How to Upgrade Your Cellphone: a blog about how and why to upgrade cell phones
How to Upgrade Your Cellphone: a blog about how and why to upgrade cell phones
Introduction: A brief history of Cell Phones
Cell phones or smartphones have come a long way. In the ‘70s and ‘80s way-back machines and for those lucky enough to afford several thousand a month, you could get a cell phone installed in your car. This very fashionable phone looked like a retro house phone and provided limited service, but it did show that you had status. Motorola, a pioneer in the cellular industry, came out with the first mobile cell phone in 1973. It was called the DynaTAC, and it weighed in at 2 ½ LBS! It wasn’t until ten years later, in 1983 that the DynaTAC was available to the public for a bargain price of $3,995! In today’s world, that is the equivalent of $11,883 which is very expensive! Might as well get a cellphone repair for your old cell phones instead.
Over the next 14 years, there was a host of large companies that jumped into cellular with their version of cell phones. The late ’90s saw the introduction of the slim pocket phone from Motorola called the StarTAC, which was a flip phone. It’s easy to use and store and has pretty good battery life.
The features over this time continued to grow, as did the services around each phone including cellphone accessories, cellphone repair shops, and more. You even had the introduction of Text/SMS messaging that came about in the late ‘90s, which expanded into its own industry. This is where Apple® started to pick up momentum with their handheld products.
Operating systems like Blackberry, Android, and Apple were starting to make significant strides in their ability to not only transmit content but also lay the framework for applications that could easily be developed and deployed across Wi-Fi and cellular networks. App Development became a whole new lucrative industry!
What’s next with the smartphone industry?
In January of 2007 that Steve Jobs introduced the world to the iPhone. The idea, while not original, took off as creative and unique. From product packaging and unboxing to ease of use, Apple was transforming the cellular industry, and the other phone OEMs would be playing catch up.
While Apple was focused on design and OS performance, others like Motorola and Samsung were developing some fantastic products with great features that would continue to push the industry forward.
Fast forward to 2022, and we are awaiting Apple’s release of the iPhone 14 Series. Currently, there are more than 113 million iPhone users in the US alone, accounting for 47% of smartphones used. Speculation on Apple’s event ranges from this will be the next generation iPhone 13 or will there be a huge leap ahead in chip performance, upgraded camera, upgraded OS, or better battery life? Will they switch away from the lightning cord and go to USB-C or will there be a screen on both the front and the back? We will know for sure in a few short days as Apple will release the latest iPhone and other new devices on September 7, 2022. However, there’s a rumor about an expected price increase on the iPhone 14 series. If people might have difficulty with the price, they can always consider getting their old cell phones fixed by cellphone repair shops in the meantime.
It’s been 15 years since the iPhone was introduced, so we are really looking for some incredible leaps ahead. In case you’ve not been watching, the phone case and tempered glass manufacturers already have an idea that a new naming structure will be given to the latest iPhone. It looks like the 14, 14 Pro, 14 Max, and 14 Pro Max will be used for the latest series of iPhones, leaving the Mini behind.
Stay tuned to eTech Parts Plus in the coming weeks, as we are excited to do a Facebook Live series on the tear down of an iPhone 14!