Martin Cooper – now CEO (and founder) of ArrayComm Inc – was then general manager of Motorola’s Communications Systems Division and used that early-model phone, the
DynaTAC, to place the first cellular phone call ever made.
That call, from the streets of New York City, to commercial rival AT&T's Bell Labs, caused a fundamental technology and communications market shift, towards more portable and person-focused technology, away from what had been the status quo – fixed and location based.
"People want to talk to other people - not a house, or an office, or a car. Given a choice, people will demand the freedom to communicate wherever they are, unfettered by the infamous copper wire,” says Cooper.
“It is that freedom we sought to vividly demonstrate in 1973. As I walked down the street while talking on the phone, sophisticated New Yorkers gaped at the sight of someone actually moving around while making a phone call.”
Funny thing is, enough water has passed under the bridge since that famed piece of equipment, affectionately known to most Australians as “the brick”, that original Motorola items in good condition are considered vintage.
All that means is that the hipsters of today are just as likely to also “gape at the sight” of a DynaTAC in good nick and will even shower its owner with wads of cash to become its owner.
“Remember that in 1973, there weren't cordless telephones, let alone cellular phones,” Cooper says.
“I made numerous calls, including one where I crossed the street while talking to a New York radio reporter - probably one of the more dangerous things I have ever done in my life."
With such rich history and the DynaTAC’s inspiring further technological progress and an evolution into modern smart phones, with processing power matching a desktop computer, it’s unsurprising “the brick” has become the ultimate keepsake in geek and nerd circles.
In the US, a DynaTAC original in good condition can fetch anywhere up to US$800 (A$1,000).
Still, that’s a lot cheaper than the US$3,995 (A$5,045) someone shelled out on March 13,1984 to buy the first Motorola DynaTAC 8000X.
