aimed more at the younger market than traditional mobile phone buyers and started a trend. However, only the panel around the keyboard was interchangeable.
1999 - world's first internet phone
In February 1999 Nokia announced the world's first phone with a WAP(wireless application protocol) browser. Making it the first phone capable of browsing the internet. Not only that, it had the ultra cool Matrix inspired sliding case, making it instantly the most desirable handset.
1999 - world's first tri-band phone
Travelling to Europe, the Middle-East, Asia, Africa and the USA? Don't worry about your mobile, the Motorola Timeport worked around the globe. The prefect phone for the high flying exec.
Read more - Motorola Timeport
2000 - world's first camera phone
The Sharp J-SH04, launched in November 2000, was the world's first commercially available camera phone. The only snag: you could only use it in Japan.
2002 - UK's first picture messaging service
T-Mobile announced the UK's first picture messaging service in 2002, using the Sony Ericsson T68i. It was not a camera phone; you needed to attach a separate camera module.
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