Cell Phone Design Evolution

Since 1983, cell phones have evolved greatly in not only function but in design as well. They can now play videos or run applications that were previously limited to a desktop. Since 1983, several thousand models of cell phones have hit the market with more still to come. Some of these models became very popular while others did not do so great on the market. Cell phones have become part of our everyday life. There are those that have a memorable design.

The most common data application on cell phones is SMS text messaging. The first SMS text to be sent was from a computer to a cell phone in the United Kingdom in 1992. Then the following year, a cell phone in Finland was able to send the first person-to-person text message. Nearly all mobile phones obtain their power from a rechargeable battery. There are various ways of charging cell phones, including portable batteries, using an AC adaptor on the mains power and USB. The year 2009 saw the release of the first wireless charger for consumer use. Earlier models of mobile phones used nickel battery types since they were small in size and had a low weight.

Then manufacturers began using lithium-ion, since they were more durable than nickel metal-hydride. More recently though, most manufacturers have turned to lithium-polymer batteries, since they have a very low weight and can be made into another shape other than the strict cuboid.

Unlike earlier mobile phones, today’s cell phones have a display system, and some more advanced phones have touch screens. Different models have different screen types from just a simple one-color screen to screens with millions of colors. Their size also varies immensely depending with the model and is normally specified as either height in pixels and width or in inches measured diagonally. Some advanced mobile phones have more than one display system for more functionality. Mobile phones with the higher function ability are generally referred to as smartphones. These smartphones have processors similar to those of computers but have been adopted to operate in the environment of low power. They run on operating systems just like PCs and perform most of the same functions. As of February 2010, there were 4.6 billion subscribers of mobile phones. This number is estimated to grow in the future with the introduction of free phones by other service companies.