Mobile Phone [Motorola Dynatac]

Maker and role
Motorola Inc., Manufacturer
Production date
1994
See full details

Object detail

Accession number

2021.8.11

Maker

Motorola Inc.

Production period

1990s

Description

Motorola Dynatac Mobile Phone. At the top of the phone is a small antenna. On the front of the phone is a piece of green plastic. Below this is the earpiece and the display screen. The screen is covered with transparent plastic. Beneath the screen is the keypad which consists of various buttons which read, "1 / 2 / ABC / [...]". Printed in white text is "MOTOROLA". The bottom of the phone is covered with green plastic and has a small port and a small white sticker with a barcode and text, "751ACKM 130BA 054B". On the reverse of the phone is a battery insert, although this phone is missing a battery. Various stickers cover the rear of the device. A white sticker has two barcodes and text, "SLF1308A [...]". A silver sticker reads, "MFG By Motorola Inc. / TELEPERMIT / PTC: 252-91-012 / MODEL NO: S3015A / SN: 472GUC3488 Made in U.S.A.". A smaller white sticker reads, "Int Safe: Class I, II [...]". A larger sticker has various text, "TO TURN ON: Press the Pwr button. [...]".

Brief History

Motorola launched the Dynatac series of mobile phones, the world's first commercially available mobile phones, in 1983. Dynatacs were manufactured, in different models within the 8000 series, until 1994. This phone likely dates towards the end of that time period.
The world's first mobile phone call was made in 1973 on a prototype Dynatac by the phone's inventor, Martin Cooper. Though without its battery, the size of this phone conveys the bulk of early mobile phones. An early Dynatac required 10 hours of charging and allowed 30 minutes of talk time.

Marks

1 / 2 / ABC / [...] Printed
MOTOROLA Printed
751ACKM 130BA 054B Sticker
SLF1308A [...] Sticker
MFG By Motorola Inc. / TELEPERMIT / PTC: 252-91-012 / MODEL NO: S3015A / SN: 472GUC3488 Made in U.S.A. Sticker
Int Safe: Class I, II [...] Sticker
TO TURN ON: Press the Pwr button. [...] Sticker

Media/Materials

Processed Material/Synthetic/Plastic
Processed Material/Metal
Organic/Vegetal/Plant Extract/Latex/Rubber

Other name

Cell Phone

Credit Line

Motorola Inc.. 1994. Mobile Phone [Motorola Dynatac], 2021.8.11. The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT).

Related resources

https://www.motat.nz/collections-and-stories/stories/a-history-of-mobile-phones//