These days, a cellphone seems to be an indispensable tool for business and life globally. These little devices have come a long way from their humble and bulky beginnings.
Here are 10 things you might not have known about your cellular companion:
- The first mobile call was made by Martin Cooper, an engineer at Motorolla, in 1974.
- The first cell phone cost $4000 in 1983. That’s roughly $9000, or a little more than R120 000 in today’s terms.
- The term cellphone was first used in 1984, and it’s derived from the way the device works. The towers that provide reception to mobile phones are divided into cells which connect with each other to ensure the connection is seamless.
- 90% of cellphones in Japan are waterproof, because people even tend to use them in the shower.
- The same can’t be said for Britain. That is unfortunate, as more than 100 000 cellphones are dropped in the toilet each year in Britain.
- The average person unlocks their phone 110 times a day.
- 49% of cell phone users play games on their cellphones, whilst 30% of users access social media using their cell phone.
- The amount of people who own cellphones has shot up to almost 5 billion globally.
- According to statistics, the amount of mobile devices exceeds the total population in South Africa. The country has a population of 51.8 million, but there are roughly 80 million mobile connections.
- That means that the amount of cellphones in South Africa outnumbers TV’s, taxis and radios combined.
Sources: Essentials, SpinFold