Cell Phones: The portable police radio and Apple’s secret project that changed the way we communicate

Your cell phone is more than just a phone. It’s your camera, address book, wallet, alarm clock, music player, map, newspaper… you get the point. And it’s changed how we interact with each other and how we navigate the world. And no cell phone has been quite as revolutionary as the iPhone.

In this episode, Marty Cooper relives the rivalry between Motorola and Bell for cellular supremacy and the historic call he made using the world’s first cell phone. Then Bas Ordering gives us a behind the scenes look into working with Steve Jobs at Apple and helping design the iPhone.

With the help of his fellow engineers at Motorola in 1973, Marty Cooper built the world’s first cell phone. Today, the cell phone and wireless communication are the glue of the global economy. But back in the day, plenty of naysayers thought the market for cell phones was too small to warrant investment.

Over the next three decades, cell phones got smaller, less expensive, and more reliable. But it wasn’t until the release of the first iPhone in 2007 that we’d see the next big disruption. Bas helped develop many of the iPhone’s pioneering design features that transformed the cell phone into a multifunctional device many depend on to be productive and stay connected.

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