Evolution of mobile phones – a look back

Not often does technology move so fast that a person can look back over their lifetime and see such a dramatic change as you can with telephones. If you were born after 1995 you are unlikely to remember a time without mobile phones. But there really was a time when the only way to speak to someone other than face to face was using a landline telephone.

How the humble telephone has advanced. Initially intended to connect two people for a one-on-one conversation, to the vast array of applications stored in today’s palm-sized mini-computers.

Mobile phones have become one of the most essential items in our day-to-day lives. There are currently an estimated 17.9 million smartphones in Australia alone. They are right at the centre of our universe. No longer just a phone but a messaging device, a web browser, a camera, a music player, a daily newspaper, a GPS and so much more.

If you are 30 or more you may recall the days when a telephone was just that; a telephone.

The popular telephones were initially wooden contraptions that sat on the wall. They had a Bakelite mouthpiece, an earpiece that hung in a cradle on the side and a handle that was cranked to get connected to the party line. This was typical of the 40's and 50's and then in the late 60's telephone boxes became a popular form of communication. Perfect to organise collection from the pub or for teens to organise their social life!

Who can remember 'party lines'? They were very common in the first half of the 20th century, especially in rural areas. A party line was a local telephone loop circuit that was shared by more than one subscriber, so there was no privacy at all. If you were talking with a friend, anyone on your party line could pick up their phone and listen in.

Also, if anyone on your party line was using their phone, no one else could make a call — even in an emergency.

In the 1950s and ’60s, very few residences had the phone connected. They were still thought of as a luxury item and too expensive for most. Communication between family and friends mostly took the form of letter writing. Urgent calls were made occasionally from a public telephone. Back then, red public telephone boxes were found on almost every second corner around the suburbs.

Operation was simple if you had a pocket full of coins. You would press button A when the person you were calling answered or press button B to get your money back if you couldn't get through. 

Long-distance calls were not the simple tasks that they are now. Instead, they would be an occasional luxury and used on rare or special occasions. It was often a long wait, holding the telephone handset while a trunk call was placed and connected for you by the switchboard operator.

By the early 1970s, STD (subscriber trunk dialling) had arrived. This led to the manual switchboard telephone exchanges being phased out. 

Up until the mid-1970s, it was not possible to even buy a phone in Australia.

Home phones remained the property of the PMG Department and were rented to customers. After the PMG and Telecom were split into two separate government departments, in 1975, regulations were slowly relaxed. A range of “novelty” phones was offered for sale alongside the rental phones.

Almost immediately, telephones began to change shape, became lighter and more colourful. They moved location to and moved the more central kitchen. Older readers may remember that they were still bolted to the wall at this point. By the 1980s they had telescopic cords and the caller could wander up to 50 metres away while talking.

Each year, Telecom (later Telstra) would deliver the latest phone books. They would have every phone number listed in your state. It must have taken a forest of trees every year to print those books. For interstate numbers, you had to call 011 and ask the operator, who would then connect you.

And now we take a giant leap forward to the big changes in telephones. That really started to happen when the first mobile phones arrived in 1981. They began life as car phones. 

Early-model mobile phones such as the Mobira Senator car phone, weighed 10kg!

 In 1987 we see the first hand-held mobiles in Australia. They were very expensive and out of the reach of most. They were affectionately known as “bricks”. Large and heavy they were difficult to use. Within a few short years, they had shrunk to a much more manageable size and the cost came down to make them accessible to more people.

Since then, the development of telephone technology has been both rapid and dramatic. Some might even say alarming. As professional repairers keeping up with this ever-changing technology can be challenging. With each new mobile phone release comes advancements and new features. These new features of course make your job of repairing broken or faulty handsets interesting to say the least! 

The newest release for Samsung brings us functionality and features that no one would have predicted even 15 years ago. It is crucial that you stay up to date with these evolving technologies and the parts that you need to repair when they go wrong.

You have access to the top OEM parts available via our provision and we look forward to continuing to supply you with these superior and reliable parts! Let's enjoy this ride together!