The father of the cellphone, Martin Cooper, says cellphones are still very primitive because we are slaves to them, rather than them being slaves to us.

Cellphone inventor Martin Cooper: Smartphones aren’t optimal*

“Walking down the street, sixth avenue in New York … I said, ’This is Marty Cooper. I’m calling you on a cellphone.’” —Martin Cooper making the first ever call on a cellphone

The race to space may have captured headlines in the 50’s and 60’s, but by the 70’s a new contest had begun—the one to dominate the world of personal communications. And by the 80’s, commercials for “cellular radio telephones” hit the airwaves.

Ads for cellular phones successfully predicted a communication revolution. But even tech pioneers couldn’t have predicted the cellphone’s far-reaching effects on our lives.

As part of project Ripple Effect, CBC’s The Current explored the unintended consequences of the cellphone and asked where it’s successor the smartphone is headed next.

The interview

Martin Cooper is a man known as the “father of the cellphone.” He and his team at Motorola are credited with making the first portable cellphone. Martin Cooper was in Del Mar, California.

Listen to the interview (22'50").

Assignment 1

“When Martin Cooper made the first ever call on a mobile phone, he had no idea he was spearheading a cellular revolution. The ripple effects of his invention exceeded his expectations, surprising everyone with the sweeping changes its brought to our lives” (CBC Radio One, 2015).

Discuss with your pod: Did the cellphone create a ripple effect in your life? How would you like smartphones to evolve? What do cellphones mean to you?

Assignment 2

Informed by this radio piece and your classroom discussion, create a short, thoughtful reflection and present it as a validated webpage. Illustrate your page with a suitable image properly credited. If you choose to include researched material, be sure to credit that properly as well.

Reference

* This page is a modified version of the following:

Tremonti, A. M. (Host and Interviewer). (2015, September 8). Cellphone inventor Martin Cooper: Smartphones aren’t optimal [Radio program]. In S. Grant (Producer), The Current. Toronto: CBC Radio One.

touque.ca > Education Commons > ICT History

[This page last updated 2020-12-23 at 12h46 Toronto local time.]

© 2007–2025 Hersch, Bear & Company Limited. All rights reserved. “Grammar Authority,” “grammarauthority.com,” “touque.ca,” and “Canada’s Thinking Cap” are trademarks of Hersch, Bear & Company Limited. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.
Privacy Policy | Licence to Copy | How to cite | Contact us