Editing DynaTAC (section)

==History==
The first cellular phone was the culmination of efforts begun at [[Bell Labs]], which first proposed the idea of a cellular system in 1947, and continued to petition the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for channels through the 1950s and 1960s, and research conducted at [[Motorola]]. In 1960, electrical engineer [[John Francis Mitchell|John F. Mitchell]]<ref>[http://www.brophy.net/PivotX/?p=john-francis-mitchell-biography John F. Mitchell Biography]</ref><ref>[http://www.historyofthecellphone.com/people/john-mitchell.php The Top Giants in Telephony] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117052435/http://www.historyofthecellphone.com/people/john-mitchell.php |date=2013-01-17 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.brophy.net/PivotX/?p=john-francis-mitchell-biography#CELLPHONEINVENTOR Who invented the cell phone?]</ref> became Motorola's chief engineer for its mobile communication products. Mitchell oversaw the development and marketing of the first [[pager]] to use transistors.

Motorola had long produced [[Radiotelephone|mobile telephone]]s for cars that were large and heavy and consumed too much power to allow their use without the automobile's engine running. Mitchell's team, which included [[Martin Cooper (inventor)|Martin Cooper]], developed portable cellular telephony, and Mitchell was among the Motorola employees granted a [[patent]] for this work in 1973; the first call on the prototype was completed, reportedly, to a wrong number.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124546835819133721|title=Motorola Executive Helped Spur Cellphone Revolution, Oversaw Ill-Fated Iridium Project|publisher=Wall Street Journal|first=Stephen|last=Miller|date=June 20, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420214920/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124546835819133721|access-date=August 2, 2021|archive-date=April 20, 2016 }}</ref>

Motorola announced the development of the Dyna-Tac in April 1973, saying that it expected to have it fully operational within three years. Motorola said that the Dyna-Tac would weigh {{convert|3|lb}} and would cost between $60 and $100 per month. Motorola predicted that the cost would decrease to $10 or $12 per month in no more than 20 years. Motorola said that, while the Dyna-Tac would not use the same network as the existing mobile service network, it anticipated resolving this so that all mobile devices would use the same network by around 1980.<ref>Corya, Robert (April 5, 1973). "[https://www.newspapers.com/image/312584336/ Portable Phone Here: Motorola]". ''The Indianapolis News'' (Indianapolis, Indiana). p. 56.</ref> By 1975, Motorola's expectations had changed; the Dyna-Tac was anticipated to be released to the public by 1985 because of [[U.S. Federal Communications Commission]] proceedings.<ref>Moeller, Phillip (August 27, 1975). "[https://www.newspapers.com/image/ Red Tape Holds Up Portable Phones]". ''Chicago Sun-Times''. The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec). p. 26.</ref>

While Motorola was developing the cellular phone itself, from 1968 to 1983, Bell Labs worked on the system called [[Advanced Mobile Phone System|AMPS]], while others designed cell phones for that and other cellular systems. Martin Cooper, a former general manager for the systems division at Motorola, led a team that produced the DynaTAC 8000X, the first commercially available cellular phone small enough to be easily carried, and made the first phone call from it. Martin Cooper was the first person to make an analog cellular mobile phone call on a prototype in 1973.

The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X was very large compared to phones today. This first cell phone was very expensive when it was released in the US in 1984. The DynaTAC's retail price, $3,995 (about ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|3995|1984|r=-2}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}}),{{Inflation-fn|US}} ensured that it would not become a mass-market item (the minimum wage in the United States was $3.35 per hour in 1984, which meant that it required more than 1192 hours of work – more than 7 months at a standard 40-hour work week – just working for the phone, without taxes);<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dollartimes.com/inflation/items/1984-united-states-minimum-wage|title=1984 United States Minimum Wage in Today's Dollars}}</ref> by 1998, when Mitchell retired, cellphones and associated services made up two thirds of Motorola's $30{{nbsp}}billion in revenue.<ref>John F. Mitchell, Time Magazine Milestones section, July 6, 2009, p.17</ref>

On October 13, 1983, David D. Meilahn placed the first commercial wireless call on a DynaTAC from his 1983 Mercedes-Benz 380SL to Bob Barnett, former president of [[Ameritech Mobile Communications]], who then placed a call on a DynaTAC from inside a Chrysler convertible to the grandson of [[Alexander Graham Bell]], who was in Germany for the event.<ref>{{cite news|first=Robert|last=Channick|title=A suburban Chicago insurance agent won a contest 40 years ago to make the first commercial cellular call. He's still on the phone.|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-biz-first-commercial-cell-call-chicago-customer-20231013-mlrn34d4znfezmq6us32uey72i-story.html|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=October 13, 2023|access-date=October 18, 2023}}</ref> The call, made at [[Soldier Field]] in Chicago, is considered to be a major turning point in communications. Later, [[Richard H. Frenkiel]], the head of system development at Bell Laboratories, said about the DynaTAC: "It was a real triumph; a great breakthrough."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04EED8173BF935A35752C0A9669C8B63|title=Cell Phones Ruin the Opera? Meet the Culprit|work=The New York Times|first=Ted|last=Oehmke|date=January 6, 2000|access-date=2009-05-26}}</ref>