This British Pathé film reel from 1946 shows the prototype for a portable handset that seems very much like our modern day cell phones. “Based on walkie talkies” that were so very much needed during World War II, this civilian model is proposed to be the ideal communication device for women with broken down cars, ladies who are doing the shopping, and men who are calling their wives to tell them they’ll be late for dinner.

All in all, the film contains some pretty accurate predictions of how we use cell phones today, though who could have anticipated that we would one day have smart phones with more computing power than in the first space shuttles?!

While it’s very bulky by today’s standards, its not much bigger than the first cell phones that were in use during the ’80s and ’90s. We’re not sure about that antenna though! Have a look in the video below.

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