A Blast From the Technological Past

I remember being very young and very excited when my parents got their first Nokia brick cell phones. They were awesome and I would play Snake while my mom drove us somewhere. It's hard to remember a time when cell phones didn't permeate society, but that time really did exist! So what was there before cell phones? How did people communicate while driving? Well, let's take a look at some of those old technologies shall we?

The first piece of technology I'd like us to look at is the Motorola Bag Phone. It came out in the 1990s and was an alternative options to the cell phones that were out at the time. Because of their durability they were popular for truckers, boaters, and people who lived farther out from the city. These phones were primarily powered by a battery pack, which made them portable, and they were encased in a leather bag, which made them more fashionable. They had a "hands-free" option which was made possible by plugging the loud-speaker into the phone's transceiver. Several of the bag phones came with different options for the carrying cases, so you could choose what you liked best.

The other piece of technology that I would like us to take a look at is the ever popular car phone. It has been around for a much longer time than the bag phone, with its earliest uses being in the 1940's. They were extremely bulky, the originals weighed around 80 pounds, and were made specifically to fit into a car. Because of their antennas and high-power transmitter they were ideal for people who lived in rural areas. They were powered by the car's battery, similarly to the car chargers we all know and love today.

Isn't technology interesting? Look at how far we've come! It makes me wonder what the next step will be.