The telephone is one of mankind’s greatest inventions. Its use is unparalleled and has since sprouted numerous iterations. The power and technology to communicate from any point of the world have changed from a luxury to a necessity in these modern times. While you rarely see a basic telephone anymore, you may already be using something similar: the smartphone.
In its prime, the telephone was unchallenged. It saw an influx of investors and inventors alike hoping to cash in on the new technology. But before it was actually invented, every inventor was rushing to be the first one to present the technology to the public. To create such technology would revolutionize the way the world worked. The fellow that made it happen was Alexander Graham Bell; the rest was history.
So, in what ways did the telephone change the world?
Fast Communication
In its beginning, the telephone was only available to a few people. The lines only stretched as far as three miles. Despite this, it was hailed as a revolutionary invention. The telephone offered anyone who could use it the opportunity to communicate with another person no matter where they were. In a time where telegraphs and handwritten letters were the communication norm, this was a big deal.
Slowly and surely, the technology was introduced to the public until it was the primary mode of communication. Companies and other organizations soon adopted telephones as their main tool for communication. To do this, they had to look for reputable PBX vendors. PBX serves as a business phone system that is designed to share or route calls within the network.
Introduction of Cellular Phones
After the rise of the telephones, people clamored to have similar technology but in a portable form. That said, another race was underway, with Motorola winning with its DynaTAC 8000x. While the DynaTAC was indeed “portable”, it was big and brick-like. The phone also had a hefty price tag. At roughly $4000 at the time or over $10,000 in today’s inflation, only a few had the capacity to pay for it.
But if one did have the means to buy the DynaTAC, they were offered an entirely unique experience to the conventional telephone. A few years later, SMS was introduced to the ever-growing cellular phone market.
With SMS, people had the option to send text messages through their cellphones. While there was a limited character count per message, this did not deter its users. At the time, it was a fast and discreet way to communicate with one another.
Emergence of Smartphones
Based on cellular phones, smartphones were the latest iteration of the first telephone. These new phones offered the same communication services the previous versions had, but this time with more modern features.
This latest version boasted Wi-Fi capabilities and multiple applications and features that you would normally find in separate tools and equipment. A camera, a calculator, a gaming platform, and so much more were packed into a true portable communication device. This is the device that most people use today, a distant relative of Bell’s revolutionary invention.
After decades of continuous innovation, the once-stationary communication device has been slimmed down for portability and packed with features that would have seemed impossible in the past. The telephone has certainly evolved well.