Fun Facts About Mobile Phones
Cell phones have become a ubiquitous part of our daily lives. Yet how much do you really know about your iPhone? Below are 11 interesting facts about smartphones.
History
- Cell phones have been around for decades.
While the mobile phone seems to be a new invention, that is actually not the case. A Motorola engineer named Martin Cooper made the first call from a cell phone back in 1973. The company’s first cell was 10 inches long and weighed approximately two pounds.
- Smartphones are not new, either.
Even smartphones have been around for several decades. IBM created the first smartphone, dubbed “Simon” back in the 1990s. This was approximately 15 years before the first iPhone hit stores. “Simon” had many of the features we see in modern smart devices, including a touch screen, a calculator, mail capabilities and a calendar.
Popularity
- Smartphones are more popular than toothbrushes.
One report found that four billion people around the world own smartphones. For comparison, only 3.5 billion individuals use a toothbrush.
- People hold onto their phones.
Not only do millions of people around the world own smartphones, but many have trouble putting them down. In fact, 90 percent of them say they keep their phones in their hands at all times.
- Some people do not even put their devices down during sex.
Nearly 10 percent of smartphone owners continue using their devices while having intercourse. The habit is particularly pronounced among young adults. Approximately 20 percent of those between ages 18 and 34 admit to this behavior.
- iPhones were particularly popular in 2012.
People could not get enough of the iPhone when it first came out. In 2012, Apple sold 340,000 of its smartphones each day. That’s approximately four phones per second!
- Americans and Brits can’t get enough of their phones.
Residents of the United States and the United Kingdom are particularly obsessed with their phones. In fact, 47 percent of Americans who own smartphones say they cannot live without their devices. Meanwhile, mobile phone users in the U.K. sent 1.5 billion emails just in 2011.
Diseases
- There is a term for fear of losing your cell phone.
Smartphones have even affected our language. Over the past few years, terms such as “iPhone,” “selfie” and “cloud storage” have become part of our everyday lexicon. Perhaps it is no surprise that scientists have even created a word that describes the fear or anxiety some people face when they are without a working phone. The term is “nomophobia,” which is short for “no-mobile-phone phobia.”
- Mobile phones can make you physically sick, too.
In theory, anyway. That’s because phones are actually quite dirty. Typical smartphones contain 18 percent of the bacteria usually found in a bathroom. The bacteria numbers are probably even worse for the approximately one million U.K. smartphones that fall into a toilet every year.
Superlatives
- The strongest cell phone is in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Many iPhone customers have to deal with a cracked screen after dropping their devices. That is not an issue for the owners of the Sonim XP3300. Considered the world’s strongest phone, it can survive a drop of 84 feet.
- The smallest mobile phone in the world is tinier than your thumb.
Its name is the Zanco Tiny t1, and it weighs less than 0.5 ounces. The screen is just 0.5 inches and has a resolution of 64 x 32 pixels. Despite its small size, it can still store up to 50 text messages and 300 phone numbers.
Now that you have read these facts, you can impress your friends with your iPhone knowledge. You also hopefully have a better understanding of cell phones in general.