# How many cell phone users in the world were there in 1985?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cell-phone-users-in-the-world-were-there-in-1985/717283>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 10, 2015, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cell-phone-users-in-the-world-were-there-in-1985/717283 "2015-04-10T02:10:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
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**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-cell-phone-users-in-the-world-were-there-in-1985/717283/19 "2015-04-12T21:47:41Z")

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> [@Leaffan](#):
>
> I don’t remember seeing a cell phone until the early 90s. In the late 80s some people had car phones. The earliest “portable” phone I saw in the late 80s came in a brief case. One had to open it up and extend the antenna to receive information.

Maybe Canada was different, but portable cell phones were available in the US in the early 80s.

As I said in the BttF thread:

> [@The strange double-dipped nostalgia of "Back to the Future" (open spoilers)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strange-double-dipped-nostalgia-of-back-to-the-future-open-spoilers/716314/42):
>
> I have to say - 1985 was not before cell phones. Basic cell phone tech goes back to 1973, but even in the 80s you could get [the Brick](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_DynaTAC). Plus cellular car phones were somewhat common.
> 
> But of course they weren’t up to modern standards. They were analog, and even in 1987 [not always small](http://www.cellularforless.com/product_images/uploaded_images/danny-glover-mobile-phone1.jpg). Yes, the thing in his left hand is the phone and battery!

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