The use of landline telephones continued to grow over the 20th century. After Bell’s invention gained more popularity, it became more and more of a commodity. Phones reached their peak in the early 21st century. In 2000, there were 16 fixed-telephone lines per every 100 people in the world. By 2005-2006, that number reached to 20 lines for every 100 people. While landlines quickly reached their peak in a little over 100 years, they swiftly went away with the rise of new technologies.
The first wireless cell phones were beginning to make waves starting in the 1970s. Dr. Martin Cooper, who worked for Motorola, made the first cellular phone call in 1973. By 1983, Motorola released the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x, which many heralded as the start of the cellular revolution. This device weighed 1.75lbs, stood 13 inches tall, and cost nearly $4,000.
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
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