1 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:05,760 Speaker 1: Get in touch with technology with tech Stuff from House Stuff. 2 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:14,920 Speaker 1: Hi there, everyone, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm Jonathan 3 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:17,640 Speaker 1: Strickland and I'm Lauren, and today we wanted to talk 4 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:21,200 Speaker 1: a little bit about the history of smartphones, and before 5 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:23,239 Speaker 1: we really get into it, I thought we'd probably dive 6 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,920 Speaker 1: just a bit into our own personal history with smartphones. Lauren, 7 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 1: do you own a smartphone? I do, in fact on 8 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:33,040 Speaker 1: a smartphone. Gosh, Lauren, what kind of smartphone do you own? 9 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: I have an iPhone for okay, so iPhone for one 10 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 1: of the very popular models out there. I actually have 11 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:40,879 Speaker 1: an iPhone four as well, though I use mine as 12 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:43,559 Speaker 1: an iPod touch because it's a hand me down. My 13 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:46,720 Speaker 1: wife has an iPhone five. She loves it. She and 14 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 1: Syrie have nice long conversations of which I get to 15 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:53,880 Speaker 1: take no part. But I also do have my own 16 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:58,200 Speaker 1: legitimate smartphone, legitimate and that it's actually connected to a 17 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:01,600 Speaker 1: cellular network, because my phone is not. I have an 18 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:06,520 Speaker 1: Android phone HTCG two to be precise, which was the 19 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: successor to the HTCG one that'll come in handy later. 20 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:13,160 Speaker 1: But uh I was a late adopter to the smartphone 21 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:18,039 Speaker 1: UH model, as first by late adopter. Yes, do you 22 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:22,120 Speaker 1: mean before two eleven, because because that's when I adopted 23 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:25,200 Speaker 1: the smartphone. Yeah. Yeah, And as we'll see, that was 24 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:29,640 Speaker 1: that was fairly late, uh, considering when smartphones first started 25 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:32,000 Speaker 1: to hit the market. But then I was also a 26 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:34,320 Speaker 1: late adopter to cell phones in general. I was one 27 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:36,760 Speaker 1: of those curmudgeons who said, why would I need a 28 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:38,959 Speaker 1: phone so people can get in touch with me whenever? 29 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:43,960 Speaker 1: That's what answering machines are for. Uh, because get off 30 00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:47,560 Speaker 1: my lawn. But I thought we'd talk about the history, 31 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:49,440 Speaker 1: and also we need to kind of define what a 32 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: smartphone is in general, because that's changed over time a 33 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:55,080 Speaker 1: whole bunch, that's right. These these days, I think it's 34 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:58,480 Speaker 1: basically defined as um, something that has apps that you 35 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 1: can download so that you can change what software is 36 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:04,640 Speaker 1: on your phone personally. Yeah, exactly, very true. And in 37 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:07,360 Speaker 1: the past that was it was more just kind of 38 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:09,520 Speaker 1: a combination of a cellphone and p d A at 39 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:12,760 Speaker 1: the same time. Yeah. Yeah, some basic features that made 40 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:14,920 Speaker 1: it more than just a device that could let you 41 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:18,080 Speaker 1: call on the go, but let you send messages in 42 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:21,000 Speaker 1: various ways or or even serve the web. So a 43 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 1: lot of the stuff that we would we would think 44 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:25,639 Speaker 1: of as a feature phone was originally what we would 45 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: call a smartphone, because a feature phone now is pretty 46 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 1: much anything that's not a smartphone, apart from, you know, 47 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 1: a brick that makes calls. But to really understand how 48 00:02:36,639 --> 00:02:41,120 Speaker 1: smartphones evolved, um, well, we started talking about the history 49 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: of it, and we realized that we kind of had 50 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 1: to go a little further back than smartphones or cell 51 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:49,960 Speaker 1: phones or telephones because but essentially a smartphone is is 52 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:53,600 Speaker 1: it is a telephone that is mobile, and what what 53 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:57,360 Speaker 1: a mobile telephone is is technically a radio. Um, so 54 00:02:57,400 --> 00:02:59,960 Speaker 1: you go all the way back to what was six 55 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 1: Alexander Graham Bell. Yeah, that's alex as I like to 56 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:06,079 Speaker 1: call him. Yeah, he came up with this idea. He 57 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 1: called it the electrical speech machine, and uh in eighteen 58 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:12,320 Speaker 1: seventy six. And before him, there had been a lot 59 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:15,920 Speaker 1: of work in physics for discovering things like the nature 60 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:20,239 Speaker 1: of electromagnetism and how that could create certain waves, and 61 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:22,360 Speaker 1: there was a there had also been development of a 62 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:27,359 Speaker 1: thing called the telegraph, which was I know, nuts, right, 63 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:31,800 Speaker 1: but I can send messages across distance, yeah, exactly, and 64 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:34,720 Speaker 1: you don't have to use a horse or smoke or 65 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 1: a horse that's smoking. It's awesome. So yeah, the the 66 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:43,360 Speaker 1: at this point we're talking about actually transmitting voice over electricity, 67 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 1: which was a phenomenal idea. And uh, the nice thing 68 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:50,600 Speaker 1: about this is that you're looking at these different disciplines 69 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:54,280 Speaker 1: that kind of combined to say, you know, there's probably 70 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 1: the potential to make a wireless communications system. We've figured 71 00:03:58,240 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 1: out how to do it by wire. We've got this 72 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: other work that physicists are doing in electromagnetism and radio waves. 73 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 1: I bet that we can figure out this this relationship 74 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 1: between electricity voice electromagnetism, make it work in some crazy 75 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:16,400 Speaker 1: way to transmit voice across great distances without wires. And 76 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 1: there are a few people who are thinking of crazy 77 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 1: thoughts like that. Uh Marconi, he was one of them. 78 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:25,240 Speaker 1: Kind of big, yeah, kind of big. There was the 79 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:30,360 Speaker 1: internet Darling Tesla. Yeah yeah, when you say his name, 80 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:33,920 Speaker 1: doves fly out of the internet. Uh yeah. While he 81 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:39,680 Speaker 1: did make some amazing discoveries and was a phenomenal physicist 82 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 1: in his day, also was a crazy, crazy man. He 83 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:44,600 Speaker 1: is his his picture is looking at us from the 84 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:48,279 Speaker 1: podcast wall right now, staring staring deeply into me and 85 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:50,680 Speaker 1: judging me. That might also be my I get a 86 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:53,760 Speaker 1: little grouchy with Tesla. Edison also very important during this 87 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:57,719 Speaker 1: time up by the way, that's your queue taboo. You 88 00:04:57,839 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 1: cheer Tesla and you boo Edison. That how the internet works. Well, 89 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:06,039 Speaker 1: he killed elephants. He did kill elephants. That's true. He 90 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:09,160 Speaker 1: used alternating current to shock elephants to death. But we're 91 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:11,040 Speaker 1: kind of getting off base anyway. At this point, we're 92 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 1: talking about radio. So now radio, of course plays an 93 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 1: important part because when you get to the point of 94 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:20,840 Speaker 1: cellular telephones, you're really talking about another version of radio communication. 95 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:23,680 Speaker 1: So you've got the the development of the telephone and 96 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:27,440 Speaker 1: the development of radio all going on at the same time. Uh. 97 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:29,880 Speaker 1: And then we'll skip ahead a little bit because although 98 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 1: there are lots and lots of things we can talk 99 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:36,159 Speaker 1: about during this time, ultimately they don't really uh inform 100 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:38,280 Speaker 1: our discussion about the history of the smartphone. I would 101 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 1: go all the way to oh, I'm I'm actually not 102 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:46,160 Speaker 1: familiar with this, with this particular reference that ves wireless 103 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 1: even wireless. Okay, so there's actually a clip online where 104 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:52,719 Speaker 1: you can watch this silent film. And I did not 105 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:55,839 Speaker 1: know about this until this morning. So I don't think 106 00:05:55,839 --> 00:05:57,960 Speaker 1: that I'm brilliant because I put this in our notes. 107 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:00,359 Speaker 1: I just found out about it a thought it was 108 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:03,080 Speaker 1: too cool to pass up because I was looking around 109 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:06,720 Speaker 1: and someone jokingly referred to it as the first smartphone. 110 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:09,760 Speaker 1: It's a silent film that shows two women walking down 111 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:12,039 Speaker 1: the street having a conversation, or at least that's what 112 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:15,040 Speaker 1: we assume they're doing, because we can't hear them. They 113 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:18,520 Speaker 1: could be making bird noises for all I know. They 114 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:21,800 Speaker 1: come up to a fire hydrant, and as two women 115 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:26,760 Speaker 1: in the early twentieth century would do, they stop at 116 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:29,480 Speaker 1: the fire hydrant. Clearly, of course, they wrap a wire 117 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:32,840 Speaker 1: around the end of the fire hydrant and they and 118 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:35,440 Speaker 1: the other end of that wires holds up to a radio. 119 00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:38,599 Speaker 1: And then there's another wire from the radio going to 120 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:41,520 Speaker 1: an umbrella, which one of the two ladies opens up 121 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:44,200 Speaker 1: and holds up into the air. And then they fiddle 122 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 1: with some knobs on the radio that is now wired 123 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:51,160 Speaker 1: to both the umbrella and the fire hydranydrant. And then 124 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:55,680 Speaker 1: it cuts with the magic of cinema to a radio 125 00:06:55,760 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 1: operator who is holding up a transmitter to a phonograph 126 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:05,400 Speaker 1: and plays music from the phonograph through the radio transmitter, 127 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:08,440 Speaker 1: which the two ladies on the street are apparently listening 128 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:11,400 Speaker 1: to the umbrella. And yes, yes, so this was this 129 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:14,400 Speaker 1: was what people were calling the first smartphone because it 130 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:20,280 Speaker 1: was using wireless radio technology to transmit communications exactly. I 131 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:22,400 Speaker 1: like to think of it as the first iPod commercial. 132 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:26,360 Speaker 1: But yeah, that's why I put that in there, because 133 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:28,960 Speaker 1: someone jokingly referred to it as the first smartphone, which 134 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:32,160 Speaker 1: really it only had one way communication. You can only receive. 135 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: There was not a transmitter, right, they didn't have a 136 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:36,840 Speaker 1: microphone waked up to it exactly. Certainly that was going 137 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:39,920 Speaker 1: to be in the sequel. Yes, yes, it was Eve's 138 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:44,600 Speaker 1: Witness to the Reckoning. Um did not yet did not 139 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 1: do well the box office, sadly. That's why I had 140 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:50,200 Speaker 1: to put that in there, just because the clip is online, 141 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:52,920 Speaker 1: and I'll share a clip of that in our Facebook 142 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:54,600 Speaker 1: page so you guys can get a look at it 143 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:57,600 Speaker 1: because it's it's entertaining, It sounds spectacular. If this were 144 00:07:57,600 --> 00:07:59,880 Speaker 1: not audio, then I would want to play it right now. 145 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:03,640 Speaker 1: Uh no, But but we we had some actual mobile 146 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:08,640 Speaker 1: call technology going on by the correct that's correct. You 147 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:11,720 Speaker 1: got a T and T and bell Labs now Bell Labs, 148 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:14,400 Speaker 1: is the research and development arm of a T and 149 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:18,440 Speaker 1: T correct and Bell Labs very much known for developments 150 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:22,440 Speaker 1: in wireless communication as well just communication technology in general. 151 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 1: So in the nineteen forties they developed the first wireless network, 152 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:32,520 Speaker 1: and that's kind of being generous, Uh what was it? 153 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:36,000 Speaker 1: What was it like? Back in so imagine that you 154 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:40,480 Speaker 1: are in a big metropolis and your big metropolis has 155 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:44,280 Speaker 1: a wireless network that consists of a single tower with 156 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:47,400 Speaker 1: a transmitter on it, and that transmitter is capable of 157 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:53,560 Speaker 1: handling oh maybe a dozen channels of communication, so that's 158 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 1: all it could handle at one time. So in other words, 159 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:59,000 Speaker 1: even if you had a lot of people with the handsets, 160 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:03,200 Speaker 1: you could have of them actually operated simultaneous or maybe 161 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:04,720 Speaker 1: even just six because I don't know if it was 162 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:07,559 Speaker 1: too like it was two ways, but I honestly don't 163 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:10,200 Speaker 1: know because I didn't have enough information there. But but 164 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 1: the the first wireless call was made by a truck driver, 165 00:09:14,679 --> 00:09:17,240 Speaker 1: showing that even back in the nineteen forties we were 166 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:21,480 Speaker 1: not practicing safe driving techniques. And it was a hand 167 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:24,880 Speaker 1: set like like a rotary phone. Hands do you know 168 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:27,760 Speaker 1: what a rotary phone is? Lauren? I remember rotary phones 169 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:30,120 Speaker 1: from when I was about three. Lauren's a little younger 170 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 1: than I am, so, so the rotary phone handle, it's 171 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:35,880 Speaker 1: this giant handle, right, and it's got like a cord 172 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:40,040 Speaker 1: that goes down to the base unit of this wireless telephone. 173 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:42,400 Speaker 1: And how how large was the based unit of a 174 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:45,559 Speaker 1: wireless telephone? Well, I don't have the specific dimensions, but 175 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:47,760 Speaker 1: I can tell you it weighed eighty pounds and for 176 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:51,200 Speaker 1: our friends who used the metric systems, thirty six point 177 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:55,520 Speaker 1: three kilograms. So not exactly fit in your pocket mobile, 178 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:57,640 Speaker 1: not so much something that you want to want to 179 00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:02,080 Speaker 1: take around with you, you know, I mean vacations. I 180 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:05,440 Speaker 1: assume it's camera was really crappy, Yeah, terrible. Yeah, yeah, 181 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:09,200 Speaker 1: a zero megapixel camera, right. Yeah. The only app could 182 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:11,600 Speaker 1: I could run is call this person, and that's only 183 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:15,400 Speaker 1: if you dialed it. Um. Yeah, eighty pounds. Yeah. If 184 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:17,400 Speaker 1: Steve Jobs had come out in two thousand and seven 185 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:19,400 Speaker 1: and unveiled the iPhone and it weighed eighty pounds, I 186 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:21,559 Speaker 1: doubt it would have done quite so well on the market. Yeah, 187 00:10:21,640 --> 00:10:24,360 Speaker 1: not so much, but for those purposes. Yeah, and it 188 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:27,120 Speaker 1: cost fifteen dollars a month to have the service which 189 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:30,800 Speaker 1: if you were to do an inflation calculator as I did, 190 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:34,680 Speaker 1: which had the latest year as eleven, that's the most 191 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:39,960 Speaker 1: recent figure, but in the fifteen dollars a month would 192 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:44,120 Speaker 1: be a hundred thirty eight dollars a month, which which actually, yeah, 193 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:46,800 Speaker 1: that I would take that today. Yeah, that's actually lower 194 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:49,840 Speaker 1: than what I'm paying. Although although I suppose that, yeah, 195 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:52,400 Speaker 1: that that that eighty pounds of lugging equipment around is 196 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:55,679 Speaker 1: maybe well, I would also be in better shape. I 197 00:10:55,679 --> 00:10:59,000 Speaker 1: wouldn't need to download any physical fitness apps to my phone, 198 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:01,680 Speaker 1: because just carrying the phone would be physical fitness. Maybe 199 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:03,880 Speaker 1: maybe we need to bring back the eighty pound phones. 200 00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:07,960 Speaker 1: Maybe maybe this is this will solve the oats any traffic. 201 00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:10,800 Speaker 1: If any of our listeners out there launch a company 202 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:14,120 Speaker 1: where you market an eighty pound smartphone, we demand at 203 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:18,000 Speaker 1: least some sort of residuals because we ain't getting rich 204 00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:21,240 Speaker 1: from podcasts and folks. Also a prototype send one over. 205 00:11:21,480 --> 00:11:27,200 Speaker 1: Yeah okay, So moving on, we get to nine. Now 206 00:11:27,679 --> 00:11:32,280 Speaker 1: this is where we start seeing companies look into developing 207 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:36,400 Speaker 1: cellular networks. So going beyond that single transmitter model I 208 00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:39,360 Speaker 1: was just talking about. Now we're looking at building the 209 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:43,079 Speaker 1: foundation that would allow people to make sell calls. Right, 210 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:46,560 Speaker 1: and by cellular, of course, we mean a telephone that 211 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:49,120 Speaker 1: can go through a network of towers and keep the 212 00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:52,160 Speaker 1: signal exactly, yes, because that's a that would be an issue. 213 00:11:52,160 --> 00:11:54,679 Speaker 1: If you were to move outside the broadcast range of 214 00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:58,520 Speaker 1: a transmitter and a receiver, then you would drop your call. 215 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:02,679 Speaker 1: So if you have a network of these transmitters and receivers, 216 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:05,320 Speaker 1: then the theoretically you can move from one to the 217 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:07,360 Speaker 1: other and you'd be fine, but you'd have to figure 218 00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:10,640 Speaker 1: out how to coordinate. Yeah, you gotta you gotta build 219 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:14,040 Speaker 1: the architecture so that the phone when it moves from 220 00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:16,720 Speaker 1: one to the other, gets handed off from one tower 221 00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:19,880 Speaker 1: to another tower, or a communication ceases. This is not 222 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:23,400 Speaker 1: a trivial problem, and it will take many decades of 223 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:26,560 Speaker 1: work and and lots of infrastructure goes into it. And 224 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:29,400 Speaker 1: uh yeah, and so so even though we technically had 225 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:32,240 Speaker 1: the capacity to make these calls, to make these mobile 226 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:34,559 Speaker 1: calls back in the nineties, we would not have the 227 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:37,160 Speaker 1: infrastructure to do so. I mean, I mean, I guess 228 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:40,920 Speaker 1: it started in right, Yeah, No, you're exactly right. Even today, 229 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:42,840 Speaker 1: I mean, certain parts of Atlanta we drive through and 230 00:12:42,840 --> 00:12:44,720 Speaker 1: I'm just like you can you gehit that dead section? 231 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:47,360 Speaker 1: There's a section on okay, And I apologize to all 232 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:49,080 Speaker 1: the people who are going to hear the pronunciation of 233 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:51,040 Speaker 1: this street, but this is how we say it in Atlanta. 234 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:55,400 Speaker 1: Ponstall le in when you go downstall. I'm sorry, it's 235 00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:58,240 Speaker 1: not pomps Own, which is what how my wife pronounces it, 236 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:01,319 Speaker 1: being from Philadelphia, she refuses to sleep in Florida. Yeah, 237 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:04,280 Speaker 1: they can't. I'm a little bit physically incapable of saying it. 238 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:07,320 Speaker 1: After after about eight years, I worked it out. It's 239 00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:10,400 Speaker 1: it's tough, but yeah, there are certain dead sections. Clearly, 240 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:12,520 Speaker 1: we still have to keep building those networks out if 241 00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:15,800 Speaker 1: we want to have universal coverage across the United States. Um, 242 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:19,679 Speaker 1: that sounds weird. Universal coverage across the United States Universal 243 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:24,880 Speaker 1: if it's universal, doesn't make it international anyway. Moving on, so, so, yeah, 244 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:29,120 Speaker 1: we're talking decades of work to build out the cellular networks, 245 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:31,440 Speaker 1: which at the at that time, you know, no one 246 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:35,160 Speaker 1: was using because there was there wasn't nothing networks, right, 247 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:38,120 Speaker 1: it was physically impossible to crazy, Yeah, and it wasn't. 248 00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:40,080 Speaker 1: It wasn't in fact until the nineteen seventies that they 249 00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:42,520 Speaker 1: managed to pull off that first cellular call. It was yeah, 250 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:46,280 Speaker 1: Martin Cooper. Okay, so this is a great, great story. 251 00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:51,360 Speaker 1: Martin Cooper and executive with Motorola. Are you imagine this? 252 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:56,840 Speaker 1: You head up a research and development facility within Motorola. Sure, okay. 253 00:13:57,240 --> 00:14:01,600 Speaker 1: You know that you have uh uh peers in the 254 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:04,720 Speaker 1: industry who are working on cellular networks at the same 255 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:07,719 Speaker 1: time that your group is working on them. Yes, the 256 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:10,679 Speaker 1: big one being Bell Labs of a T and T. 257 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:15,920 Speaker 1: You and your team managed to make a cellular network 258 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:18,480 Speaker 1: and a phone that will work on that network, and 259 00:14:18,520 --> 00:14:21,000 Speaker 1: you can make a call to anyone. Who is the 260 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:26,440 Speaker 1: first person you call? My mom? I'm not sure. Well, 261 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:30,200 Speaker 1: Martin Cooper decided to call the head of the research 262 00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:33,080 Speaker 1: and development team over at Bell Laboratories because the very 263 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:36,640 Speaker 1: first cell phone call was a crank call. That is amazing. 264 00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:40,240 Speaker 1: Isn't that phenomenal? How many more cell phone calls would 265 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:43,600 Speaker 1: follow in that wake? Did he ask if his refrigerator 266 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:47,320 Speaker 1: wasning Prince Albert in a can? Actually I don't think 267 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:50,240 Speaker 1: he did any of that, but but yes, the famously, 268 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:53,520 Speaker 1: he very cheekily made a phone call to the two 269 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:56,840 Speaker 1: executive over at Bell Labs which was kind of tweaking 270 00:14:56,880 --> 00:14:59,320 Speaker 1: their nose at the same time as having this historic 271 00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:02,680 Speaker 1: moment on that phone was also a little a little clunky. 272 00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:04,800 Speaker 1: It was not eighty pounds, but it was about one 273 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:07,760 Speaker 1: point seven five pounds, which is around point eight krams. 274 00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:15,360 Speaker 1: And it had a cute nickname Brick, which you know, obviously, 275 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:17,520 Speaker 1: if if I saw a phone marketed as the Brick, 276 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:19,280 Speaker 1: I'm just thinking, boy, I gotta get my hands on 277 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:23,120 Speaker 1: that thing. Oh yeah, oh yeah, the eyebricks. Canna get 278 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:25,960 Speaker 1: the lead weight too, that would be awesome. So but 279 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:30,920 Speaker 1: this this obviously showed a shift in telephone technology. It 280 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:33,560 Speaker 1: would still be quite a few years before cell phones 281 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:37,840 Speaker 1: became a common thing in the consumer market, but we 282 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:42,000 Speaker 1: started to see them get adopted for advanced users, for 283 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:46,480 Speaker 1: business users probably yep. We also those first adopters, those 284 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:48,280 Speaker 1: early adopters who would like to be on the bleeding 285 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:51,200 Speaker 1: edge of technology before it's even proven. They would go 286 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:53,640 Speaker 1: out and get one. They were really expensive, they were 287 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:57,920 Speaker 1: not very um practical, but this was the beginning of 288 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:02,720 Speaker 1: that that trend. Um. Now, the next thing I have 289 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:06,000 Speaker 1: here is nineteen seventy four, and uh, ladies and gentlemen 290 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:09,200 Speaker 1: of Greek ancestry. I would like to apologize profusely for 291 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:12,480 Speaker 1: what I am about to attempt, because nineteen seventy four 292 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:17,720 Speaker 1: was when Theodore George and here we go, Paris Cavacos, 293 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:21,320 Speaker 1: that's my best guest. Paris Scovaco said, it's a Greek name, 294 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:24,720 Speaker 1: so obviously I probably have butchered it. But he patented 295 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:28,440 Speaker 1: a concept. Uh he actually he submitted the patent in 296 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:30,640 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy two, but in seventy four he was granted 297 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:33,800 Speaker 1: the patent for a concept for what would be a 298 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:37,360 Speaker 1: or an early smartphone, and I wasn't called that at 299 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:40,000 Speaker 1: the time. Of course, it was called an apparatus for 300 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:44,480 Speaker 1: generating and transmitting digital information. Smartphone is catchier. I see, 301 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:47,080 Speaker 1: I see why that one stuck. Although I would say, Lauren, 302 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:51,160 Speaker 1: you you're familiar somewhat with the the realm of the 303 00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:55,720 Speaker 1: steampunk a little bit, I would think that steampunk fans 304 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:57,960 Speaker 1: what they really need to do is just go through 305 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:03,480 Speaker 1: and look at patent titles, because every patent title is 306 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:05,480 Speaker 1: really more of a description of what the device does. 307 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:08,640 Speaker 1: And if you've ever seen anyone who creates steampunk gadgets, 308 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:11,480 Speaker 1: that's almost always what they name their stuff. It's not 309 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:14,680 Speaker 1: a simple name. It's a descriptor. It's as many words 310 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:17,080 Speaker 1: as you can possibly fit into a single phrase without 311 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:19,520 Speaker 1: losing your breath and falling over. And the word ether 312 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:22,240 Speaker 1: has to be in there somewhere. Well clearly, yeah, I 313 00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:24,720 Speaker 1: mean obviously it's the most important part. Also, don't forget 314 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:28,960 Speaker 1: your goggles. Uh, that's neither here nor there. Moving on, 315 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:32,160 Speaker 1: so so so in in seventy four, um um, our friend, 316 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:35,880 Speaker 1: our friend Teddy. Yeah I like that. Yes, Teddy put 317 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:38,399 Speaker 1: in this patent um and then proceeded to do absolutely 318 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:41,320 Speaker 1: nothing with it. Is that correct? Well? Yeah, I mean 319 00:17:41,320 --> 00:17:44,520 Speaker 1: it kind of just sort of languished because while the 320 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:49,520 Speaker 1: concept was there, the technology wasn't really up to task 321 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:52,800 Speaker 1: to fulfilling on that promise. Because the idea was to 322 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:57,520 Speaker 1: have this handheld device that could transmit digital information at 323 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:01,760 Speaker 1: the time in the in the handheld device would not 324 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:05,080 Speaker 1: really be able to do that efficiently. We're talking about 325 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:07,720 Speaker 1: I mean, we were in nineteen seventy four. I'm again, 326 00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:10,960 Speaker 1: you would be more familiar with this because you were ancient. Um, 327 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:13,680 Speaker 1: but I was not born in seventy four. Thank you, 328 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:17,160 Speaker 1: I don't have to wait a year. But yes, yes, 329 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:20,240 Speaker 1: hand handheld devices at the time could could do not 330 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:24,959 Speaker 1: very calculating. We had some, We had some We had 331 00:18:24,960 --> 00:18:29,600 Speaker 1: some really good graphics calculators first starting around the around 332 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:32,840 Speaker 1: the seventies. Yeah, Hewett Packard had some some calculators and 333 00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:34,679 Speaker 1: IBM of you as well. But they were more than 334 00:18:34,760 --> 00:18:37,760 Speaker 1: the size of our laptops. They were closer to that 335 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:40,719 Speaker 1: than a than a slider phone, definitely. And in nineteen 336 00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:42,600 Speaker 1: seventy four, you're also talking about this is this is 337 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:45,640 Speaker 1: right at the very bleeding edge of the personal computer. 338 00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:49,800 Speaker 1: Are so a smartphone, which in a way is like 339 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:54,600 Speaker 1: a a a distant cousin of the PC that fits 340 00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:57,080 Speaker 1: in your hand. Clearly, it would be unreasonable to think 341 00:18:57,080 --> 00:18:59,159 Speaker 1: of something like that existing in seventy four when the 342 00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:03,000 Speaker 1: actual PC still itself was not much, not really a thing. 343 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:05,119 Speaker 1: Yet you have to wait another couple of years for 344 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:08,560 Speaker 1: those to become a thing. So when when did when did? Um? 345 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:10,760 Speaker 1: I mean because one of the ancestors of smartphones had 346 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:14,399 Speaker 1: to have been p D a Personal Digital assistance which 347 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:16,760 Speaker 1: which came onto the scene in the early eighties, Is 348 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:20,240 Speaker 1: that correct? So there's this company called Scion, and that's 349 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:23,440 Speaker 1: going to become important in a little bit too. Ssion 350 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:27,040 Speaker 1: created this device called the organizer. Now, the first organizer 351 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:30,880 Speaker 1: was more of a curiosity. It was part calculator, part 352 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:35,160 Speaker 1: database manager, or part part like digital note taker. So 353 00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:40,359 Speaker 1: imagine that you have a watch that also lets you 354 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:43,440 Speaker 1: type stuff in it, but you can't do anything else 355 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:45,680 Speaker 1: with the stuff, so you can make it just sits 356 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:48,680 Speaker 1: in the watch forever. Right, Yeah, you could delete it eventually. 357 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:51,520 Speaker 1: I think they had to use Actually I don't think 358 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:53,159 Speaker 1: it's this one, but there is one p d A 359 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:56,359 Speaker 1: I read about where the only way to reformat it 360 00:19:56,440 --> 00:20:00,320 Speaker 1: was to bathe it an ultra violet radiation, which, of course, 361 00:20:00,359 --> 00:20:02,320 Speaker 1: I mean I have one of those devices at home. 362 00:20:02,359 --> 00:20:06,760 Speaker 1: So yeah, the dogs love it. I'm kidding, I'm kidding, 363 00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:11,320 Speaker 1: they hate it. So yeah, the the organizer, all it 364 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:14,000 Speaker 1: was was a clock in this a way of taking notes. 365 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:17,840 Speaker 1: But you couldn't you couldn't organize it in any other way. Really, 366 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:19,720 Speaker 1: it was like you could put I could put down 367 00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:22,000 Speaker 1: your name and your phone number, and then under on 368 00:20:22,119 --> 00:20:24,800 Speaker 1: the next line under I might put eggs, milk, bread, 369 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:27,160 Speaker 1: you know, et cetera. And then on the next line 370 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:29,600 Speaker 1: down I might say, um, you know, write down what 371 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:32,560 Speaker 1: a person's address, And there's there's no rhyme or reason. 372 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:37,000 Speaker 1: There wasn't there was no particular operating system, right. But 373 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:41,080 Speaker 1: one just two years later they introduced the organizer too, 374 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:44,000 Speaker 1: and that one was really the very first pd eight 375 00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:46,239 Speaker 1: had a lot more features that actually had allowed you 376 00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:50,560 Speaker 1: to organize stuff into different categories, and it laid the 377 00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:53,360 Speaker 1: groundwork for what the p d A would be over 378 00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:56,000 Speaker 1: the next really the next decade and a half. P 379 00:20:56,119 --> 00:20:59,600 Speaker 1: d a's, I mean they technically still exist, but mostly 380 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:02,560 Speaker 1: they've been co opted by smartphones. It's one of those 381 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:04,919 Speaker 1: many things that we have replaced in our pockets with 382 00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:09,840 Speaker 1: a single We went from so we went from seventy 383 00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:12,600 Speaker 1: four to eight four. What's our next jump? I think 384 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:14,920 Speaker 1: our next jump is all the way to ninety four. Yeah, 385 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:18,520 Speaker 1: we'd like to take these decades people. Um, And that 386 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:20,280 Speaker 1: was that was when that was the first time that 387 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:22,040 Speaker 1: that a p d A and a cell phone really 388 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:24,720 Speaker 1: got got kind of smooshed together. Right, Yeah, So what 389 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:28,560 Speaker 1: IBM dead? It was IBM IBM took a PDA and 390 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:30,000 Speaker 1: they took a cell phone, and they put them in 391 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:32,639 Speaker 1: a room together and put on some very white music. 392 00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:36,960 Speaker 1: And about nine months later, the Simon Personal Communicator came 393 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:41,720 Speaker 1: out and that's how smartphones are born. Actually that's mostly 394 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:43,480 Speaker 1: a lie, but no, they did. They did come up 395 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:46,680 Speaker 1: with a product called the Simon Personal Communicator, and yeah, 396 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:49,399 Speaker 1: it was part cell phone, part p d A. So 397 00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:51,760 Speaker 1: in a way it's the kind of like the great 398 00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:57,240 Speaker 1: grandfather of smartphones. And it could send facsimiles. Is that correct, Verry? 399 00:21:57,320 --> 00:21:58,919 Speaker 1: What wasn't that one of the first messages that it sent. 400 00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:01,920 Speaker 1: I believe during one of their their stage shows they 401 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:03,680 Speaker 1: sent a facts from one end of the stage to 402 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:05,840 Speaker 1: the other and we're like, check us out you yeah, 403 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:08,840 Speaker 1: which is at that time that was pretty exciting certainly, 404 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:11,800 Speaker 1: and you know, it's it's hard for us to remember now, 405 00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:14,400 Speaker 1: but for all, remember all those you know, all those 406 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:17,399 Speaker 1: hoax emails or jokes you would get an email and 407 00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:19,360 Speaker 1: then later on you would start getting them on things 408 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:22,879 Speaker 1: like Facebook. My very dear grandmother still still uses email 409 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:25,400 Speaker 1: to send them. Yeah, so you get those forwards. Back 410 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:28,520 Speaker 1: in the day, which was a Thursday, remember, uh, we 411 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:31,800 Speaker 1: used to send those via facts. They're called facts lure. 412 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:35,320 Speaker 1: Facts Laura is a type of folklore where the same 413 00:22:35,359 --> 00:22:39,000 Speaker 1: sort of hoaxes and jokes would get passed around on 414 00:22:39,119 --> 00:22:42,640 Speaker 1: facts as they do today. On email or through social networks, 415 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:46,040 Speaker 1: and so very important to allow people to pass on 416 00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:48,280 Speaker 1: that message that Bill Gates will give them lots of 417 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:51,199 Speaker 1: money if they forward this message on which it's not 418 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:54,960 Speaker 1: true critical but but yeah, and it was, it was, 419 00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:59,920 Speaker 1: I mean relatively tremendously expensive at the time, the sign 420 00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:03,159 Speaker 1: and um, it was it cost it cost a thousand 421 00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:08,600 Speaker 1: ninety nine dollars um by itself or a contract because 422 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:10,640 Speaker 1: even then even then didn't when they're working with Bill 423 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:13,520 Speaker 1: cell I think, um they had teamed up with Bell 424 00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:16,040 Speaker 1: Seal to do this. Who wasn't entirely sure about this 425 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:21,280 Speaker 1: whole cell phone thing quite at that moment, the smartphone, right, Yeah, 426 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:23,600 Speaker 1: I mean it was. It was a big risk at 427 00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:25,960 Speaker 1: that time. And even at that price, they still sold, 428 00:23:26,359 --> 00:23:29,240 Speaker 1: they still sold quite a few, uh products. Now granted 429 00:23:29,359 --> 00:23:32,160 Speaker 1: again these were going to very you know, a very 430 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:35,600 Speaker 1: specialized market because not everyone could afford a well in 431 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:38,919 Speaker 1: to day's dollars would be nearly more than sixteen hundred 432 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:42,399 Speaker 1: dollars for a phone. Sixteen hundred dollars for a phone 433 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:45,040 Speaker 1: for a phone. Yeah, but if you which is twice 434 00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:49,360 Speaker 1: what I would pay for anyone contract, And of course 435 00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:51,680 Speaker 1: I guess we should take this moment to also acknowledge 436 00:23:51,680 --> 00:23:53,639 Speaker 1: the fact to all of our listeners overseas who are 437 00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:56,880 Speaker 1: used to buying your phones without any subsidies from your 438 00:23:57,520 --> 00:24:00,800 Speaker 1: cell phone carrier. We totally understand the you you pay 439 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:03,520 Speaker 1: more perfone than we do. But we're coming at it 440 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:05,840 Speaker 1: from the perspective of people in the United States who 441 00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:08,280 Speaker 1: sign away two years of our lives in order to 442 00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:10,280 Speaker 1: be able to buy a phone for about four dollars 443 00:24:10,359 --> 00:24:12,119 Speaker 1: cheaper than what it would go for otherwise. We we 444 00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:13,680 Speaker 1: have to make a blood OAF but it only costs 445 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:15,840 Speaker 1: about two hundred dollars to the phone, and somehow it 446 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:18,080 Speaker 1: works out. Yeah, there's there's usually some sort of weird 447 00:24:18,119 --> 00:24:20,439 Speaker 1: ceremony involved, but two guys over there don't need to 448 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:22,120 Speaker 1: know all about that. We don't want to give away 449 00:24:22,119 --> 00:24:25,159 Speaker 1: all our secrets. But so, but so, the Simon, the 450 00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:29,159 Speaker 1: Simon Personal Communicator, really I kind of didn't do well. 451 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:32,240 Speaker 1: I don't think it was it was a few thousand, 452 00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:35,320 Speaker 1: but you know, it was like it was tet and 453 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:37,240 Speaker 1: it was kind of a prototype. And and again the 454 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:39,959 Speaker 1: infrastructure was not prepared to handle something like that. There 455 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,160 Speaker 1: weren't that many places that you could use it. Yeah, 456 00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:44,879 Speaker 1: and and for for something that was based on a 457 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:47,400 Speaker 1: concept of you can use this anywhere that wasn't really 458 00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:49,680 Speaker 1: it was it was, and so I think it was 459 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:53,520 Speaker 1: off the market. It was. It was definitely one of 460 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:56,400 Speaker 1: more of a proof of concept. That's why it turned out. 461 00:24:56,520 --> 00:24:57,879 Speaker 1: It turned out to be more of a proof of 462 00:24:57,920 --> 00:24:59,879 Speaker 1: concept that it turned out to be a useful product 463 00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:02,520 Speaker 1: on and so one because of those very things you say, 464 00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:06,119 Speaker 1: because yeah, I mean if if your whole thing is 465 00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:08,879 Speaker 1: this is mobile, then you better be able to use 466 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:13,159 Speaker 1: it MOBI. Yeah. Apart from like it's mobile, as long 467 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:15,919 Speaker 1: as you stay within this four square foot area of 468 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:18,560 Speaker 1: this part of the office that's adjacent to this giant window, 469 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:23,879 Speaker 1: that's not terribly useful. No no, um. But But but 470 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:28,439 Speaker 1: very soon after that, in nineties six, Palms started Yeah Palm, 471 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:32,200 Speaker 1: man boy, what a And we've done an episode about Palm, 472 00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:34,879 Speaker 1: a couple of episodes about Palm and including it's a 473 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:37,640 Speaker 1: relationship with other companies. But in ninety six that's when 474 00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:39,399 Speaker 1: it started to really make a name for itself in 475 00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:43,520 Speaker 1: the personal Digital assistant UH market. And they released the 476 00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:46,800 Speaker 1: Pilot one thousand and Pilot five thousand, and people who 477 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:50,520 Speaker 1: owned Palm p D as are some of the most 478 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:54,240 Speaker 1: passionate technology lovers I know, oh absolutely. I mean there 479 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:56,480 Speaker 1: I know people who still will talk about either their 480 00:25:56,520 --> 00:26:01,560 Speaker 1: PDA or their Palm. Smartphones, like the Trio owners are like, well, 481 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:05,240 Speaker 1: they're like a mega owners. And I don't mean that 482 00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:06,920 Speaker 1: in a bad way. I just mean that they are 483 00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:11,000 Speaker 1: really passionate about that product. Right, Yes, absolutely, and it's 484 00:26:11,119 --> 00:26:12,520 Speaker 1: it's easy to see why. I mean it was. It 485 00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:14,280 Speaker 1: was very exciting at the time that the level of 486 00:26:14,280 --> 00:26:17,800 Speaker 1: functionality that they were getting out of out of a 487 00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:19,480 Speaker 1: thing that you could put in your pocket and carry 488 00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:23,520 Speaker 1: around with you and have have access to um all 489 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:26,080 Speaker 1: sorts of stuff. Man, I mean you could have all 490 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:28,600 Speaker 1: your calendar in there, you could have files, you could 491 00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:31,560 Speaker 1: even run apps on these things. It was. It was 492 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:37,800 Speaker 1: a small, portable, very limited computer. Yes, go just another 493 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:40,080 Speaker 1: year and then you know, there's this company that pops 494 00:26:40,119 --> 00:26:44,000 Speaker 1: up in n called HTC. Now I'm going to tell 495 00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:46,440 Speaker 1: you a story here, Lauren. You guys out there you 496 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:50,200 Speaker 1: can listen in if you like HTC. I had never 497 00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:53,919 Speaker 1: heard of HTC because I was not into smartphones at 498 00:26:53,920 --> 00:27:00,000 Speaker 1: all until I got until first, and so I didn't 499 00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:02,520 Speaker 1: that's actually right. It came out in two thousand eight, 500 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:04,159 Speaker 1: but I didn't buy my until two thousand nine. So 501 00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:09,000 Speaker 1: that's really remarkable that you knew that that Lauren's been stalking. Anyway, 502 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:11,560 Speaker 1: I've been listening to your other podcasts. You've talked about 503 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:14,760 Speaker 1: this before, Jonathan. Fair enough, fair enough, So HTC. I 504 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:17,359 Speaker 1: had never heard of them. I didn't realize that they had. 505 00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:21,240 Speaker 1: They were first founded, and in fact, they've had a 506 00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:26,119 Speaker 1: much longer association with smartphones than I was aware. When 507 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:29,359 Speaker 1: I saw the g One, I naively thought, oh, this 508 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:31,440 Speaker 1: must be like one of their first products, because I've 509 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:33,000 Speaker 1: never heard of them before. Now that was due to 510 00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:36,679 Speaker 1: my ignorance, not due to HTC's UH success in the 511 00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:39,399 Speaker 1: the or lack thereof in in UH in the market. 512 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:41,280 Speaker 1: In fact, we'll talk a little bit about some of 513 00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:44,400 Speaker 1: their other products in a in a bit. So, yeah, 514 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:46,720 Speaker 1: HTC pops up on the scene and they become a 515 00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:50,160 Speaker 1: big name, although not they don't always have a smooth 516 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:53,679 Speaker 1: sailing kind of relationship with the market either. HTC has 517 00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:55,560 Speaker 1: been having some issues over the last couple of years. 518 00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:58,840 Speaker 1: In fact, most most technology companies, I think are doing 519 00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:02,200 Speaker 1: a tiny bit of that here and there. You found 520 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:06,720 Speaker 1: out the first use of the term smartphone. Yes. Um, 521 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:10,080 Speaker 1: that also happened in it was attached to one of 522 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:14,399 Speaker 1: Ericsson's phones, UM called the g S eight eight a 523 00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:19,359 Speaker 1: k a. The Penelope. Oh it's not Penelope, not Penalope. Man, 524 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:22,400 Speaker 1: I've been saying it wrong all these years. Um, but yeah, 525 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:24,399 Speaker 1: this this was this was basically a concept model. I 526 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:27,840 Speaker 1: think only about two were ever produced. But um, but yes, 527 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:30,840 Speaker 1: that was the first marketing package that had the word 528 00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:33,840 Speaker 1: smart and phone in conjunction. There was a space between them, 529 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:35,600 Speaker 1: so clearly there was a lot of work to be 530 00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:38,440 Speaker 1: done in the marketing field. Deleting that space would take 531 00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:43,080 Speaker 1: two years, two years of hard work. You thought building 532 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:48,200 Speaker 1: that cellular network was tough. Space is big yo, getting 533 00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:51,760 Speaker 1: rid of it. But yeah, yeah, and and and this 534 00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:54,240 Speaker 1: is this is where that the rest of our outline 535 00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:56,760 Speaker 1: is extremely crunched together. It's it's if I drew a 536 00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:00,200 Speaker 1: little picture and had to start making bendylines going all 537 00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:02,040 Speaker 1: over the place. Well, yeah, because up to now we've 538 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:05,600 Speaker 1: been jumping like we were doing. We were doing fifty 539 00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:07,560 Speaker 1: year jumps for a while, then we got down to 540 00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:09,840 Speaker 1: ten year jumps. Now we're doing like two and pretty 541 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:11,760 Speaker 1: soon we've got a whole bunch of stuff happening year 542 00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:14,320 Speaker 1: by year, year by year, a month by month. So, Lauren, 543 00:29:14,360 --> 00:29:16,240 Speaker 1: it turns out we had a lot to say about 544 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:19,000 Speaker 1: the history of smartphones. We talk a lot. Yeah, So 545 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:21,000 Speaker 1: it turned out to be so long that we're doing 546 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:24,320 Speaker 1: something that it's not unusual for text stuff. We're splitting 547 00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:27,240 Speaker 1: it into two episodes, so we're gonna leave off here, 548 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:30,280 Speaker 1: but we'll pick up in our next episode right where 549 00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:32,360 Speaker 1: we left off. If you guys have topics you would 550 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:35,000 Speaker 1: like us to tackle on tech stuff, email us our 551 00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:38,080 Speaker 1: addresses tech stuff at Discovery dot com or contact us 552 00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:40,840 Speaker 1: on Facebook or Twitter. Are handle us tech stuff, hs 553 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:43,040 Speaker 1: W and Lauren and I will talk to you again 554 00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:47,440 Speaker 1: really soon. For more on this and thousands of other topics, 555 00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:49,120 Speaker 1: is its staff works dot com.