Explore the changes in the ways consumers interact with telephone technology over the years

This telephone was designed to be connected to a telephone exchange, where calls would be connected by a switchboard operator. The phone used batteries to operate, and had an electromagnet that generated the electricity to ring the bells. It originally cost $18. 

Wall Mounted Telephone

The candlestick telephone could be conveniently placed on a table. It was attached by wire to a wall-mounted box that held the ringer, coil and condenser. As more people obtained telephones, it became more difficult for telephone companies to manage manually connecting every call.

Candlestick telephone

Cradle phones with a handset containing both the transmitter and receiver did not become practical until the late 1920s. Engineers had to overcome two problems to create a successful handset: the movement of the handset while in use would hurt the performance of the transmitter and the proximity of the receiver and transmitter in the handset would cause feedback. 

Rotary dial telephone with handset, Western Electric

The first Bell System rotary phones maintained the candlestick design of the phone. By the 1920s, AT&T, the large national telephone company, had begun introducing automatic exchanges. Telephone users could directly dial another local telephone using a telephone number. If the user did not know the number or had to call long distance, they would still need to rely on an operator.

Candlestick dial phone, Western Electric

During the 1950s, people started to add additional telephones in their homes. AT&T designed the Princess phone as an attractive, compact, lightweight phone for use in a bedroom. It added a new feature, a light-up dial that could also be used as a nightlight. The phone became very popular, but the first models had a problem - they were too light and would slide when being dialed. Later versions included a counterweight in the phone to prevent it from sliding.

Princess Phone

Inventor Martin Cooper used his DynaTac 8000X in 1973 to make the first cellular phone call - to one of his competitors. When the phone finally came to market in 1983, it cost $3,995, weighed close to two pounds, and the strength of the battery only allowed for 30 minutes of operation. The phone launched a new era in communication.

First cellular phone, Motorola DynaTAC 8000X

This is a replica of Alexander Graham Bell's first telephone, created in 1926 for the 50th anniversary. The first phones were direct wired to a phone on the other end. As Bell started to sell telephones, this proved to be impractical.

Alexander Graham Bell invents the first telephone

AT&T redesigned its primary tabletop phone in 1949. The Model 500 served as families’ main home phone for over 40 years with only minor design changes. This phone was produced in 1979.

AT&T dial telephone, 1979

AT&T engineers developed this phone in 1937 after studying how customers used the new handset telephones, creating a rectangular base and a revised handset that were easier and more comfortable to use. 

Rotary dial telephone, Western Electric

AT&T introduced its first commercial touch tone phone service outside of Pittsburgh. Touch tone phones offered a simplified calling experience when compared with a dial. The twelve-button keypad was so popular it was adopted by banks for ATM machines and is replicated on today's smartphones. The phone in the image is a desktop payphone from the 1970s.

Standards for Engineering the Telephone Timeline