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CNN Live Today

Cell Phone Marks 20 Years

Aired March 14, 2003 - 11:50   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Meanwhile, flip and dial any time anywhere, but the cell phone has not been around that long, believe it or not. Twenty years ago this month is the anniversary of the cell phone. And just like the old commercial says, you have come a long way, baby. The petite slim, lightweight mobile, as they call it in Europe, did not start out that way. Motorola made the very first cell phone back in 1983. It weighed about two pounds and it cost $3,995. That's $3,995. Want to hear more about that? The man behind the cell phone. Retired Motorola designer Rudy Krolopp joining us from New York this morning.
Rudy, good morning. Good to have you with us.

Take us back to that Alexander Graham Bell moment when you were working on that first cell phone and made some of those first calls, what that was like.

RUDY KROLOPP, CELL PHONE DESIGNER: Well, this was our first phone. It was probably one of the most aggressive programs I have ever been involved with. I was involved with a lot of aggressive programs with Motorola. Because initially, we were given only six weeks.

KAGAN: What was the big push? What was the big hurry?

KROLOPP: It all started when I got a call from one of our senior executives to come up to his office. I said, what can I do for you? He said, we have to build a portable telephone. I said, well, OK, what's new? What am I supposed to know? He said, we have six weeks to do it. That's aggressive. I asked him why. He said they're going to be allocating spectrum and frequencies for this cellular phone, whatever it is, this portable telephone. So we want to show the FCC that we have capabilities that other people don't possess, we the industry.

KAGAN: There you go.

KROLOPP: In other words, if we didn't show them, the frequencies would probably go to the telephone people.

KAGAN: Can't have that.

KROLOPP: So that's good enough.

KAGAN: I didn't mean to interrupt you.

I want to down memory lane here. I have a lot of the old-time cell phones with me as well. And I know you, do, too.

First show us the Dynatech 8000X. That's the one you just showed us?

KROLOPP: That's the 8000X, right.

KAGAN: OK, the boot phone, an early prototype for that.

This is what we created in five days from that meeting that I talked about, and it became sort of the direction for the engineering groups to follow. And when we showed to it the engineering groups, they all kind of gulped. The first word that was said in that meeting was, anybody who can't believe that we can do this program leave the room. And with all those egos, nobody left the room. And in six weeks, we had a working unit.

KAGAN: I love the keypad on that, by the way. Very interesting.

What about the Microtech?

KROLOPP: The Microtech was really -- in Motorola, we called anything portable that you could put a handle on. But this was really the first portable that you could slip into your shirt pocket and walk around rather comfortably.

KAGAN: That would be a big pocket there, I got to tell you.

KROLOPP: Well, yes. I had a special pocket when I showed that one.

KAGAN: Quickly, I want to move forward. As we look into the future, I understand there's going to be a superduper cell phone that's going to be introduced at the Oscars. Can you show us that one?

KROLOPP: Right, it's this. It's the T22I, and it's very special. It's not out quite yet, but it will go to the top people that are being awarded Oscars.

KAGAN: What does it do, Rudy?

KROLOPP: Well, you can plug in a camera.

KAGAN: No.

KROLOPP: Yes, you can. And you cannot only talk to people, you can take their picture. It has so many features, even I can't describe all of them.

KAGAN: All the more reason to watch the Oscars. I'll be covering the Oscars so I'll look out for one of those, OK, Rudy.

Congratulations on the anniversary of the cell phone. Rudy Kroloff, one of the first designers there.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired March 14, 2003 - 11:50   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Meanwhile, flip and dial any time anywhere, but the cell phone has not been around that long, believe it or not. Twenty years ago this month is the anniversary of the cell phone. And just like the old commercial says, you have come a long way, baby. The petite slim, lightweight mobile, as they call it in Europe, did not start out that way. Motorola made the very first cell phone back in 1983. It weighed about two pounds and it cost $3,995. That's $3,995. Want to hear more about that? The man behind the cell phone. Retired Motorola designer Rudy Krolopp joining us from New York this morning.
Rudy, good morning. Good to have you with us.

Take us back to that Alexander Graham Bell moment when you were working on that first cell phone and made some of those first calls, what that was like.

RUDY KROLOPP, CELL PHONE DESIGNER: Well, this was our first phone. It was probably one of the most aggressive programs I have ever been involved with. I was involved with a lot of aggressive programs with Motorola. Because initially, we were given only six weeks.

KAGAN: What was the big push? What was the big hurry?

KROLOPP: It all started when I got a call from one of our senior executives to come up to his office. I said, what can I do for you? He said, we have to build a portable telephone. I said, well, OK, what's new? What am I supposed to know? He said, we have six weeks to do it. That's aggressive. I asked him why. He said they're going to be allocating spectrum and frequencies for this cellular phone, whatever it is, this portable telephone. So we want to show the FCC that we have capabilities that other people don't possess, we the industry.

KAGAN: There you go.

KROLOPP: In other words, if we didn't show them, the frequencies would probably go to the telephone people.

KAGAN: Can't have that.

KROLOPP: So that's good enough.

KAGAN: I didn't mean to interrupt you.

I want to down memory lane here. I have a lot of the old-time cell phones with me as well. And I know you, do, too.

First show us the Dynatech 8000X. That's the one you just showed us?

KROLOPP: That's the 8000X, right.

KAGAN: OK, the boot phone, an early prototype for that.

This is what we created in five days from that meeting that I talked about, and it became sort of the direction for the engineering groups to follow. And when we showed to it the engineering groups, they all kind of gulped. The first word that was said in that meeting was, anybody who can't believe that we can do this program leave the room. And with all those egos, nobody left the room. And in six weeks, we had a working unit.

KAGAN: I love the keypad on that, by the way. Very interesting.

What about the Microtech?

KROLOPP: The Microtech was really -- in Motorola, we called anything portable that you could put a handle on. But this was really the first portable that you could slip into your shirt pocket and walk around rather comfortably.

KAGAN: That would be a big pocket there, I got to tell you.

KROLOPP: Well, yes. I had a special pocket when I showed that one.

KAGAN: Quickly, I want to move forward. As we look into the future, I understand there's going to be a superduper cell phone that's going to be introduced at the Oscars. Can you show us that one?

KROLOPP: Right, it's this. It's the T22I, and it's very special. It's not out quite yet, but it will go to the top people that are being awarded Oscars.

KAGAN: What does it do, Rudy?

KROLOPP: Well, you can plug in a camera.

KAGAN: No.

KROLOPP: Yes, you can. And you cannot only talk to people, you can take their picture. It has so many features, even I can't describe all of them.

KAGAN: All the more reason to watch the Oscars. I'll be covering the Oscars so I'll look out for one of those, OK, Rudy.

Congratulations on the anniversary of the cell phone. Rudy Kroloff, one of the first designers there.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com