Mobile phones turn 50: The first call was made to this NJ town

Tamara Walker, Asbury Park Press
·2 min read
A contemporary copy of the original cell phone that engineer Martin Cooper used to make the first mobile call on April 3, 1973, is on display in Del Mar, California, on March 20, 2023. - The problem with mobile phones is that people look at them too much. At least, that's according to the man who invented them 50 years ago. Martin Cooper, an American engineer dubbed the "Father of the cell phone," says the neat little device we all have in our pockets has almost boundless potential and could one day even help conquer disease. But right now, we can be a little obssessed.
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Today consumers have plenty of options to choose from when buying a cellphone.

Walmart's electronics department, for instance, stocks more than 50 different devices from 15 different brands such as Apple, Samsung, Verizon, Cricket, Nokia, Motorola and Google Pixel.

But 50 years ago this week, there was only one choice.

On April 3, 1973, on a Manhattan street, Motorola engineer Martin Cooper made the very first cellphone call.

That day, Cooper told ABC7 New York, he called department head Joel Engel of AT&T Bell Labs headquarters in Holmdel, New Jersey. "I'm calling you on a cell phone, but a real cell phone, a personal, handheld, portable cell phone," Cooper told ABC7 New York of that first conversation.

Before then, most people only saw such technology in fictional realms like "The Jetsons," a 1962 family cartoon set in 2062, a world with video calls, homes in space, robotic maids and talking dogs.

But Motorola was on to something that would eventually become part of real life.

The first mobile phone available to consumers dubbed “brick” because of its weight was called Dynamic Adaptive Total Area Coverage, Motorola DynaTAC. The phone stood 9 inches tall, weighed 2.5 pounds, had a small talk time of 35 minutes, took 10 hours to charge, and cost $3,900.

TOPSHOT - Engineer Martin Cooper holds a contemporary copy of the original cell phone he used to make the first cell phone call on April 3, 1973, in Del Mar, California on March 20, 2023. - The problem with mobile phones is that people look at them too much. At least, that's according to the man who invented them 50 years ago. Martin Cooper, an American engineer dubbed the "Father of the cell phone," says the neat little device we all have in our pockets has almost boundless potential and could one day even help conquer disease. But right now, we can be a little obssessed. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP) (Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)

After 10 years of trial and error, Motorola began commercial service in 1983 with a much smaller user-friendly device that weighed 16 ounces with a cost ranging between $3,500 to $4,000.

Fast forward to the present day where the iPhone 14 and Samsung S23 weigh close to just 6 ounces and cost $30 to $50 to finance per month.

Cooper told CNN he sees both the positive advancements and disadvantages of today's technology and how, overall, the cell phone has changed humanity for the better. A trend he expects will only continue in the future.

And what's next in cellphone technology?

The iPhone 15 is slated to be released this fall.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Mobile phone 50th anniversary recalls first call to NJ town