The question "when was the second phone made" invites a journey into the chaotic early days of mobile communication, a time when the very concept of a portable telephone was a radical innovation. It is a deceptively simple query that unravels the complex timeline of technological iteration, where progress was not a steady march but a series of bold experiments and overlapping inventions. To understand the origin of the second device is to dissect the frantic race between engineers who saw the phone not as a singular marvel, but as a product destined for mass adoption.
The Context of the "First"
Before we can identify the second phone, we must anchor ourselves to the undeniable benchmark: the first. The title of the first handheld cellular phone is most famously claimed by the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, demonstrated by Martin Cooper in 1973 and commercially launched in 1983. This brick-like device, weighing over 2 pounds, was the physical manifestation of a revolutionary idea—a radio telephone that could be carried and used anywhere. However, the path to the DynaTAC was paved with numerous prototypes and competing technologies, meaning the "first" was surrounded by a cluster of earlier, less famous devices that were, in their own right, phones.
Competing Definitions of "Second"
The ambiguity in "when was the second phone made" arises from the definition of what constitutes a "phone." If we define the second phone as the second *handheld mobile* unit capable of connecting to a cellular network, the timeline is relatively narrow. Following the DynaTAC's demonstration, engineers at Bell Labs and other facilities were already iterating on the design. The second device in this specific context was likely a prototype or a parallel development, such as the Hughes Aircraft team's work, which provided the foundational technology for cellular networks. Alternatively, if "second phone" refers to the second device to be commercially sold, the answer shifts to the various car phones and transportable radiophones that existed just before and after 1983.
Early Commercial Transportables
In the immediate wake of the DynaTAC's success, the market saw a wave of "transportable" phones. These were not handheld in the modern sense; they were heavy devices that resided in a car, plugging into the cigarette lighter. The Nordic Mobile Telephony (NMT) network launched in 1981, and devices like the Nokia Mobira Senator, released in 1982, were among the first widely available mobile phones for the public. These systems represent the second generation of commercially available mobile technology, bringing the concept of mobile telephony from the boardroom to the dashboard.
The Race for Miniaturization
The true race to create the second *usable* handheld phone was defined by size and weight. The Motorola MicroTAC, introduced in 1989, was a pivotal device that flipped the design, placing the keypad on the bottom when in use. This was the first truly pocket-sized phone, a stark contrast to the DynaTAC. While the MicroTAC was the first of the truly modern form factor, it was not alone. Competitors like NEC and Bosch were developing their own handheld models, pushing the industry toward the familiar clamshell design that would dominate the 1990s.
Global Variations and Niche Devices
The timeline of the second phone is further complicated by regional variations and niche applications. In Japan, the race was already in full swing, with companies like NTT Docomo launching the first commercial 2G network, the Personal Handy-phone System (PHS), in 1992. These devices were smaller and cheaper than their American counterparts. Furthermore, specialized devices existed long before the mainstream market, such as the AT&T Video phone from 1992, which integrated video calling into a handheld format, offering a glimpse of the future beyond voice.
