Father of the Cell Phone Talks About His Child's Future

Today nearly two-thirds of the worldwide population has a cell phone (4.6 billion devices). And these numbers keep growing. In the Latin American and the Caribbean region, almost 90%, which is close to the world average. In South and Central America, the highest mobile penetration rates can be found in Venezuela, Uruguay, Argentina, El Salvador, Suriname, and Panama, which have all passed the 100% milestone (BuddeComm).

In this video, the father of the cell phone Marty Cooper who made the first public cell phone call in the sidewalks of New York in 1973, talks about — among other topics — the story of this invention, privacy, mobile health, sensors, and wearable cell phones. He is convinced that cell phone in its 37 is still on your infancy and that engineers tend to get enchanted by technology and neglect to consider consumer needs and behaviors.

As mentioned by Cooper and proved with numbers, the $153 billion wireless industry has its eye on mobilizing one industry in particular: Healthcare. According to one estimate, the healthcare industry will spend about $2.5 billion on wireless applications and services over the next few years (MobileHealthNews.com).

Over these 37 years, mobile technology has been traditionally offered voice calls and more recently, text message and Internet to connect people. Now, with improving capabilities, cheaper/flat rates and affordable handheld devices, it is undoubtedly a domain that provides a powerful space for innovation and new services.

Feel free to drop a line with your thoughts about the transformative power of cell phones and its potential impact on real world challenges.




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The Cell Phone: Marty Cooper's Big Idea
Hear the story of the invention of the cell phone from the man whose team came up with it at Motorola. The inventor, Martin Cooper, is still at it, improving the gadget he came up.