1 00:00:02,167 --> 00:00:03,708 - [Narrator] It's been nearly a century 2 00:00:03,708 --> 00:00:06,833 since Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, 3 00:00:06,833 --> 00:00:10,208 but the technology has barely evolved. 4 00:00:10,208 --> 00:00:13,167 - In the 1970s, phones are still wired, 5 00:00:13,167 --> 00:00:14,958 literally, to the wall. 6 00:00:14,958 --> 00:00:16,375 You have a kitchen wall phone, 7 00:00:16,375 --> 00:00:19,042 maybe a phone on your desk or your nightstand. 8 00:00:19,042 --> 00:00:20,958 People are using them in their offices, 9 00:00:20,958 --> 00:00:22,542 but if you wanted to go out, 10 00:00:22,542 --> 00:00:24,417 you're gonna need to look for a payphone. 11 00:00:24,417 --> 00:00:27,125 - It's hard to actually think about what life was like. 12 00:00:27,125 --> 00:00:28,542 - Oh, my goodness. 13 00:00:28,542 --> 00:00:31,625 I don't know how we were able to survive back then. 14 00:00:31,625 --> 00:00:32,958 It was unbelievable. 15 00:00:32,958 --> 00:00:34,958 [tense music] 16 00:00:34,958 --> 00:00:37,875 - [Narrator] Then, one rainy spring day in 1973 17 00:00:37,875 --> 00:00:40,292 in New York City, 18 00:00:40,292 --> 00:00:43,542 engineer Marty Cooper does something revolutionary. 19 00:00:44,542 --> 00:00:48,750 - He is about to make the first cell phone call ever, 20 00:00:48,750 --> 00:00:50,375 in all of human history. 21 00:00:51,708 --> 00:00:55,542 - He gets his phone and he's like, "Who am I gonna call?" 22 00:00:55,542 --> 00:00:58,667 - Why not call my biggest competitor over at AT&T? 23 00:01:03,708 --> 00:01:06,375 - Oh, I'm sorry, my mistake. 24 00:01:06,375 --> 00:01:08,750 - And he calls the wrong damn number. 25 00:01:08,750 --> 00:01:10,542 He calls the wrong number! 26 00:01:12,500 --> 00:01:15,708 - [laughs] It's just, it's crazy. 27 00:01:16,958 --> 00:01:18,167 - [Adam] But you know, to his credit, 28 00:01:18,167 --> 00:01:20,917 he did get it right on the second try. 29 00:01:20,917 --> 00:01:22,875 - It's Marty Cooper. 30 00:01:22,875 --> 00:01:25,292 I'm calling you from the sidewalk. 31 00:01:26,542 --> 00:01:30,708 - This is like earth-shattering, game-changing stuff. 32 00:01:30,708 --> 00:01:34,083 To be able to actually walk around and make a phone call, 33 00:01:34,083 --> 00:01:35,708 unheard of. 34 00:01:35,708 --> 00:01:38,375 - [Narrator] But Marty Cooper isn't the only visionary. 35 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:43,708 From this one call, a global $500 billion 36 00:01:43,708 --> 00:01:45,500 cell phone industry is born. 37 00:01:45,500 --> 00:01:48,292 - It's insane that there are more cell phones 38 00:01:48,292 --> 00:01:50,875 on planet Earth than there are people. 39 00:01:50,875 --> 00:01:52,042 - And there really, I don't think, 40 00:01:52,042 --> 00:01:56,458 has been another innovation so dramatic 41 00:01:56,458 --> 00:01:58,167 that has transpired so quickly. 42 00:01:59,250 --> 00:02:02,208 - [Narrator] Two rival companies go head-to-head. 43 00:02:02,208 --> 00:02:05,500 - Motorola was the pioneer in the cell phone industry. 44 00:02:05,500 --> 00:02:07,583 - Can we design anything better? 45 00:02:07,583 --> 00:02:10,375 - [Adam] Nothing like the BlackBerry exists. 46 00:02:10,375 --> 00:02:12,208 - This was the challenge of a lifetime. 47 00:02:12,208 --> 00:02:14,583 - They're going to have to do something huge. 48 00:02:14,583 --> 00:02:17,375 - It's a good, old fashioned race to success. 49 00:02:17,375 --> 00:02:18,833 - [Narrator] And push each other 50 00:02:18,833 --> 00:02:21,792 to create the most iconic devices of all time. 51 00:02:22,792 --> 00:02:24,833 - This looks like something out of "Star Trek". 52 00:02:24,833 --> 00:02:26,875 - It's sleek, it's futuristic. 53 00:02:26,875 --> 00:02:28,583 People flip for the flip. 54 00:02:28,583 --> 00:02:30,917 - No one really thought that people were gonna walk around 55 00:02:30,917 --> 00:02:32,708 all day with a phone in their pocket. 56 00:02:32,708 --> 00:02:36,125 - What would it take to combine everything into one device? 57 00:02:38,208 --> 00:02:39,583 - And boom, you've got a smartphone. 58 00:02:39,583 --> 00:02:42,458 - The BlackBerry became an extension of our arm. 59 00:02:42,458 --> 00:02:45,083 - [Narrator] But as both battle for the top spot, 60 00:02:45,083 --> 00:02:47,583 an unlikely player enters the race. 61 00:02:47,583 --> 00:02:50,292 - It's not unlike the captain of the Titanic 62 00:02:50,292 --> 00:02:52,250 ignoring an iceberg. 63 00:02:52,250 --> 00:02:53,500 - It's no longer a phone, 64 00:02:53,500 --> 00:02:55,708 it's now a computer in your pocket. 65 00:02:55,708 --> 00:02:57,875 - Alexander Graham Bell could have never have thought 66 00:02:57,875 --> 00:03:00,875 that the phone would've become what it is today. 67 00:03:00,875 --> 00:03:03,125 [dramatic music] 68 00:03:22,875 --> 00:03:24,542 - [Narrator] By the early 1970s, 69 00:03:24,542 --> 00:03:28,125 Motorola and AT&T have coexisted for decades, 70 00:03:28,125 --> 00:03:30,083 partnering on what the companies agree 71 00:03:30,083 --> 00:03:33,542 is the next big thing, car phones. 72 00:03:33,542 --> 00:03:36,792 - Phones were in cars, but it wasn't a widespread thing. 73 00:03:36,792 --> 00:03:41,125 It created a lot of equipment that needed to be carried around 74 00:03:41,125 --> 00:03:44,250 and basically worked off the power of your car. 75 00:03:44,250 --> 00:03:47,125 - Motorola and AT&T had a pretty good relationship. 76 00:03:47,125 --> 00:03:48,375 Motorola made the phones 77 00:03:48,375 --> 00:03:51,417 and AT&T provided the car phone service. 78 00:03:51,417 --> 00:03:54,583 - The original car phones weighed over 40 pounds, 79 00:03:54,583 --> 00:03:56,417 cost hundreds of dollars a month, 80 00:03:56,417 --> 00:03:58,542 and only worked over radio waves. 81 00:03:58,542 --> 00:04:01,833 They are owned by, like, 5,000 Americans. 82 00:04:01,833 --> 00:04:05,292 - The service only works in the area covered 83 00:04:05,292 --> 00:04:07,250 by the transmitter, 84 00:04:07,250 --> 00:04:09,708 which might go out 20 or 30 miles, 85 00:04:09,708 --> 00:04:12,333 but once you went beyond that, you were out of range. 86 00:04:12,333 --> 00:04:15,250 So it was not a service that was ready 87 00:04:15,250 --> 00:04:17,625 for general use at all. 88 00:04:18,625 --> 00:04:22,333 - [Narrator] Until 1973, when AT&T figures out a way 89 00:04:22,333 --> 00:04:23,750 to improve upon it. 90 00:04:23,750 --> 00:04:24,833 - Their idea was, well, 91 00:04:24,833 --> 00:04:27,250 instead of the singular transmission tower, 92 00:04:27,250 --> 00:04:29,208 what if we divided cities and towns 93 00:04:29,208 --> 00:04:31,208 into small little regions 94 00:04:31,208 --> 00:04:33,708 each with their own transmission tower? 95 00:04:33,708 --> 00:04:36,375 More towers meant that as you drove around, 96 00:04:36,375 --> 00:04:38,292 your call would be seamlessly transferred 97 00:04:38,292 --> 00:04:40,792 between the towers without it dropping. 98 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,458 It looked like biological cells, 99 00:04:44,458 --> 00:04:47,250 which led to us using the term cellular network. 100 00:04:48,875 --> 00:04:51,458 - [Narrator] But telecommunications giant AT&T, 101 00:04:51,458 --> 00:04:54,542 who dominate over 90% of landline telephones, 102 00:04:54,542 --> 00:04:57,875 is appealing the FCC for complete control 103 00:04:57,875 --> 00:05:00,833 of cellular phone production and transmission. 104 00:05:01,833 --> 00:05:06,667 - AT&T is the mega brand of all mega brands at the time. 105 00:05:06,667 --> 00:05:10,542 They have a legalized monopoly in telecommunications. 106 00:05:10,542 --> 00:05:13,208 They have the products, they have the network, 107 00:05:13,208 --> 00:05:14,792 and what they're looking to try to do 108 00:05:14,792 --> 00:05:18,250 is to start to corner mobile technology 109 00:05:18,250 --> 00:05:20,875 with phones that were mounted into your car. 110 00:05:20,875 --> 00:05:24,667 - This was going to look a lot like the existing 111 00:05:24,667 --> 00:05:27,917 car phone business, but with much better quality 112 00:05:27,917 --> 00:05:29,708 and much higher capacity. 113 00:05:29,708 --> 00:05:32,875 - AT&T petitioned the FCC to allow them 114 00:05:32,875 --> 00:05:35,417 to be the only provider of cellular service, 115 00:05:35,417 --> 00:05:37,792 as well as the only manufacturer of car phones 116 00:05:37,792 --> 00:05:41,875 that would work upon it, which is a real threat to Motorola. 117 00:05:41,875 --> 00:05:44,375 [tense music] 118 00:05:44,375 --> 00:05:47,042 - [Narrator] To prevent another AT&T monopoly, 119 00:05:47,042 --> 00:05:50,625 Motorola's CEO, Bob Galvin, will have to show the FCC 120 00:05:50,625 --> 00:05:54,208 how competition will benefit the cell phone market 121 00:05:54,208 --> 00:05:55,667 and the consumer. 122 00:05:58,792 --> 00:06:02,750 - Bob Galvin spent his life working for his family business. 123 00:06:02,750 --> 00:06:04,708 He'd learned the ins and outs of the business 124 00:06:04,708 --> 00:06:06,917 from his father, Paul Galvin. 125 00:06:06,917 --> 00:06:09,292 - They were one of the early pioneers 126 00:06:09,292 --> 00:06:12,458 in the development of mobile communications. 127 00:06:12,458 --> 00:06:13,875 - They actually started out as a company 128 00:06:13,875 --> 00:06:18,250 focused on car radios and became known for developing 129 00:06:18,250 --> 00:06:21,625 some of the first walkie talkies and pagers, 130 00:06:21,625 --> 00:06:25,708 and eventually, as a defense contractor for electronics. 131 00:06:25,708 --> 00:06:27,583 - [Narrator] With the FCC decision looming, 132 00:06:27,583 --> 00:06:29,833 Galvin turns to his right-hand man. 133 00:06:31,292 --> 00:06:32,833 - Send in John Mitchell. 134 00:06:33,792 --> 00:06:36,542 - John Mitchell joined Motorola in 1953 135 00:06:36,542 --> 00:06:38,500 as a product development engineer, 136 00:06:38,500 --> 00:06:41,042 and he's a really rough-and-tumble guy. 137 00:06:41,042 --> 00:06:43,750 He likes to innovate, he likes to get his hands dirty. 138 00:06:45,167 --> 00:06:48,375 - AT&T filed this with the FCC. 139 00:06:48,375 --> 00:06:50,625 [pensive music] 140 00:06:55,708 --> 00:06:58,042 - They'll control the entire thing. 141 00:06:58,042 --> 00:06:59,583 - That's where you come in. 142 00:07:00,542 --> 00:07:02,542 - What Motorola have to do here 143 00:07:02,542 --> 00:07:05,625 is come up with an actual, viable product 144 00:07:05,625 --> 00:07:08,292 that would work successfully on this network 145 00:07:08,292 --> 00:07:10,042 that AT&T is pioneering. 146 00:07:12,250 --> 00:07:13,625 - But in order to do that, 147 00:07:13,625 --> 00:07:16,125 they're going to have to do something huge. 148 00:07:19,542 --> 00:07:21,042 [suspenseful music] 149 00:07:21,042 --> 00:07:23,000 - [Narrator] So Mitchell looks to top engineer, 150 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:24,792 Marty Cooper, for help. 151 00:07:24,792 --> 00:07:26,417 - Marty. 152 00:07:26,417 --> 00:07:29,542 - Marty Cooper is a painstakingly hardworking 153 00:07:29,542 --> 00:07:32,667 and imaginative engineer whose whole goal in life 154 00:07:32,667 --> 00:07:35,208 is to dream up this new future, this new technology, 155 00:07:35,208 --> 00:07:37,083 and how to make it into reality. 156 00:07:38,625 --> 00:07:40,750 - You still have a mock-up for that handheld? 157 00:07:42,208 --> 00:07:44,500 - Marty Cooper had this idea in the back of his head 158 00:07:44,500 --> 00:07:48,042 that there was potential for a portable telephone, 159 00:07:48,042 --> 00:07:50,125 something that could be carried around with you 160 00:07:50,125 --> 00:07:53,417 and would allow you to make calls from a distance. 161 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:58,792 - He had a deep belief that communication 162 00:07:58,792 --> 00:08:02,042 was between two people, not calling to a place, 163 00:08:02,042 --> 00:08:04,708 like a home, or an office, or a car. 164 00:08:08,250 --> 00:08:10,417 - [Narrator] It's an idea that will propel Motorola 165 00:08:10,417 --> 00:08:13,750 to the forefront of wireless communication, 166 00:08:13,750 --> 00:08:17,000 spawning a $500 billion industry, 167 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:21,458 and change the way nearly the entire world communicates: 168 00:08:22,875 --> 00:08:25,458 with a handheld cellular phone. 169 00:08:27,333 --> 00:08:28,583 - Come with me. 170 00:08:29,583 --> 00:08:31,417 - [Narrator] But first, they'll have to convince Galvin 171 00:08:31,417 --> 00:08:33,667 to go all in on their big idea. 172 00:08:35,667 --> 00:08:38,750 - There was no concept of having to carry your phone all day. 173 00:08:38,750 --> 00:08:40,167 It feels natural to us now, 174 00:08:40,167 --> 00:08:42,750 because we know how much our phones can do. 175 00:08:42,750 --> 00:08:45,208 Back then, the only point of reference were car phones, 176 00:08:45,208 --> 00:08:46,750 or phones at home. 177 00:08:50,167 --> 00:08:52,750 - Who wants to be reachable all day long? 178 00:08:53,708 --> 00:08:56,042 - The idea of a portable phone 179 00:08:56,042 --> 00:08:58,708 was something that you would see on "Star Trek", 180 00:08:58,708 --> 00:09:02,042 or in the "Dick Tracy" comic strip. 181 00:09:02,042 --> 00:09:05,625 - We can't just build products that people are asking for. 182 00:09:05,625 --> 00:09:07,042 We need to be building things 183 00:09:07,042 --> 00:09:09,167 that people don't even know that they need yet. 184 00:09:11,875 --> 00:09:15,250 - If they can create the first handheld phone 185 00:09:15,250 --> 00:09:17,208 to present at the FCC hearing, 186 00:09:17,208 --> 00:09:22,042 that would be a huge deal and a huge blow to AT&T. 187 00:09:24,167 --> 00:09:25,125 - All right. 188 00:09:26,750 --> 00:09:28,708 - [Narrator] But there's a catch. 189 00:09:28,708 --> 00:09:30,833 - You've got 90 days. 190 00:09:30,833 --> 00:09:32,792 The FCC is gonna wanna see a prototype. 191 00:09:34,917 --> 00:09:38,417 - [Narrator] Beyond facing off against an industry titan, 192 00:09:38,417 --> 00:09:40,750 the team is now in a race against time 193 00:09:41,750 --> 00:09:44,750 to show the world that the future of communication 194 00:09:46,542 --> 00:09:49,083 rests in the palm of our hand. 195 00:09:55,625 --> 00:09:59,042 - [Narrator] In 1973, two Motorola engineers 196 00:09:59,042 --> 00:10:02,000 are working around the clock to do something extraordinary. 197 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:04,833 They're building the world's first portable phone 198 00:10:04,833 --> 00:10:09,125 to prevent AT&T from monopolizing cellular networks. 199 00:10:09,125 --> 00:10:12,083 - The stakes couldn't be any higher for Motorola's team. 200 00:10:12,083 --> 00:10:14,792 If they fail to present a working prototype 201 00:10:14,792 --> 00:10:17,375 at the FCC hearing, they're finished. 202 00:10:17,375 --> 00:10:19,708 Their whole company is finished. 203 00:10:21,792 --> 00:10:23,542 - [Narrator] With just three months 204 00:10:23,542 --> 00:10:25,750 to present a viable prototype to the FCC, 205 00:10:25,750 --> 00:10:29,250 they use existing car phone technology as a foundation. 206 00:10:30,583 --> 00:10:33,667 - Motorola's car phones were enormous. 207 00:10:33,667 --> 00:10:36,500 There were about six components. 208 00:10:36,500 --> 00:10:39,417 You had a transmitter, a receiver, power, 209 00:10:39,417 --> 00:10:41,375 all of that was connected to the car. 210 00:10:41,375 --> 00:10:43,667 So the idea of taking all of that 211 00:10:43,667 --> 00:10:46,375 and making it into a handheld package 212 00:10:46,375 --> 00:10:48,167 seemed pretty unfeasible. 213 00:10:48,167 --> 00:10:50,542 - They had to find a way to not only make 214 00:10:50,542 --> 00:10:51,750 all of these pieces smaller, 215 00:10:51,750 --> 00:10:53,708 get them to fit in this little box, 216 00:10:53,708 --> 00:10:55,583 but also make sure that it had enough power 217 00:10:55,583 --> 00:10:57,542 to be able to work. 218 00:10:57,542 --> 00:10:59,917 - They've been actually able to miniaturize 219 00:10:59,917 --> 00:11:01,125 some of the components, 220 00:11:01,125 --> 00:11:02,833 but not all the components have been made 221 00:11:02,833 --> 00:11:05,000 for what this phone needs. 222 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:09,958 So, Motorola has been deconstructing pagers, radios, 223 00:11:09,958 --> 00:11:12,708 anything where they could find these miniature parts 224 00:11:12,708 --> 00:11:15,750 that could fit into this one device. 225 00:11:15,750 --> 00:11:18,042 - It was a real life game of Tetris for them, 226 00:11:18,042 --> 00:11:19,708 as they played around with microchips, 227 00:11:19,708 --> 00:11:22,333 receivers, transmitters, batteries, 228 00:11:22,333 --> 00:11:24,625 all to make this little technology function. 229 00:11:26,208 --> 00:11:28,208 - The head of their design team was a guy named Rudy Krolopp 230 00:11:28,208 --> 00:11:30,958 and he came up with five possible designs. 231 00:11:30,958 --> 00:11:34,208 One was a design like a book, where it would fold onto itself. 232 00:11:34,208 --> 00:11:36,708 Another was the microphone kind of slipping in and out, 233 00:11:36,708 --> 00:11:38,042 like lipstick. 234 00:11:39,042 --> 00:11:42,208 They had, basically, a giant banana with an antenna. 235 00:11:42,208 --> 00:11:44,542 I mean, can you imagine today all of us walking around 236 00:11:44,542 --> 00:11:47,125 with these giant bananas on our ears? 237 00:11:47,125 --> 00:11:48,750 - [Narrator] Ultimately, they land 238 00:11:48,750 --> 00:11:50,875 on the most practical design. 239 00:11:50,875 --> 00:11:52,833 - It looks a little bit like a boot. 240 00:11:52,833 --> 00:11:54,625 Not only was it more familiar for people 241 00:11:54,625 --> 00:11:56,583 who had been using car phones, 242 00:11:56,583 --> 00:11:59,208 but it also had the most amount of space. 243 00:11:59,208 --> 00:12:01,125 [tense music] 244 00:12:01,125 --> 00:12:02,708 - [Narrator] With only days to spare 245 00:12:02,708 --> 00:12:04,750 before the FCC makes a decision, 246 00:12:04,750 --> 00:12:08,000 Marty Cooper is finally ready to test the prototype. 247 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:11,625 - In order to make the first cell phone call in history, 248 00:12:11,625 --> 00:12:13,208 they actually rigged up an antenna 249 00:12:13,208 --> 00:12:15,750 on top of a skyscraper in New York City 250 00:12:15,750 --> 00:12:18,208 to help connect the call from the cell phone 251 00:12:18,208 --> 00:12:19,708 down into landlines. 252 00:12:20,625 --> 00:12:23,208 - So Marty Cooper, he gets his phone 253 00:12:23,208 --> 00:12:25,125 and he's like, "You know what, I'm gonna go out, 254 00:12:25,125 --> 00:12:26,375 I'm gonna walk on the street, 255 00:12:26,375 --> 00:12:28,875 and I'm gonna make a call while I'm walking. 256 00:12:28,875 --> 00:12:32,542 I'm gonna call Joel Engel over at AT&T." 257 00:12:32,542 --> 00:12:35,000 - I'm calling you from the sidewalk. 258 00:12:37,792 --> 00:12:40,708 Not a payphone, from a real handheld. 259 00:12:41,625 --> 00:12:43,125 - Complete silence. 260 00:12:44,792 --> 00:12:47,125 - Marty Cooper's first cell phone call 261 00:12:47,125 --> 00:12:50,042 was a troll of epic proportions. 262 00:12:50,042 --> 00:12:53,250 Not only did Motorola get a cell phone to make a call, 263 00:12:53,250 --> 00:12:56,750 but they didn't even do it from a car, which is genius. 264 00:12:56,750 --> 00:12:59,292 - At that point, I think Engel knew he was beat. 265 00:12:59,292 --> 00:13:01,583 [inspiring music] 266 00:13:01,583 --> 00:13:04,833 - I mean, here's AT&T, the largest company in the world, 267 00:13:04,833 --> 00:13:08,292 brutally embarrassed on a global stage. 268 00:13:08,292 --> 00:13:10,417 [tense music] 269 00:13:12,250 --> 00:13:15,333 - [Narrator] Soon after, the FCC reaches a decision. 270 00:13:18,417 --> 00:13:19,500 - All right, thank you. 271 00:13:23,792 --> 00:13:26,292 We got it! - Ahh! 272 00:13:27,875 --> 00:13:30,125 - [Narrator] Preventing AT&T from monopolizing 273 00:13:30,125 --> 00:13:33,458 the cellular market is a triumphant win for Motorola, 274 00:13:35,042 --> 00:13:37,917 but it opens up a new set of challenges. 275 00:13:39,875 --> 00:13:42,792 - So you have this phone now that you want to market, 276 00:13:42,792 --> 00:13:44,750 but there's no network to work on. 277 00:13:44,750 --> 00:13:47,750 - In order for that cellular network to function properly, 278 00:13:47,750 --> 00:13:50,958 you need a series of towers scattered throughout the country 279 00:13:50,958 --> 00:13:53,125 such that the signal can be transmitted. 280 00:13:53,125 --> 00:13:55,250 Without those towers, ain't no signal. 281 00:13:56,208 --> 00:13:58,250 - The networks really aren't in place, 282 00:13:58,250 --> 00:14:01,458 so they have to wait almost a decade, 283 00:14:01,458 --> 00:14:03,458 10 years in the making. 284 00:14:03,458 --> 00:14:06,250 - By this point, Galvin and the team have spent years 285 00:14:06,250 --> 00:14:08,458 developing it without making a cent. 286 00:14:10,292 --> 00:14:12,375 - [Narrator] With a cellular network in place, 287 00:14:12,375 --> 00:14:14,542 on March 6th, 1983, 288 00:14:14,542 --> 00:14:19,042 Motorola finally releases the first ever cell phone. 289 00:14:19,042 --> 00:14:22,583 - 1983 was a year in history we will never forget. 290 00:14:22,583 --> 00:14:25,000 Motorola comes out with the DynaTAC 291 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:27,333 and it changed the world. 292 00:14:27,333 --> 00:14:30,958 - Cellular phone technology is an utter revolution 293 00:14:30,958 --> 00:14:32,208 in human society. 294 00:14:32,208 --> 00:14:34,750 Now, you have a device that you can carry 295 00:14:34,750 --> 00:14:36,667 with you, in your day. 296 00:14:36,667 --> 00:14:39,375 - That changed the world immediately. 297 00:14:39,375 --> 00:14:41,917 Business deals can be made from a treadmill. 298 00:14:41,917 --> 00:14:44,125 You can talk from the golf course. 299 00:14:45,250 --> 00:14:47,167 - [Announcer] Scenes like this are becoming commonplace 300 00:14:47,167 --> 00:14:50,125 in US cities where cellular is available today. 301 00:14:50,125 --> 00:14:51,708 - Motorola runs this DynaTAC commercial 302 00:14:51,708 --> 00:14:54,917 that says that everyone's gonna own this device eventually, 303 00:14:54,917 --> 00:14:57,458 but they also say that this is a small device. 304 00:14:57,458 --> 00:15:00,458 - It's incredibly funny that there was a time 305 00:15:00,458 --> 00:15:06,083 when having a brick phone was considered light and portable. 306 00:15:07,083 --> 00:15:09,917 - The DynaTAC, compared to, say, our iPhones today, 307 00:15:09,917 --> 00:15:11,583 was a totally different experience. 308 00:15:11,583 --> 00:15:14,917 It weighed five times as much, like two and a half pounds. 309 00:15:14,917 --> 00:15:17,792 It took 10 hours to charge. 310 00:15:17,792 --> 00:15:20,125 - Talk time is about 35 minutes, 311 00:15:20,125 --> 00:15:22,833 but the old joke was, you weren't gonna talk on the phone 312 00:15:22,833 --> 00:15:24,583 for 35 minutes because it was too heavy 313 00:15:24,583 --> 00:15:25,875 to hold up for 35 minutes. 314 00:15:25,875 --> 00:15:29,125 - Today's consumers would most assuredly 315 00:15:29,125 --> 00:15:30,667 think the thing was a pile of junk, 316 00:15:30,667 --> 00:15:33,833 but back then, there was something really magic about it. 317 00:15:34,875 --> 00:15:37,708 - [Narrator] However, most people can't afford to buy one. 318 00:15:37,708 --> 00:15:42,208 - It debuts at $3,995. 319 00:15:42,208 --> 00:15:47,042 In today's money, it would've been $12,380. 320 00:15:47,042 --> 00:15:49,583 [dramatic music] 321 00:15:49,583 --> 00:15:50,708 - [Narrator] Despite the cost, 322 00:15:50,708 --> 00:15:53,583 Motorola sells over 300,000 units, 323 00:15:55,042 --> 00:15:58,000 which sets off an arms race as a wave of competitors 324 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:00,583 rush to come up with their own devices. 325 00:16:03,375 --> 00:16:05,833 Including a modest Canadian startup 326 00:16:05,833 --> 00:16:07,875 founded by two longtime friends. 327 00:16:07,875 --> 00:16:11,708 - Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin are in their early twenties, 328 00:16:11,708 --> 00:16:15,750 yet are not in any way interested in the typical things 329 00:16:15,750 --> 00:16:19,000 that people in their early twenties might be interested in. 330 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:20,375 - Mike was a bit of a science nerd. 331 00:16:20,375 --> 00:16:24,125 He liked building machines, taking apart computers, 332 00:16:24,125 --> 00:16:26,292 playing with electronic gadgets. 333 00:16:26,292 --> 00:16:29,500 - Doug Fregin is his childhood friend, 334 00:16:29,500 --> 00:16:31,042 since the fifth grade. 335 00:16:31,042 --> 00:16:33,417 - [Graham] Doug was a shy kid, very similar to Mike. 336 00:16:33,417 --> 00:16:35,708 Would read every science book in the library. 337 00:16:35,708 --> 00:16:40,417 - They have a fascination with wireless technology 338 00:16:40,417 --> 00:16:43,458 and they want to create something 339 00:16:43,458 --> 00:16:46,875 that will have a lasting impact on society. 340 00:16:46,875 --> 00:16:48,625 [tense music] 341 00:16:48,625 --> 00:16:51,083 - [Narrator] Their company will one day be valued 342 00:16:51,083 --> 00:16:53,208 at over $40 billion, 343 00:16:53,208 --> 00:16:56,042 selling 50 million devices a year, 344 00:16:56,042 --> 00:16:59,292 and totally reinvent global communications. 345 00:17:00,708 --> 00:17:03,042 But right now, Research In Motion 346 00:17:03,042 --> 00:17:06,042 is just trying to land their first client. 347 00:17:06,042 --> 00:17:07,708 - Thank you for coming. 348 00:17:07,708 --> 00:17:11,125 - Research In Motion are doing whatever they can 349 00:17:11,125 --> 00:17:12,917 to nail this pitch. 350 00:17:12,917 --> 00:17:14,792 Basically, trying to convince them 351 00:17:14,792 --> 00:17:17,167 that they have the perfect product 352 00:17:17,167 --> 00:17:18,875 to revolutionize their company. 353 00:17:18,875 --> 00:17:21,875 - Real time communication is the future. 354 00:17:21,875 --> 00:17:23,000 Follow me, gentlemen. 355 00:17:25,208 --> 00:17:27,750 - Their first invention is this pretty advanced 356 00:17:27,750 --> 00:17:29,958 wireless system for its time 357 00:17:29,958 --> 00:17:32,667 that sends text to a TV monitor. 358 00:17:32,667 --> 00:17:37,042 - This is the same year Apple releases the very first Mac, 359 00:17:37,042 --> 00:17:40,208 so the internet was still miles away 360 00:17:40,208 --> 00:17:42,333 in terms of most people's awareness of it. 361 00:17:42,333 --> 00:17:45,875 So, the idea of me typing a message 362 00:17:45,875 --> 00:17:50,167 and it coming out on your screen was groundbreaking. 363 00:17:50,167 --> 00:17:52,042 [keyboard clacking] 364 00:17:57,000 --> 00:17:58,583 - [Narrator] To unleash their cutting-edge, 365 00:17:58,583 --> 00:18:01,625 wireless text messaging technology, 366 00:18:01,625 --> 00:18:05,542 Lazaridis and Fregin offer it to an industry titan. 367 00:18:05,542 --> 00:18:06,708 - It worked. 368 00:18:06,708 --> 00:18:09,667 - [Narrator] The partners secure a $600,000 deal 369 00:18:09,667 --> 00:18:12,125 from none other-- - Any questions, gentlemen? 370 00:18:12,125 --> 00:18:13,708 - [Narrator] Than General Motors 371 00:18:13,708 --> 00:18:17,375 to use the messaging software on assembly lines. 372 00:18:17,375 --> 00:18:19,542 - They essentially figured out text messaging, 373 00:18:19,542 --> 00:18:21,542 but instead of recognizing the gold mine 374 00:18:21,542 --> 00:18:23,208 that they're sitting on and hitting up 375 00:18:23,208 --> 00:18:24,458 telecommunications companies, 376 00:18:24,458 --> 00:18:26,250 they end up going to a company like GM. 377 00:18:26,250 --> 00:18:28,500 It's a little crazy to imagine. 378 00:18:28,500 --> 00:18:31,083 - They think, "This is it, you know, we've made it," 379 00:18:31,083 --> 00:18:34,042 but they really have no idea 380 00:18:34,042 --> 00:18:36,500 of the impact they were about to have. 381 00:18:37,542 --> 00:18:40,750 - [Narrator] Unwittingly, they hold the key to a revolution 382 00:18:40,750 --> 00:18:44,250 that will soon overtake the entire cell phone market, 383 00:18:44,250 --> 00:18:47,208 including Motorola. 384 00:18:51,500 --> 00:18:53,500 - [Narrator] By 1987, cell phones 385 00:18:53,500 --> 00:18:56,958 are starting to make their way into American pop culture 386 00:18:56,958 --> 00:19:00,292 and Motorola's first cell phone is becoming a status symbol. 387 00:19:00,292 --> 00:19:03,125 - The DynaTAC 8000 makes a big splash 388 00:19:03,125 --> 00:19:05,375 in the movie, "Wall Street". 389 00:19:06,292 --> 00:19:09,042 Gordon Gekko has his brick phone. 390 00:19:09,042 --> 00:19:10,917 He's all over the place, making phone calls, 391 00:19:10,917 --> 00:19:12,500 making his stock deals. 392 00:19:13,750 --> 00:19:15,750 - The first time I think I ever saw a cell phone 393 00:19:15,750 --> 00:19:19,042 was Zack Morris holding one of these things 394 00:19:19,042 --> 00:19:20,792 on an episode of "Saved by the Bell", 395 00:19:20,792 --> 00:19:23,500 and it looked like it was half the size of your head. 396 00:19:24,875 --> 00:19:27,875 - [Narrator] But by 1988, cell phones are no longer 397 00:19:27,875 --> 00:19:29,375 just an American product. 398 00:19:30,375 --> 00:19:32,000 - Everyone wants to get in on the game. 399 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:33,375 They know it's the future. 400 00:19:33,375 --> 00:19:35,042 They know it's where the world's gonna be heading, 401 00:19:35,042 --> 00:19:37,542 and it unleashes just fierce competition. 402 00:19:38,917 --> 00:19:41,792 - [Narrator] Including one electronics company in Asia. 403 00:19:41,792 --> 00:19:44,083 - You may have heard of it, it's a small little company 404 00:19:44,083 --> 00:19:47,042 based in South Korea, Samsung. 405 00:19:47,042 --> 00:19:48,542 - [Narrator] They're making waves 406 00:19:48,542 --> 00:19:51,708 with their first mobile phone, the SH-100. 407 00:19:51,708 --> 00:19:54,417 - It's pretty much their version of DynaTAC 408 00:19:54,417 --> 00:19:56,542 with a little less weight 409 00:19:56,542 --> 00:19:58,792 and a little bit of a cheaper cost. 410 00:19:58,792 --> 00:20:01,833 - So in business, you either innovate or you die. 411 00:20:01,833 --> 00:20:05,708 Motorola knew that they had to be the leader of the pack 412 00:20:05,708 --> 00:20:08,167 if they wanted to stay competitive in this game. 413 00:20:09,583 --> 00:20:11,208 - [Narrator] But they'll have to do it 414 00:20:11,208 --> 00:20:12,917 without their top engineer. 415 00:20:12,917 --> 00:20:15,500 - Marty Cooper decides to leave Motorola a little bit 416 00:20:15,500 --> 00:20:17,042 after the launch of the DynaTAC. 417 00:20:17,042 --> 00:20:19,583 He wanted to get away from the large company setting 418 00:20:19,583 --> 00:20:22,667 and go back to being in inventive mode. 419 00:20:22,667 --> 00:20:25,208 Today, he's still regarded as the father 420 00:20:25,208 --> 00:20:26,708 of the modern cell phone, 421 00:20:26,708 --> 00:20:29,792 leaving a legacy of having built the first cell phone 422 00:20:29,792 --> 00:20:31,208 in human history. 423 00:20:31,208 --> 00:20:33,458 [tense music] 424 00:20:33,458 --> 00:20:36,208 - [Narrator] Stepping in for Cooper is not an engineer, 425 00:20:36,208 --> 00:20:39,042 but Motorola's head of design, Rudy Krolopp. 426 00:20:39,042 --> 00:20:41,208 - Rudy doesn't want to just follow 427 00:20:41,208 --> 00:20:42,875 in Marty Cooper's footsteps, 428 00:20:42,875 --> 00:20:46,542 he wants to bring his own innovations to cell phones. 429 00:20:47,875 --> 00:20:50,125 - [Narrator] Starting with making them more appealing 430 00:20:50,125 --> 00:20:51,667 to the general public. 431 00:20:51,667 --> 00:20:54,583 - Cell phones shouldn't be just for business tycoons, 432 00:20:54,583 --> 00:20:57,083 they should be a daily essential, 433 00:20:57,083 --> 00:20:59,208 as common as keys or a wallet. 434 00:21:00,500 --> 00:21:02,417 - [Narrator] And Krolopp believes the key 435 00:21:02,417 --> 00:21:04,958 lies in rethinking the phone's size. 436 00:21:07,542 --> 00:21:09,292 - A phone that fits in your pocket? 437 00:21:09,292 --> 00:21:10,417 - Uh-huh. 438 00:21:12,125 --> 00:21:15,042 - Rudy Krolopp comes up with the design, 439 00:21:15,042 --> 00:21:18,500 saying that this is the perfect product for everyone. 440 00:21:19,542 --> 00:21:21,875 - Can this be done? - Absolutely. 441 00:21:21,875 --> 00:21:24,542 - He says, "I'm gonna make a cell phone 442 00:21:24,542 --> 00:21:25,792 smaller than the DynaTAC, 443 00:21:25,792 --> 00:21:28,833 with absolutely no idea how to do it." 444 00:21:28,833 --> 00:21:32,750 And the idea of condensing all that technology into 445 00:21:32,750 --> 00:21:36,833 a small package, is something that has never been done, 446 00:21:36,833 --> 00:21:39,417 and no one even knows if it can be done. 447 00:21:39,417 --> 00:21:41,750 - The battery alone on a DynaTAC 448 00:21:41,750 --> 00:21:44,667 weighed over five times the rest of the cell phone's body 449 00:21:44,667 --> 00:21:47,208 and it lasted only 30 minutes. 450 00:21:47,208 --> 00:21:49,875 So they have some major hurdles to overcome 451 00:21:49,875 --> 00:21:52,542 if they're gonna design a smaller, lighter cell phone. 452 00:21:54,125 --> 00:21:56,417 - [Narrator] All obstacles they must solve quickly 453 00:21:56,417 --> 00:21:58,750 to stay ahead of incoming competition. 454 00:22:00,125 --> 00:22:05,333 - It was, without question, the rise of the information age. 455 00:22:06,333 --> 00:22:09,583 In fact, when Bill Clinton was elected in 1992, 456 00:22:09,583 --> 00:22:11,792 he became the first president 457 00:22:11,792 --> 00:22:15,542 to ever have a public e-mail address. 458 00:22:15,542 --> 00:22:17,708 - Clinton makes it clear that he's really pro-business 459 00:22:17,708 --> 00:22:19,708 and pro-international trade. 460 00:22:19,708 --> 00:22:22,542 He helps pass the North American Free Trade Agreement, 461 00:22:22,542 --> 00:22:25,208 which almost eliminates tariffs across Canada, 462 00:22:25,208 --> 00:22:26,583 America, and Mexico. 463 00:22:26,583 --> 00:22:28,250 So this becomes a really easy way 464 00:22:28,250 --> 00:22:30,875 for companies to get a foothold into the American market, 465 00:22:30,875 --> 00:22:32,958 especially telecommunications companies. 466 00:22:34,125 --> 00:22:35,417 - [Narrator] Like Research In Motion, 467 00:22:35,417 --> 00:22:37,875 who's hoping for their big break. 468 00:22:37,875 --> 00:22:40,125 - Research In Motion made a name for itself 469 00:22:40,125 --> 00:22:42,083 within wireless radio technology 470 00:22:42,083 --> 00:22:45,667 by creating barcode scanners and credit card readers 471 00:22:45,667 --> 00:22:49,208 on the wireless data network, Mobitex. 472 00:22:49,208 --> 00:22:51,458 But they're still struggling financially. 473 00:22:52,542 --> 00:22:54,958 - Research In Motion had good hardware engineers, 474 00:22:54,958 --> 00:22:56,375 good software engineers, 475 00:22:56,375 --> 00:22:59,000 but they didn't have many people who knew 476 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:00,667 how to sell and market, 477 00:23:00,667 --> 00:23:03,083 so they were just barely keeping the business afloat. 478 00:23:04,667 --> 00:23:06,625 - [Narrator] But then, in 1992, 479 00:23:06,625 --> 00:23:09,708 an aspiring entrepreneur approaches Mike Lazaridis 480 00:23:09,708 --> 00:23:12,000 with an offer to buy the company. 481 00:23:13,167 --> 00:23:16,375 - Jim Balsillie is a 33-year-old Harvard Business School graduate 482 00:23:16,375 --> 00:23:19,208 who is looking for a small company to take over, 483 00:23:19,208 --> 00:23:20,792 and he sets his sights on RIM 484 00:23:20,792 --> 00:23:23,833 to turn this small startup with potential 485 00:23:23,833 --> 00:23:27,000 into a worldwide telecommunications giant. 486 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:28,875 - [Narrator] Balsillie is proposing a deal 487 00:23:28,875 --> 00:23:31,042 that will put him in charge of RIM. 488 00:23:31,042 --> 00:23:32,583 - I'm sorry, I can't do it. 489 00:23:34,250 --> 00:23:35,583 - For a lot of entrepreneurs, 490 00:23:35,583 --> 00:23:37,125 selling the company is the dream, 491 00:23:37,125 --> 00:23:39,875 but Mike and Doug were so early in their career, 492 00:23:39,875 --> 00:23:41,958 they didn't wanna give up what they had built together. 493 00:23:41,958 --> 00:23:43,583 They wanted to be their own bosses, 494 00:23:43,583 --> 00:23:46,042 so they didn't wanna sell the company to Jim. 495 00:23:46,042 --> 00:23:48,792 - You know, I'm offering you more than just money, 496 00:23:49,667 --> 00:23:51,375 but if you can't see that, 497 00:23:51,375 --> 00:23:53,667 then maybe this just isn't the place for me. 498 00:23:53,667 --> 00:23:56,708 - Research In Motion didn't have any hit products. 499 00:23:56,708 --> 00:23:58,667 They were just barely staying alive. 500 00:23:58,667 --> 00:23:59,667 - Wait. 501 00:24:04,125 --> 00:24:09,417 125,000 for 33%, but we run the company together. 502 00:24:11,958 --> 00:24:15,708 - So they develop a co-CEO structure. 503 00:24:15,708 --> 00:24:18,958 Whereas Balsillie is going to be in the finance aspect of it, 504 00:24:18,958 --> 00:24:21,625 Lazaridis is gonna be the technical aspect of it. 505 00:24:23,250 --> 00:24:27,083 - Jim decided that he needed to come up with a product 506 00:24:27,083 --> 00:24:30,000 that could take the company to the next level. 507 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:33,750 - Jim's really thinking of messaging in a more dynamic way. 508 00:24:33,750 --> 00:24:35,917 How can we design a device that can allow us 509 00:24:35,917 --> 00:24:38,083 to really empower on-the-go communication? 510 00:24:40,750 --> 00:24:45,250 - You have very, um, impressive 511 00:24:45,250 --> 00:24:46,792 messaging tech and everything. 512 00:24:47,750 --> 00:24:51,708 Why is it that your messages only go one way? 513 00:24:54,083 --> 00:24:55,958 - [Narrator] Balsillie's idea will put RIM 514 00:24:55,958 --> 00:24:58,417 on a collision course with the market leader 515 00:24:58,417 --> 00:25:01,667 in the cell phone industry, Motorola, 516 00:25:01,667 --> 00:25:05,542 in the race to make the cellphone smarter. 517 00:25:11,042 --> 00:25:14,000 - [Narrator] Motorola's head of design, Rudy Krolopp, 518 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:16,875 has been working for 10 years to transform the cell phone 519 00:25:16,875 --> 00:25:19,375 from a luxury item into an everyday tool 520 00:25:19,375 --> 00:25:20,917 for the average American. 521 00:25:20,917 --> 00:25:23,542 - Rudy Krolopp wants to manufacture a phone 522 00:25:23,542 --> 00:25:25,375 that's gonna appeal to the masses, 523 00:25:25,375 --> 00:25:26,875 something that people need 524 00:25:26,875 --> 00:25:29,083 and something that is actually small enough 525 00:25:29,083 --> 00:25:30,167 to fit in your pocket. 526 00:25:31,125 --> 00:25:33,667 - [Narrator] But in 1994, a Finnish company 527 00:25:33,667 --> 00:25:35,542 beats him to the punch. 528 00:25:35,542 --> 00:25:38,000 ♪ [singing Nokia ringtone] 529 00:25:39,208 --> 00:25:42,333 - The Nokia ringtone becomes an iconic sensation. 530 00:25:42,333 --> 00:25:44,583 [Nokia ringtone plays] 531 00:25:45,625 --> 00:25:47,583 To this day, people hear that ringtone 532 00:25:47,583 --> 00:25:49,875 and they know exactly what it is. 533 00:25:49,875 --> 00:25:52,292 - They're smaller, they look fun, 534 00:25:52,292 --> 00:25:54,208 they come in different colors. 535 00:25:54,208 --> 00:25:57,750 - They broke out of that brick cell phone look 536 00:25:57,750 --> 00:26:01,375 and started the progress with modern cell phones. 537 00:26:01,375 --> 00:26:03,208 - They called them candy bar phones. 538 00:26:03,208 --> 00:26:04,667 They're still kind of clunky, 539 00:26:04,667 --> 00:26:07,208 but they could fit in your pocket or in your handbag. 540 00:26:07,208 --> 00:26:09,458 And that really signals that they're not just 541 00:26:09,458 --> 00:26:11,375 going for the business person consumer, 542 00:26:11,375 --> 00:26:14,625 but rather for people who might use these recreationally. 543 00:26:17,042 --> 00:26:19,042 - [Narrator] Facing an ever-growing onslaught 544 00:26:19,042 --> 00:26:22,125 of competition, Rudy Krolopp is feeling the pressure. 545 00:26:22,125 --> 00:26:25,375 - Motorola knows that they need to come up with something 546 00:26:25,375 --> 00:26:28,208 and come up with something quick if they wanna compete. 547 00:26:28,208 --> 00:26:29,917 [cell phone rings] 548 00:26:29,917 --> 00:26:32,750 - [Narrator] Then, Krolopp stumbles upon a major flaw 549 00:26:32,750 --> 00:26:34,875 with the latest trendsetting phones. 550 00:26:34,875 --> 00:26:35,833 - Hello? 551 00:26:37,500 --> 00:26:39,458 No, I didn't call you. 552 00:26:39,458 --> 00:26:41,333 I don't know, the phone must have dialed 553 00:26:41,333 --> 00:26:42,792 while it was in my pocket. 554 00:26:43,792 --> 00:26:46,042 - Because the buttons on the original cell phones 555 00:26:46,042 --> 00:26:48,958 were in fact tangible push buttons 556 00:26:48,958 --> 00:26:51,917 and people would oftentimes just throw them in their pocket, 557 00:26:51,917 --> 00:26:54,208 a new phenomenon emerges. 558 00:26:54,208 --> 00:26:58,000 The wonderful entity known as the butt dial. 559 00:27:02,750 --> 00:27:06,625 Rudy realizes, this is my opportunity. 560 00:27:07,750 --> 00:27:11,208 If I can find a way to prevent these accidental calls 561 00:27:11,208 --> 00:27:15,542 from being made, that is going to be a game changer. 562 00:27:15,542 --> 00:27:17,792 [tense music] 563 00:27:20,083 --> 00:27:22,583 - [Narrator] Meanwhile, in Canada, Research In Motion 564 00:27:22,583 --> 00:27:25,125 is looking to break into the handheld market 565 00:27:25,125 --> 00:27:27,958 with their own game-changing device. 566 00:27:27,958 --> 00:27:30,417 - Jim Balsillie is well aware 567 00:27:30,417 --> 00:27:34,958 of how wireless communication is a big, lucrative business 568 00:27:34,958 --> 00:27:37,042 and he spearheads this effort 569 00:27:37,042 --> 00:27:40,458 to bring them into the conversation. 570 00:27:40,458 --> 00:27:43,417 - [Narrator] They start by re-imagining an old gadget, 571 00:27:43,417 --> 00:27:44,708 the pager. 572 00:27:44,708 --> 00:27:46,875 - The pager gave you information, 573 00:27:46,875 --> 00:27:49,542 but you couldn't give it information. 574 00:27:49,542 --> 00:27:51,375 All it did was receive it. 575 00:27:52,708 --> 00:27:55,000 - [Narrator] But now, co-CEOs, Jim Balsillie 576 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:57,542 and Mike Lazaridis, are looking to make the pager 577 00:27:57,542 --> 00:28:00,458 also capable of sending messages. 578 00:28:00,458 --> 00:28:02,125 And that's not all. 579 00:28:03,333 --> 00:28:07,375 [internet dial-up beeping] 580 00:28:07,375 --> 00:28:09,333 Dubbed "the year of the web," 581 00:28:09,333 --> 00:28:13,917 1994 sees an explosion of home computers and internet use. 582 00:28:13,917 --> 00:28:17,375 - AOL has one million subscribers, 583 00:28:17,375 --> 00:28:23,167 but each one of them is using dial-up service by the minute 584 00:28:23,167 --> 00:28:25,875 to access their e-mail inboxes. 585 00:28:25,875 --> 00:28:27,542 Pretty expensive. 586 00:28:27,542 --> 00:28:29,542 - E-mail was replacing snail mail. 587 00:28:29,542 --> 00:28:31,250 Chat was placing phone calls. 588 00:28:31,250 --> 00:28:35,000 The internet is just shrinking the world down smaller. 589 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:37,625 - But sending e-mails and digital communication 590 00:28:37,625 --> 00:28:38,917 was brutal. 591 00:28:38,917 --> 00:28:41,375 Everything was dial-up, it would take forever. 592 00:28:41,375 --> 00:28:44,750 It was not easy and convenient and instantaneous 593 00:28:44,750 --> 00:28:46,208 like it is today. 594 00:28:46,208 --> 00:28:48,167 - Jim and Mike saw a future in which people 595 00:28:48,167 --> 00:28:50,375 were gonna be using e-mail much more heavily, 596 00:28:50,375 --> 00:28:53,167 and they wanted to create a portable device 597 00:28:53,167 --> 00:28:55,917 that would allow people to e-mail on the go. 598 00:28:55,917 --> 00:28:57,792 - [Narrator] But they're faced with 599 00:28:57,792 --> 00:28:59,708 an insurmountable roadblock. 600 00:28:59,708 --> 00:29:02,042 - You have to remember, this was a time 601 00:29:02,042 --> 00:29:04,208 before there was any kind of network 602 00:29:04,208 --> 00:29:06,792 that could support data transfer. 603 00:29:06,792 --> 00:29:09,583 The networks were strictly for voice communication. 604 00:29:09,583 --> 00:29:12,375 So they needed to find a new network 605 00:29:12,375 --> 00:29:15,458 that could support the data for messaging and for e-mail. 606 00:29:18,958 --> 00:29:20,542 - [Narrator] While Research In Motion struggles 607 00:29:20,542 --> 00:29:23,542 with the limitations of technology in the present, 608 00:29:23,542 --> 00:29:27,875 Motorola's Rudy Krolopp has taken inspiration from the past 609 00:29:27,875 --> 00:29:31,125 to create a smaller phone than anything on the market. 610 00:29:35,167 --> 00:29:37,750 - This looks like something out of "Star Trek". 611 00:29:37,750 --> 00:29:40,333 - In the 1960s, "Star Trek" had these portable 612 00:29:40,333 --> 00:29:43,542 handheld devices, called communicators. 613 00:29:43,542 --> 00:29:45,000 Now, the "Star Trek" communicator 614 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:46,375 doesn't really look like a phone. 615 00:29:46,375 --> 00:29:49,000 In fact, it doesn't even have buttons on it, 616 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:50,833 but it has one really important feature 617 00:29:50,833 --> 00:29:52,542 that Rudy was inspired by. 618 00:29:52,542 --> 00:29:53,833 It flips shut. 619 00:29:55,708 --> 00:29:58,333 - [Narrator] Krolopp's design also solves a major problem 620 00:29:58,333 --> 00:30:00,083 with other cell phones at the time. 621 00:30:00,083 --> 00:30:02,458 - Rudy comes up with a genius solution. 622 00:30:02,458 --> 00:30:06,750 The flip protects the buttons from butt dials 623 00:30:06,750 --> 00:30:08,375 and accidental calls. 624 00:30:09,667 --> 00:30:13,583 - [Narrator] This ingenious fix will reshape cell phones 625 00:30:13,583 --> 00:30:15,250 and give Motorola one of the most 626 00:30:15,250 --> 00:30:17,708 iconic devices of all time. 627 00:30:17,708 --> 00:30:20,000 - Not "Star Trek", StarTAC. 628 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:22,250 [intense music] 629 00:30:28,292 --> 00:30:31,417 - [Narrator] In 1996, Motorola unleashes 630 00:30:31,417 --> 00:30:35,375 the world's first flip phone, the StarTAC. 631 00:30:35,375 --> 00:30:37,708 - The StarTAC was the first foldable 632 00:30:37,708 --> 00:30:39,708 that was a true clamshell. 633 00:30:39,708 --> 00:30:42,500 When you close it, it actually closed up the entire phone. 634 00:30:42,500 --> 00:30:44,958 - Not much bigger than an actual wallet, 635 00:30:44,958 --> 00:30:47,833 you could fit this in your pocket really easy. 636 00:30:47,833 --> 00:30:50,042 - [Narrator] Krolopp's gamble to go all-in 637 00:30:50,042 --> 00:30:51,750 on a pocket phone pays off. 638 00:30:51,750 --> 00:30:54,042 - People flip for the flip. 639 00:30:54,042 --> 00:30:59,083 It's sleek, it's futuristic, it is a game changer. 640 00:30:59,083 --> 00:31:02,042 - No one had ever seen anything like it before. 641 00:31:02,042 --> 00:31:04,042 I had a flip phone for a long time. 642 00:31:04,042 --> 00:31:08,250 It probably wasn't until about 2012 643 00:31:08,250 --> 00:31:12,208 when I sort of caved in and got my first iPhone. 644 00:31:12,208 --> 00:31:14,042 - The StarTAC was the first phone 645 00:31:14,042 --> 00:31:16,458 to have the vibrate feature, 646 00:31:16,458 --> 00:31:19,917 so you could get notified in a discreet manner, 647 00:31:19,917 --> 00:31:22,333 which was unheard of. 648 00:31:22,333 --> 00:31:24,708 - [Narrator] The StarTAC is a massive hit, 649 00:31:24,708 --> 00:31:27,458 selling 60 million devices worldwide 650 00:31:27,458 --> 00:31:30,167 and cementing their stronghold in the industry. 651 00:31:31,167 --> 00:31:35,375 - There's something kind of wonderful, and final, 652 00:31:35,375 --> 00:31:38,292 and authoritative to closing it after a call, 653 00:31:38,292 --> 00:31:42,125 and it becomes almost the perfect icon 654 00:31:42,125 --> 00:31:44,208 of the 1990s in America. 655 00:31:45,458 --> 00:31:47,542 [tense music] 656 00:31:47,542 --> 00:31:49,958 - [Narrator] Meanwhile, Research In Motion 657 00:31:49,958 --> 00:31:51,708 is having a breakthrough of their own, 658 00:31:52,875 --> 00:31:55,708 as they work on creating their on-the-go e-mail 659 00:31:55,708 --> 00:31:57,167 and messaging device. 660 00:31:57,167 --> 00:32:00,417 - Research In Motion needed a network to use 661 00:32:00,417 --> 00:32:02,875 for their mobile handheld device, 662 00:32:02,875 --> 00:32:05,958 and they sort of had treasure buried 663 00:32:05,958 --> 00:32:07,917 right in their own backyard. 664 00:32:07,917 --> 00:32:11,083 A wireless data network called Mobitex. 665 00:32:12,208 --> 00:32:14,375 - Right now, we're just using the network 666 00:32:14,375 --> 00:32:17,167 to process credit card transactions. 667 00:32:17,167 --> 00:32:20,458 - They had already been using this digital network 668 00:32:20,458 --> 00:32:24,250 in their barcode scanners and in their credit card readers, 669 00:32:24,250 --> 00:32:27,167 and they realized that they could also use Mobitex 670 00:32:27,167 --> 00:32:29,500 for sending other data. 671 00:32:29,500 --> 00:32:32,958 - Data can be whatever we want it to be, like messages. 672 00:32:36,292 --> 00:32:38,750 - [Narrator] Finally, after three years in development, 673 00:32:38,750 --> 00:32:43,542 in 1996, Research In Motion releases the Inter@ctive. 674 00:32:43,542 --> 00:32:47,042 - This Inter@ctive device could search the web, 675 00:32:47,042 --> 00:32:49,417 send messages, e-mails, faxes, 676 00:32:49,417 --> 00:32:51,250 everything that you would normally need an office 677 00:32:51,250 --> 00:32:53,000 and a work setting to do. 678 00:32:53,750 --> 00:32:55,667 What's kind of crazy is that 679 00:32:55,667 --> 00:33:00,250 with all the things the Inter@ctive device could do, 680 00:33:00,250 --> 00:33:01,667 it couldn't make phone calls. 681 00:33:03,042 --> 00:33:05,292 [tense music] 682 00:33:06,500 --> 00:33:08,167 - [Narrator] But it gets the attention 683 00:33:08,167 --> 00:33:11,833 of the undisputed leader of mobile technology, Motorola. 684 00:33:11,833 --> 00:33:13,375 - What is this, a pager? 685 00:33:14,625 --> 00:33:16,833 We make the most successful cell phone in the country 686 00:33:16,833 --> 00:33:18,708 and it's half this size. 687 00:33:18,708 --> 00:33:20,250 Why should we even care? 688 00:33:20,250 --> 00:33:22,542 - We're still trying to make the best telephones, 689 00:33:24,375 --> 00:33:26,542 but what if talking isn't the future? 690 00:33:26,542 --> 00:33:29,708 - Motorola knows that you have to stay one step ahead 691 00:33:29,708 --> 00:33:33,000 of your competitor or you'll become extinct. 692 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:35,292 [intense music] 693 00:33:40,542 --> 00:33:43,167 - [Narrator] To outdo RIM, Motorola hits back 694 00:33:43,167 --> 00:33:46,000 with their own messaging device in 1998. 695 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:48,458 - The Motorola PageWriter 2000 696 00:33:48,458 --> 00:33:52,000 is kind of like a miniature computer with a full keyboard. 697 00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:55,708 It's basically a copycat of the Inter@ctive, 698 00:33:55,708 --> 00:33:59,250 a simple communication-style device that's not a phone. 699 00:34:00,708 --> 00:34:03,625 - [Narrator] Motorola has launched the opening salvo 700 00:34:03,625 --> 00:34:07,417 in a war of innovation and now RIM will have to respond. 701 00:34:07,417 --> 00:34:09,208 - [Jim] Another beer, same tab. 702 00:34:10,250 --> 00:34:12,833 - After RIM introduces the Inter@ctive device, 703 00:34:12,833 --> 00:34:15,208 here comes Motorola, the giant. 704 00:34:16,875 --> 00:34:21,083 RIM needs to react and they need to react very fast. 705 00:34:22,750 --> 00:34:24,417 - Got anything else in there? 706 00:34:26,042 --> 00:34:27,875 - RIM'S Inter@ctive device has a ton 707 00:34:27,875 --> 00:34:30,625 of really good features, but a couple years ago, 708 00:34:30,625 --> 00:34:32,667 you didn't think of carrying any device in your pocket. 709 00:34:32,667 --> 00:34:34,583 But now you had this big bulky cell phone 710 00:34:34,583 --> 00:34:37,417 and another device that you're carrying around. 711 00:34:39,708 --> 00:34:43,000 - What would it take to combine everything into one device? 712 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:47,167 - Could you imagine how big it would have to be? [laughs] 713 00:34:48,542 --> 00:34:49,875 [sighs] 714 00:34:49,875 --> 00:34:52,125 [pensive music] 715 00:34:57,667 --> 00:34:59,125 - Well, could we do it? 716 00:35:02,083 --> 00:35:04,708 - In 1999, RIM starts working on a new device, 717 00:35:04,708 --> 00:35:07,583 but this time, they're adding a phone feature. 718 00:35:08,542 --> 00:35:10,667 They have to go all the way back to the beginning, 719 00:35:10,667 --> 00:35:13,042 which means brand new systems and chips. 720 00:35:13,042 --> 00:35:15,042 The biggest problem, they have no idea 721 00:35:15,042 --> 00:35:16,958 how long this is gonna end up taking. 722 00:35:17,958 --> 00:35:20,667 - Any more compact and you won't be able to type on it. 723 00:35:21,833 --> 00:35:25,333 - RIM's first device is in a horizontal orientation 724 00:35:25,333 --> 00:35:27,417 to accommodate the full keyboard, 725 00:35:27,417 --> 00:35:29,500 but now they wanna make it smaller. 726 00:35:29,500 --> 00:35:32,750 So how can you have a functional keyboard 727 00:35:32,750 --> 00:35:37,042 if you are going to cut the device in half? 728 00:35:37,042 --> 00:35:40,958 - What if instead of trying to make the device fit the hand, 729 00:35:40,958 --> 00:35:44,292 we change how the hand uses it? 730 00:35:45,208 --> 00:35:47,375 [dramatic music] 731 00:35:47,375 --> 00:35:48,833 - [Narrator] Balsillie and Lazaridis 732 00:35:48,833 --> 00:35:52,625 are ready to risk it all on a one-of-a-kind device 733 00:35:52,625 --> 00:35:57,250 that might just be what they need to take down Motorola. 734 00:35:57,250 --> 00:36:00,333 - This single device made all of us 735 00:36:00,333 --> 00:36:02,167 go from typing like this, 736 00:36:03,208 --> 00:36:04,875 to typing like this. 737 00:36:04,875 --> 00:36:06,875 [dramatic music] 738 00:36:13,833 --> 00:36:15,667 [tense music] 739 00:36:15,667 --> 00:36:17,833 - [Narrator] As America enters the new millennium, 740 00:36:18,458 --> 00:36:20,708 RIM is working to dethrone Motorola with what could be 741 00:36:20,708 --> 00:36:23,542 the world's most transformative device yet. 742 00:36:23,542 --> 00:36:28,542 - Phone, internet, messaging in one device. 743 00:36:28,542 --> 00:36:30,625 - [Narrator] But they can't agree on the name. 744 00:36:32,292 --> 00:36:33,625 - The Pocket Link. 745 00:36:34,833 --> 00:36:36,833 [pensive music] 746 00:36:36,833 --> 00:36:41,375 - They're calling it Easy Mail, or Mega Mail, 747 00:36:41,375 --> 00:36:43,750 but they need a great name. 748 00:36:43,750 --> 00:36:46,208 - I kind of wanted to name it after the buttons. 749 00:36:47,167 --> 00:36:48,750 - The buttons? 750 00:36:48,750 --> 00:36:52,125 - People love the way the little buttons look and feel, 751 00:36:52,125 --> 00:36:56,708 and they start playing around with the device's appearance 752 00:36:56,708 --> 00:36:58,917 in terms of trying to figure out its name. 753 00:37:01,792 --> 00:37:03,292 And they begin thinking, 754 00:37:03,292 --> 00:37:06,042 what's another thing that's dark colored 755 00:37:06,042 --> 00:37:09,792 and has these smooth, rounded bumps all over it? 756 00:37:11,583 --> 00:37:13,250 - They look like blackberries. 757 00:37:14,458 --> 00:37:16,708 [pensive music] 758 00:37:18,208 --> 00:37:20,417 - [Narrator] In 2002, two decades 759 00:37:20,417 --> 00:37:22,417 after forming Research In Motion, 760 00:37:22,417 --> 00:37:25,333 they release the first ever smartphone: 761 00:37:26,833 --> 00:37:27,917 the BlackBerry. 762 00:37:29,125 --> 00:37:30,542 - When the BlackBerry came out, 763 00:37:30,542 --> 00:37:34,708 it was something unlike anything the world 764 00:37:34,708 --> 00:37:37,042 or the workplace had ever seen, 765 00:37:37,042 --> 00:37:41,708 and Motorola, Nokia, had nothing that could match it. 766 00:37:41,708 --> 00:37:43,875 - It's now a phone, so you can speak 767 00:37:43,875 --> 00:37:48,458 as well as interact with your e-mail, live, in real time. 768 00:37:48,458 --> 00:37:50,458 Revolutionary for its time. 769 00:37:50,458 --> 00:37:52,625 You had to be able to operate this phone 770 00:37:52,625 --> 00:37:54,375 with nothing but your thumbs. 771 00:37:54,375 --> 00:37:56,292 You had a little track wheel on the side 772 00:37:56,292 --> 00:37:59,417 and when you wanted to select something, you'd press it in. 773 00:38:01,083 --> 00:38:03,292 - [Narrator] The BlackBerry becomes a huge hit, 774 00:38:03,292 --> 00:38:06,875 selling over four million units by 2006. 775 00:38:06,875 --> 00:38:09,583 And the feature-packed device turns into something 776 00:38:09,583 --> 00:38:11,833 users can't put down. 777 00:38:11,833 --> 00:38:14,708 - People were just constantly glued to anything 778 00:38:14,708 --> 00:38:16,750 that they had going on on their phone. 779 00:38:16,750 --> 00:38:20,208 It was so addictive, they called it the CrackBerry. 780 00:38:20,208 --> 00:38:22,250 - It felt both liberating, 781 00:38:22,250 --> 00:38:24,792 because I can do my e-mail from everywhere, 782 00:38:24,792 --> 00:38:28,792 but also confining because I can't escape my e-mail, 783 00:38:28,792 --> 00:38:32,458 it's everywhere, and that's, of course, exactly the point. 784 00:38:34,292 --> 00:38:36,708 - The BlackBerry was a status symbol, right? 785 00:38:36,708 --> 00:38:39,417 And the BlackBerry was something incredibly cool and powerful. 786 00:38:39,417 --> 00:38:41,542 So if you were assigned a BlackBerry at work, 787 00:38:41,542 --> 00:38:43,125 it was kind of a signal to everyone else, 788 00:38:43,125 --> 00:38:44,875 oh, this is hot stuff coming by. 789 00:38:45,875 --> 00:38:48,167 - And from there, things just skyrocket. 790 00:38:48,167 --> 00:38:51,583 They're selling them pretty much like hot cakes. 791 00:38:51,583 --> 00:38:53,417 - [Narrator] BlackBerry becomes the biggest name 792 00:38:53,417 --> 00:38:56,375 in cell phones, spurring the entire industry 793 00:38:56,375 --> 00:38:59,958 to release copycats, including Motorola. 794 00:38:59,958 --> 00:39:04,542 - 2007 was really the year for Research In Motion. 795 00:39:04,542 --> 00:39:07,458 They had 12 million subscribers worldwide 796 00:39:07,458 --> 00:39:10,667 and they had a value of $42 billion. 797 00:39:11,917 --> 00:39:16,500 - Five years after they come out with the first ever smartphone, 798 00:39:16,500 --> 00:39:20,292 BlackBerry is soaring in 2007, 799 00:39:20,292 --> 00:39:23,250 until a new smartphone comes out 800 00:39:23,250 --> 00:39:25,875 that looks nothing like the BlackBerry. 801 00:39:26,875 --> 00:39:28,917 - Good luck typing an e-mail on that thing. 802 00:39:28,917 --> 00:39:30,458 - Yeah. 803 00:39:30,458 --> 00:39:33,833 - You have a proper keyboard on a BlackBerry. 804 00:39:33,833 --> 00:39:36,125 This did away with the keyboard. 805 00:39:36,125 --> 00:39:37,917 They went to a touch screen. 806 00:39:39,083 --> 00:39:41,542 - Can we design anything better? 807 00:39:42,958 --> 00:39:44,417 - Do we need to? 808 00:39:45,708 --> 00:39:49,792 - It's not unlike the Titanic ignoring an iceberg. 809 00:39:51,375 --> 00:39:53,542 "Uh, big, old thing of ice in front of us." 810 00:39:53,542 --> 00:39:56,667 "It's fine, just a passing thing, it's fine." 811 00:39:58,625 --> 00:40:01,375 - [Narrator] On June 29th, 2007, 812 00:40:01,375 --> 00:40:03,958 the first Apple iPhone is released. 813 00:40:05,292 --> 00:40:07,417 - They came at it recognizing 814 00:40:07,417 --> 00:40:11,250 that no longer is it primarily a phone. 815 00:40:11,250 --> 00:40:13,708 It's now a computer in your pocket. 816 00:40:13,708 --> 00:40:16,708 - They had the funds that BlackBerry didn't have 817 00:40:16,708 --> 00:40:19,625 to be able to develop a product far more advanced. 818 00:40:19,625 --> 00:40:22,500 It has all types of new applications 819 00:40:22,500 --> 00:40:24,583 that no other phone really has. 820 00:40:25,708 --> 00:40:27,833 - It's a cliche to call it a revolution, 821 00:40:27,833 --> 00:40:30,542 but that's what it was in the cellular industry. 822 00:40:30,542 --> 00:40:34,000 Within a couple of years, Nokia was out of business. 823 00:40:35,250 --> 00:40:38,917 Within a couple of years, Motorola was defunct. 824 00:40:38,917 --> 00:40:42,375 If you look up Motorola on Wikipedia today, 825 00:40:42,375 --> 00:40:45,875 that's what they say, "Died in 2011". 826 00:40:45,875 --> 00:40:48,083 - [Narrator] And the popular BlackBerry 827 00:40:48,083 --> 00:40:49,750 meets a similar fate. 828 00:40:50,917 --> 00:40:53,042 - Today, BlackBerry is still in business, 829 00:40:53,042 --> 00:40:57,042 but they're more into a software in cybersecurity. 830 00:40:57,042 --> 00:40:59,875 Their phones are actually defunct. 831 00:40:59,875 --> 00:41:01,542 - In essence, the BlackBerry was just here 832 00:41:01,542 --> 00:41:02,958 for a couple of years 833 00:41:02,958 --> 00:41:05,208 before the iPhone wiped it off into oblivion. 834 00:41:08,833 --> 00:41:10,417 - [Narrator] But it was Research In Motion 835 00:41:10,417 --> 00:41:14,542 who set the stage for the smartphones we rely on today. 836 00:41:14,542 --> 00:41:17,292 - The BlackBerry really was more of the idea 837 00:41:17,292 --> 00:41:20,250 of a device becoming part of us 838 00:41:20,250 --> 00:41:22,042 than it was the device itself. 839 00:41:24,208 --> 00:41:28,125 - [Narrator] What began as one cell phone call in 1973 840 00:41:28,125 --> 00:41:31,167 changed the way nearly every person on Earth 841 00:41:31,167 --> 00:41:33,917 communicates on a daily basis. 842 00:41:33,917 --> 00:41:37,208 - Motorola was the pioneer in the cell phone industry. 843 00:41:37,208 --> 00:41:40,000 If it wasn't for their first portable cell phone, 844 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:42,875 we would've had the traditional car phone 845 00:41:42,875 --> 00:41:44,417 that was mounted in the car. 846 00:41:44,417 --> 00:41:48,667 They're true pioneers, and from there, everything has grown. 847 00:41:50,042 --> 00:41:53,958 - A cell phone today is a phone, it's a messaging service, 848 00:41:53,958 --> 00:41:56,542 it's an e-mail service, it's a calendar, 849 00:41:56,542 --> 00:41:59,750 it's a gaming device, it's a television. 850 00:41:59,750 --> 00:42:02,458 - Had we not ever had cell phones, 851 00:42:02,458 --> 00:42:05,333 there is no way we as a society 852 00:42:05,333 --> 00:42:08,333 would be as advanced as we are. 853 00:42:08,333 --> 00:42:10,833 Motorola, Research In Motion, 854 00:42:10,833 --> 00:42:14,042 these are mega brands that built America 855 00:42:14,042 --> 00:42:18,042 because our country could not be where we are without them. 856 00:42:18,042 --> 00:42:21,958 And it is undoubtedly the reason why you can hear me now. 857 00:42:24,542 --> 00:42:25,958 Can you hear me now?