The cell phone has become as embedded into our culture today as much as the Post-It Note—more so worldwide.  The first portable handset was invented in 1973 by Dr. Martin Cooper.  He was the former general manager for the systems division at Motorola, and Dr. Cooper was the individual who made the very first call on a portable cellular phone.
 The prototype was named the Motorola Dyna-Tac.  It was first shown to the public in New York in 1973, but it was officially announced in 1977 as a new item of technology.  Public cell phone testing began in Chicago where 2000 customers got to try out using the cell phone.  The trials spread to Washington D.C. and the Baltimore area.  Though it was invented here, it was Japan who began testing the actual cellular phone service in 1979. (See Mobile Phone).

*Pictures from http://www.privateline.com/PCS/images/martin_cooper.gif and http://cbingoimage.naver.com/data/bingo_93/imgbingo_45/banana0226
/6255/banana0226_102.jpg, respectively

Sources:
NHN Corp. Banana. 12 Oct 2003. <http://cbingoimage.naver.com/data/bingo_93/imgbingo_45/
banana0226/6255/banana0226_102.jpg>

Privateline. Martin Cooper. 12 Oct 2003. <http://www.privateline.com/PCS/images/martin_cooper.gif>

TelecomWriting. Mobile Telephone History. 12 Oct 2003. <www.privateline.com/ PCS/history8.htm>

Wikipedia. Mobile Phone. 12 Oct 2003. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone>

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