The mobile devices of yesteryear are not the intuitive, lightweight or sleek bits of hardware we're used to today. Enjoy the bizarre, yet brave imaginings of on-the-go lifestyles from the early 20th century and on.
TRANSCRIPT
The
Bizarre
History of
By Renee Floyd
Mobile
Technology
Today’s mobile
technology
activity possible
makes on-the-go
by being small,
lightweight and
internet-
accessible.
Today’s mobile
technology
makes on-the-go
activity possible
Modern mobile devices are constantly described
as intuitive.
But mobile
technology
hasn’t always
felt so
second nature.
But mobile
technology
hasn’t always
felt so
What other bizarre creations came between this…
…and this?
Here, we have two Londoners reading “ticker tape news
feeds” on portable telegraphs in1906.
In 1912, Berlin residents could
connect a compact
receiver and transmitter to a “contact place”
and make phone calls.
The device was so small, it
could be “carried in a
lady’s handbag or attached to
her chatelaine.”
The device was so small, it
could be “carried in a
lady’s handbag or attached to
her chatelaine.”
A what?
This artist’s concept of
“face time” communication
in 1930 is impressively close to what we have today.
Here, we have an early example of a mobile app—
the mobile appliqué.
Here, we have an early example of a mobile app—
the mobile appliqué.
Sewing
joke.
Sometimes, “mobile” simply meant
“the same thing as before,
Sometimes, “mobile” simply meant
“the same thing as before,
but with wheels.”
In the
1950s,
inventors
of mobile
technology
really
started
using their
heads.
Some mobile workstations became more high tech than their “desk on
wheels” predecessors.
Other mobile workstations
allowed indoor workers to
“get outside” for a change.
Portable TVs arrived in the
sixties, thanks to the
“art of miniaturization.”
Portable TVs arrived in the
sixties, thanks to the
“art of miniaturization.”
Ah, the old, “put some wheels
on it” approach to mobility!
The eighties brought forth a wave of mobile
technology, such as this “portable
microcomputer” from 1981.
This iPhone/iPad prototype from 1983 is oddly recognizable thanks to Apple’s