Of all the inventions from yesteryear to today’s super high-tech world, it seems that the telephone is one item that has really made an impact in our everyday lives. So much so that it is almost impossible to even think of not owning one. Much like the television is a staple of almost every household, so is the telephone.

From that first day in 1876 when inventor Alexander Graham Bell made his first call to his trusty assistant Mr. Watson, the telephone has not really changed all that much. I mean, its core purpose and innovation was to be able to pick up the handset and have a clear conversation with another person. In fact, it has just been during the last 30 years or so that technology really fine-tuned the telephone to make it as common as the clothes we wear.

 When the first phones came out, they were solid, very heavy and rugged instruments that were made of metal and wood with trays for pens and a platform for writing pads to jot down notes. The cords were encased in heavy cloth. During the course of time, technological advancements and the consumer’s appetite for more functions prompted telephone makers to start adding useful features such as redial, hold, visual ringing indicator, handset and ringer volume settings and so forth.

 As time progressed and the growing popularity use of using plastics in more and more products became the norm, phone manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon too. Soon, due to its durability, flexibility and low cost, telephone manufacturers started creating molded plastic casings to create lighter models as well as a slew of colors that you may remember from your childhood or grandparent’s home. I don’t know why, but a lot of these colors seemed to come from the food spectrum — lime green, banana-yellow, avocado green, cherry red, chocolate brown, etc.

 Up until 1982 or so, telephones in general have always been pretty much a basic product. But when other technologies evolved, such as the personal computer, fax and printing machines, cellular capabilities, and gaming consoles, that all changed. Not to be left behind, the telephone evolved with advanced improvements for the consumer and business world alike. Now, we have more feature options such as Caller ID, LCD display, speed dial, music on hold, voice mail and a host of other enhancements to make calling your neighbor, or around the world, much easier.

 By the 1990s, we saw the introduction of a telecommunications technology boom where applications that were once isolated, such as email, the Internet, VOIP, and SIP trunking, began to converge.  Slowly but surely, innovators were working to bring more of these value-added applications together to create the “killer-app.” Then lo and behold, the big game-changer came along — the smartphone. Hindsight is 20/20, and we now ask: why didn’t we think of this before?

Today, you can hold, in the palm of your hand, an instrument that will allow you to be truly mobile. You have the power to be available (or not) to anyone, anywhere and at any time. True Unified Communications and uMobility means you can make and/or receive calls, surf the net, receive and send emails, chat, send faxes, pay your bills and so much more.  One can only wonder what an early innovator like Alexander Graham Bell would think if he could see the advancement of his creation. He’d probably say, “You’ve come a long way, baby!”