Mobile phones back in 1977?
During the rescue operation, a (huge) mobile phone was used on an inflatable motorboat. Did mobile phones exist back in the 70s?
Yes, but they were very expensive and only had by the richest individuals or in large organizations. Besides, portable radios had been around for decades and served the same function. In World War II large radios worn as a backpack had a telephone handset, so that could very well have been a radio, and not a mobile phone specifically.
shareThose upper-class individuals who possessed mobile phones in 1977 - I wonder what network they subscribed to...
shareAT&T invented the Mobile Telephone Service (MTS) in 1946, and first rolled it out in St. Louis. These are the "car phones" we see in older movies. They were basically radios; a user had to wait for a free channel; anyone could listen to your call; and the entire communication was handled by a single radio tower centrally located in a metropolitan area.
The first cell phone system (where calls are handed off from cell to cell, to increase coverage) was installed by AT&T in 1969 to serve the Penn Central (now Amtrak) Metroliner, a train that runs between NYC and Washington DC.
The first hand-held cell phone was a prototype invented by Motorola and demonstrated in 1973. AT&T developed a prototype cell service in Chicago that was ready to go in 1978.
But really, cell phones for the masses didn't appear until 1983, thanks to the FCC dragging their feet, the break-up of AT&T, etc; and even then hand-helds didn't really become widely available until the early 90's. So most likely, the device in this movie was either a classic MTS phone, or just a two-way radio. (To know for sure would require I actually watch this movie, and that's asking a bit much.)
So most likely, the device in this movie was either a classic MTS phone, or just a two-way radio. (To know for sure would require I actually watch this movie, and that's asking a bit much.)
Your hunch is right, it was a walkie talkie. I think the OP thought it was some type of phone because it was communicating to a phone handset on the Navy ship. share
Yes, I think it was a walkie talkie, though it looked like he was talking to a sandwich because it was wrapped in a plastic bag.
shareLook at most any episode of the TV series M*A*S*H. You see that radio-phone, in the 1950s.
Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.