Mobile Computing - evolution and current status

When people talk about mobile devices, what immediately comes up to memory is the mobile phone. The mobile phone appeared after a sequence of about 100 years of inventions, which aim was to be able to communicate from a long distance.
The first successfull telephone transmission was accomplished by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. He and Thomas Edisson competed in the race that lead to the invention of the first telephone.
Immediately in 1877 the first commercial telephone line entered into operation.


The mobile phone only appeared nearly 100 years after the first phone, adding mobility to the initial goal of speaking at a long distance.
The first (analog) mobile phone appeared in 1960. It was too big to be transported personally, so it had to be installed in vehicles.
In 1973 appeared the first handheld mobile phone (analog).

Only in 1977 appeared the first digital cellular networks.


Currently, mobile devices, including most mobile phones have processing power, having added the goal of mobile computing to the previous goals of distance communication and mobility.

Today, in a confluence of different lines and different research goals, we have IP phones (VoIP), cellular packet switching networks (3G, 4G), mobile devices of various sizes, manufacturers, and with different operating systems, incorporating sensors, GPS , electronic compass, accelerometer, etc.. 

The number of mobile subscriptions rose from just over 1 billion in 2002 to almost 5 billion in 2008. We currently have 6.8 billion people worldwide, and more than 5 billion mobile subscriptions, of which 50% are prepaid.