Launched 50 years ago, Motorola’s ‘brick’ was the world’s first cell phone; inventor criticizes gadget addiction

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American engineer Martin Cooper, 94 years old, made the first mobile call in 1973, with a heavy block with wires and circuits. Martin Cooper, an American engineer says the device in our pockets has virtually unlimited potential Valerie Macon/ AFP “The problem with cell phones is that people keep looking at them.” This is the opinion of Martin Cooper, 94 years old, the man who invented these devices, 50 years ago, on April 3, 1973. Share on WhatsApp Share on Telegram The American engineer who earned the nickname “Father of Cell Phones”, says that the device has virtually unlimited potential and that, one day, it may help in the battle against some diseases. But right now, we might be a little obsessed with them. “When I see someone crossing the street looking at their phone, I feel terrible. They’re not thinking,” Cooper told AFP. “But after a lot of people get run over, they’ll understand,” he joked. Cooper has an Apple Watch and the latest iPhone, on which he intuitively jumps from his email, to his photos, to YouTube and controlling his hearing aid. He changes the device with each new version, which he submits to a meticulous analysis. He acknowledges, however, that with millions of apps available, it can be too much. “I will never learn to use a cell phone the way my grandchildren and great-grandchildren did,” he says. SEE ALSO: ChatGPT: why humans are still smarter than machines Artificial intelligence: the warning of a thousand experts about ‘risk to humanity’ Martin Cooper, nicknamed the ‘Father of Cell Phones’ Valerie Macon/ AFP Real mobility Cooper’s iPhone, which he essentially uses for calls, is a far cry from the cumbersome block of wires and circuits used to make the first mobile call on April 3, 1973. At the time, he was working for Motorola, leading a team of designers and engineers. in a race to produce the first truly mobile technology and avoid being left out of an emerging market. The company had invested millions of dollars in the project, hoping to defeat the Bell System, a behemoth that had dominated telecommunications in the United States since its inception in 1877. Bell engineers pitched the idea of ​​a cellular telephone system shortly after the World War II and, in the late 1960s, managed to put phones in vehicles, in part because of the huge battery required to function. For Cooper, this was not real mobility. In late 1972, he decided he wanted a device that people could use anywhere. With Motorola’s resources, he brought together specialists in semiconductors, transistors, filters and antennas, who worked non-stop for three months. In late March, the team unveiled the DynaTAC model (acronym for Full Area Dynamic and Adaptive Coverage). “This phone weighed over two pounds and had a 25-minute talk time,” he recalls. “But the latter wasn’t a problem. The phone was so heavy that you couldn’t hold it for more than 25 minutes.” That first call didn’t have to be a long one. It was enough to be successful. And what better recipient than the rival? “I was on Sixth Avenue [em Nova York] and it occurred to me to call my competitor at Bell System, Dr. Joel Engel.” “And I said, ‘Joel, this is Martin Cooper. I’m calling from a handheld cell phone. But a real, personal, portable, handheld cell phone. There was silence on the other end of the line. I think he was grinding his teeth,” he said. Motorola DynaTAC, the world’s first cell phone VALERIE MACON/AFP READ MORE: Stolen cell phone? Find out how to protect your data first and what to do if you lose your device Cell phone is the new cigarette: how the brain reacts to app notifications and why they are so addictive Valued at US$ 5 thousand (around R$ 131 thousand), the first cell phones were definitely not cheap, but they brought benefits to their first users, which, according to Cooper, they included people in the real estate business. “It turns out that anyone who works with real estate, shows houses, or receives new clients, over the phone (…) Now, they could do both things at the same time, which doubled their productivity”, he explained. “The cell phone has become an extension of the person, it can do so many things,” Cooper said. Challenges “And we’re just at the beginning. We’re just starting to understand what it can do. In the future, we expect the cell phone to revolutionize education. It will revolutionize the medical field”, he anticipates. “I know it seems exaggerated, but in one or two generations we will overcome diseases”, he added. Just as your watch monitors your heart rate while swimming, and your phone controls your hearing aids, cell phones will one day be connected to a series of body sensors that will detect diseases before they develop. Between that brick five decades ago and the devices of today, the distance is gigantic. Cooper always knew, however, that the device he and his team created would change the world. “We knew that one day everyone would have cell phones. We are almost there. There are more cell phone subscriptions in the world than there are people. So part of our dream came true,” he said. New technologies often bring challenges. “When television came along, people were mesmerized. But, somehow, (…) we managed to understand that there is a quality associated with watching television”, he observed. According to him, we are in the phase of looking at our phones without thinking, but that will not last. “Each generation is smarter than the previous one. They will learn to use the cell phone more efficiently. Sooner or later, humans will discover this “, he added. ALSO READ: ‘Deepfake live’: technology that changes face and voice in video calls, as in the soap opera ‘Travessia’, already exists in real life Artificial intelligence: the 1,000 experts warn about ‘risk to humanity’ Cell phone photography: accessories to help improve images

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