Mobile phones may be a part of our everyday lives now, but they weren’t always around. Before the iPhone 5 and the Galaxy S4, people survived with just a home phone (and maybe an answering machine). Things only changed after Motorola employee, Martin Cooper, made the first mobile phone call back in 1973. Here’s a quick look at what came after that:

• The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X- The first real hand-held mobile phone with 30 minutes of talk time. When it first entered the market in 1983, this phone retailed at just under $4,000.
• The MicroTAC of 1989- a smaller version of its Dyna-ancestor with an innovative “flip” design. This hip, new model retailed between $2,000 and $3,000 and measured in at around 9 inches in length.
  
  
• The Nokia 5110- The (arguably) first “fashion” mobile phone produced in 1998. With a variety of interchangeable color faceplates and a monochrome LCD screen display, this was one of the most popular electronics a person could have- plus, it featured the highly-addictive game Snake!
• The RIM Blackberry 5810- A data-focused device produced in 2002, giving professionals constant access to their email while equipping them with a built-in phone.
• The Sanyo SCP-5300- One of the first mobile phones to feature a built-in camera!
• The Apple iPhone- Introduced in 2007, this “smartphone” nearly caused people’s heads to explode. Different than other mobile phones in every way, this smart-phone brought apps to the mainstream and inspired future cell phones with its design and ease of use.

Now, companies like Apple, Google and Samsung are changing the mobile world with advanced features and sleek new aesthetics. In fact, Google recently filed a patent application for a method of authenticating a smart-phone user via facial recognition.

The method would require a user to make a predetermined facial gesture, like a wink or an eyebrow raise, which would then be scanned and compared to a previous photo. In order to unlock the device, the two would have to match. Talk about a Smart Phone!