Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

First cell phone was a true 'brick'

Nice

My parents used to have a phone that was connect to a pack, like in the Army. It was bigger and heavier than my mom's purse
 
I still have a brick that I activate from time to time, just for fun. Gets more looks and better reception that a lot of modern phones, I'll tell you what!
 
This is the first one that I ever had the experience of using . . . my Dad bought it for farm business, and it was a frightfully expensive machine. They called it 'transportable' since it came with a shoulder strap. :p

Motorola_TX400.jpg
 
That's it!

dvdh said:
This is the first one that I ever had the experience of using . . . my Dad bought it for farm business, and it was a frightfully expensive machine. They called it 'transportable' since it came with a shoulder strap. :p

Motorola_TX400.jpg
Click to expand...

That's the one my parents had! God that thing was a hassle.
 
appleretailguy said:
That's the one my parents had! God that thing was a hassle.
Click to expand...

My Dad actually used to have something even older than a cell phone built into a console in his van. (No, not a CB :rolleyes: although he did have one of those in his truck) it was a radiotelephone I think?
 
hehe, yep, i remember those big things. my dad had one that he carried in a bag. the battery had a separate compartment from the phone and it plugged into the cigarette lighter or something...and there was a rather large antenna that had to be suction cupped onto the hood of the car to get reception. :)
 
We had a later version of that "brick". It was only around $200 when I bought it. Bell Atlantic and Contel were ripping us off horribly for intraLATA calls, whereas they were local for cell. We saved a lot of money, even back then.

I think the "bag phones" dvdh showed came before the "brick". You sometimes come across them at thrift stores for a buck or two. I think it's a good idea to get one and stick it someplace in your car trunk. In an emergency, you can use it to call 911; they have better range than the pocket digital phones.
 
How did those get reception, did they still use what we now know as "Cell Towers" or was there other means to transmit?
 
mmm.. I remember my first mobile phone, a motorola, WTH of a brick but at the time it was cool and nice, less than 1 hour battery life :( . I did like it.
 
I don't remember much about it as I was just a wee little thing, but my dad's mobile cost around $2000 and it was a Motorola. It was huge, but it didn't come with its own separate handbag. :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back