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Few would argue that over the past decades, mobile communications have changed the world. Today, many of us are in touch around the clock using small mobile phones.
Some twenty years ago, a wireless phone was considered almost a luxury item, and now we can’t imagine our life without them. Proof of this is the statistics, which show that in developed countries for every citizen there are at least two contracts concluded with mobile operators.
There is even a special kind of phobia, which consists in the fact that a person experiences a panic fear of being left without a mobile phone.
Here are 10 of the most entertaining facts about mobile communications.
10 The very first mobile phone
The very first wireless device that allows you to make and receive phone calls was created by the Soviet engineer Kupriyanovich L.I. in 1957. This apparatus was named LK-1.
Its mass was 3 kg, and the battery charge of such a phone was enough for 20-30 hours of operation. The device could provide communication through interaction with a special automatic telephone exchange, which had the ability to connect to city telephone lines.
As a result, LK-1 was improved: the mass and size of the device were significantly reduced. In the improved version, the size of the phone was approximately equal to the size of 2 cigarette packages stacked on top of each other, and its weight was 0,5 kg with the battery.
The developers’ plans were to introduce the first Soviet mobile phone into widespread use in the national economy.
9. Number of smartphone enthusiasts
According to statistics, the Russian Federation has firmly established itself in the list of those countries whose citizens prefer to use smartphones in their daily lives. According to these indicators, our country even surpassed Poland and France.
8. Country without mobile connection
Despite the fact that most of the inhabitants of the earth actively use mobile communications, there remains a country in the world where citizens do not have the opportunity to use not only smartphones, but also television and e-mail.
We are talking about the Tuva Islands. The population of this state is 250 thousand inhabitants and none of them have a mobile phone.
Until recently, there was no mobile communication in North Korea either. Moreover, in this totalitarian state, at the legislative level, citizens were forbidden to use wireless communication devices.
Violation of this law could result in a real prison term. At the same time, they could be punished not only for using a mobile phone for its intended purpose, but also for carrying it in your pocket.
7. The very first smartphone
There is an opinion that the first touch phone was the iPhone 1, created by the world famous Apple company. However, in fact, the US company IBM became a pioneer in this area.
Since the beginning of the 80s of the last century, its developers have been trying to create a phone in which the familiar keypad will be replaced by a touch one. But it wasn’t until 1992 that their dream came true.
And very soon, at the world exhibition of communication technologies, which was held in Las Vegas, the company presented a prototype of the first IBM Simon touch phone.
6. There are over 3,3 billion active mobile phones worldwide
This is an incredible number! But you also need to keep in mind that every year 125 million of them are sent to scrap. And these are by no means always devices that have failed for some reason. Some of them simply go out of fashion or bother their owners.
According to statistics, Korean schoolchildren and students experience the greatest need for daily use of smartphones, because each of them sends about 100 messages per day on average.
5.
Having carefully studied the technical documentation for both of these devices familiar to most of us, you will think that the power consumption of the refrigerator is many times greater than a smartphone.
However, here it is necessary to take into account the fact that the refrigerator is limited solely to the consumption of energy from the home network. And when using a mobile phone, energy is needed not only to charge the device itself, but also to maintain stations, servers, Internet communications, etc.
It turns out that on average, one telephone accounts for approximately 360 kWh per year, while a refrigerator – 320 kWh per year.
4. Voice messages
Scott Jones is the developer of the voice messaging system. The idea to create the ability to send voice SMS came to the inventor quite by accident. According to Jones himself, this thought visited him during lunch.
Then mobile communications could be used only in big cities, and outside of them it was not realistic to make a call. That is why it became necessary for people to send voice messages to loved ones, upon hearing which a person could call back.
3. Mobile communication on the plane
You need to be afraid of the negative impact of a mobile phone on the on-board electronics of an aircraft if the device has not been certified.
All licensed devices are tested for radiation in hazardous ranges. Although, all the same, you should not take risks, and during the flight it is better to keep your mobile phone turned off or in a special mode.
2. Losses of mobile operators
Due to the fact that people all over the planet are constantly changing mobile operators and switching to another tariff plan, cellular companies incur losses of $ 27 billion annually.
But, despite this, providing mobile communications is still considered one of the most profitable types of business.
Therefore, the competition between operators is quite high, which is very useful for ordinary users, because in the struggle for customers, companies are constantly forced to get more and more favorable rates.
1. Coverage area
The average mobile phone tower provides 360-degree coverage. By the way, the antennas of the tower are directed only to 3 cardinal points (in the shape of the letter T).