Helen Duffett, on LDV's 2x2, has reminded me that today is the 25th Anniversary of Ernie Wise making the first mobile phone call in the UK (pictured). He is dressed that was as he is in Panto, this is January the first after all.What the picture is sadly missing is the battery pack in his left hand. This truly was the age of the brick as a mobile phone, they that to the kids today and they will just laugh at you. The phone he is holding is actually one of my former clients Motorola, I'm not sure what film stock (yeah kids no digital cameras then either) the image was captured on, but the chances are high that it is my current client.
Indeed as Mr Alex Wilcock was kind enough to link to my H2G2 articles on William Ewart Gladstone the other day he may also be interested to know that I also wrote one on the phone that is most probably in Ernie's hand. The DynaTAC 8000X was the World's first mobile when it first appeared on 6 March 1983. The generation of new mobiles wasn't as rapid back then as it is now so 21 months later the phone that Vodaphone released on the UK was either exactly the same 'state of the art' model.
Helen has done a little further post as well including the following.
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