Mobile numbers

A happy side effect of the mobile revolution is an array of stunning stats.

8000x

The Motorola DynaTA C 8000x, the original mobile phone, took over a decade to come to fruition; however, the original working model was created in only six weeks by a team of engineers. The haste was due to the company hearing that rival AT&T was considering making mobile phones.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com

1985

In the UK, veteran comedian Ernie Wise made the first mobile phone call on the Vodafone network on 1 January 1985. The first Vodafone mobile phone was the size of a briefcase and cost £2,000. It had a battery life of about 20 minutes.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk

$50

$50 – the price point for smartphones to become affordable in the developing world, as announced at the 2012 Mobile World Congress by CEOs of several telecommunications companies.

Source: http://techcrunch.com

US OF TECH

85% of Americans in 2102 had a mobile phone. In contrast, 58% have a desktop computer; 61% a laptop computer; 18% an ebook reader; and 18% a tablet computer.

Source: http://pewresearch.org

Mobile data usage x40

In the UK, the amount of data used on mobile phone networks increased 40 times between 2007 and 2010.

Source: http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk

48.9%

Almost half of the British population has a smartphone. The latest figure is 48.9%.

Source: http://www.email-marketing-reports.com

“An iPod, a phone, an internet mobile communicator... these are not three separate devices! And we are calling it iPhone! Today Apple is going to reinvent the phone.” - Steve Jobs

1999

The first mobiles able to send email and use the web became available in April 1999.

Source: http://www.phonehistory.co.uk

1 billion

The one-billionth Nokia 1100 phone was sold in 2005 in Nigeria.

Source: http://www.nokia.com

Global texting

75% of mobile phone owners text, according to a study by the Pew Research Centre conducted in 21 countries. Texting is used around the world, but it is most common among cell phone users in Indonesia and Kenya – two of the poorest nations included in the survey.

Source: http://pewresearch.org

10%

An increase of 10 percentage points in mobile phone penetration implies a 0.6% difference in growth rates compared to countries with less mobile phones.

Source: The Power of Communications in Development, 2005

“When you get a mobile phone it is almost like having a card to get out of poverty in a couple of years.” - Muhammad Yunus

8 hours

The iPhone 5, launched in 2012, weighs a mere 112 grams and has up to eight hours of talk time.

Source: www.apple.com

60%

Four years ago less than 10% of Kenyans had a bank account. Now almost 60% do so thanks to M-Pesa. The mobile phone service has 14.9 million customers and can be accessed at more than 39,000 points of service. It transfers 10% of Kenyan GDP per annum.

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