The Smartphone

The “Evolution of the Smartphone” is an info-graphic that is basically a timeline in technological upgrades to the cell phone.  The info-graphic is written from HTC’s point of view and discusses key moments in history for the computer and telephone.  The Smartphone first took off around 1993 retailing at around $900.  Throughout the 1990’s, the Smartphone began to appear in movies but didn’t really become a permanent fixture until around 2000.  Looking at the info-graphic makes me think about my experience with cell/Smartphones in general, and I feel like the Smartphone didn’t truly become a common staple until around 2010.  My “info-graphic” timeline is extremely different from HTC’s version of events. 

Remember Zack from Saved by the Bell’s cell phone?  At this point in time, cell phones seemed like a far off wave of technology.  We barely knew that it was a cell phone because it just looked like he was holding a big piece of metal to his head.  My family got a bag phone that we kept in our car around 1997.  A bag phone was basically a cell phone in a bag that was portable.  Once I got my driver’s license around 2002, I got a pre-paid cell phone to keep in my car.  At all times, I had about 15 minutes to use – just in case of emergency.  When I went to college in 2004, I begged my parents for a cell phone.  It was a Motorola flip-phone that you could just answer and dial a number.  The first time I got texting on a phone was around 2007.  It was extremely limited and a pain to type without the QWERTY keyboard.  I first got an actual Smartphone in 2012 – the iPhone 4s.  It is true what they say; beforehand, you feel like the Smartphone isn’t really necessary, but once you get it, you don’t know how you survived so long without it.