Motorola MicroTAC

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The Motorola MicroTAC was a cellular phone first manufactured as an analog phone in 1989. The GSM-compatible and TDMA/Dual-Mode phones were introduced in 1994. The MicroTAC introduced an innovative new "flip" design, where the "mouthpiece" folded over the keypad,although the "mouthpiece" was actually located in the base of the phone,along with the ringer. This set the standard and became the model for modern flip phones today. Its predecessor was the Motorola DynaTAC and it was succeeded by the Motorola StarTAC in 1996. "TAC" was an abbrievation of Total Area Coverage in all three models.

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[edit] Model History

MicroTAC 9800X

  • The MicroTAC, released by Motorola on Tuesday, April 25th, 1989, was the smallest and lightest phone available at the time. Upon its release, it made headlines across the world. [1]
    Motorola MicroTAC 9800X
    Motorola MicroTAC 9800X
    The phone was released as the "MicroTAC Pocket Cellular Telephone." The first MicroTACs were known as the Motorola 9800X, a continuation of the numerical name Motorola gave their phones in the 1980s. The MicroTAC was designed to fit into a shirt pocket. These very rare phones featured a black plastic housing and a 8-character dot-matrix red LED display, which was limited in the amount of information it could display. On USA-released models, only 7 of the 8 characters illuminated. The inside of the flip piece had "Motorola" on a diagonal, above thin blue diagonal lines. The badge on the front flip had the classic Motorola metallic logo, and "Micro T.A.C" in small blue letters above the display. The "micro" sized phone measured as long as over 9 inches long when open and weighed in 12.3 ounces with the slim battery.[[2] The phone incorporated a built-in alpha-numeric phone book as one of the many standard features. A numerically organized menu allowed the user to select options for the phone operations. Some of the many options included security codes, two phone number operations, a charge rate and currency calculator, secretarial memory scratchpads, hands-free operation, keypad tones, memory protection, phone number and name storage, as well as cellular system operation options. The user was capable of enabling Dual Tone Multi-Frequency to use the phone as a modem.

In addition to the standard 12 button keypad , the MicroTAC had buttons for Power On/Off, Function, Menu/Menu, End, Send, Clear, Store, and Recall. The left side of the phone featured two buttons for adjusting the volume up and down. While in alpha mode, the volume buttons toggled between upper case and lower case text. The model sold for between US$2,495 and US $3,495,and was produced until 1991.[3]

Several variants of the 9800X existed, most notably, models that featured a 10-character alpha-numeric liquid crystal display (LCD), which backlit in green. These uncommon variants were made for the Storno and SIP networks in the early 90's. The Storno variants operated on NMT-450 and the SIP models were of the ETACS/RTMS-450 Dual Band. They kept the "MicroTAC" Blue logo on the screen, the same black housing, but had different metallic badges in addition to the LCD.

The original models can be distinguished by their elongated antenna base, white keys and gray keypad background. The Accessories included car, desktop and overnight travel chargers, installed hands-free car kits, leather cases, and a selection of batteries. The slimmest battery then available was the Slim and Slim Extended (Life), followed by the Standard, XT, and Talk-Pak XT batteries. The Talk-Pak XT and XT used Nickel Metal-Hydride while the others used Nickel Cadmium. A Lithium Ion battery was produced in 1994 for all GSM models. After the initial success of the 9800X, Motorola released a similar MicroTAC phone known as the Digital Personal Communicator. The 9800X and early-model Digital Personal Communicators were the only phones to have the microphone and ringer in the mouthpiece. These components were moved to the main phone body in all other models.[4] On all models, and unlike the Motorola DynaTAC, the plastic antenna served no functional purpose, and was strictly for aesthetics. [5]

Digital Personal Communicator

  • In 1989, The Digital Personal Communicator, or DPC, emerged. Light or dark gray in color, the phone featured a green or orange 7-character LED display. It closely resembled the 9800x in terms of the keypad design and background and the main body. Early DPCs of the 9800X-era featured the elongated antenna base, round-top side grips, and white-on-gray keypad. Later versions (most likely after 1991) lost the 9800X-specific physical features, but kept the same basic form. A phone called the Business Classic was made for Cellular One. White in color, basically, it was the DPC in a white body with the exact phone operations. An upscale version, known as the MicroTAC 950, or theMicroTAC Alpha in later years featured an 8-character (7 in the US) green or orange dot-matrix display and the return of the alpha-numeric phonebook. The Alpha phones were "upscale" in that they had more user-programmable options. Also, Alpha phones saw the return of the side grip arrow keys. Soon, an "affordable" DPC 550 came to the market. Almost identical to the Digital Personal Communicator, the DPC 550 featured little with the most basic of operations.

Despite being an AMPS (analog) model, Motorola's trickery in naming the product "Digital" confused consumers enough to drive sales.

MicroTAC Classic

  • In 1991, Motorola released the MicroTAC Classic, which resembled the 1989 model, weighing in at 6.9 ounces. Differences made were the antenna base was shortened, the red LED display was dropped for a 10-character LC display, and the keys were changed from white to black. The phone was available on the ETACS network. There was a single-band GSM model available in the UK that took credit-card sized SIM cards. The Classic had the same "Motorola" over blue diagonal lines on the inside of the flip, but lost the metallic front badge and blue lettering.

MicroTAC Lite and the Ultra-Lite

  • In 1991, the MicroTAC Lite was introduced at 7.7 ounces.[6] The Lite was the lightest phone available, continuing the record of the 9800X. It was basically a slimmer version of the Alpha. Another model, the Lite XL was released around this time. It had a single-line green LED display and three Memory Location keys added. The Lite was quickly followed by the MicroTAC Ultra Lite. This phone was lighter and had longer battery life. In 1992, a new phone was released, the Ultra-Lite, which weighed 5.9 ounces, again holding the new record for the lightest phone available.[7] This was due to it being the first phone that utilized NiMH batteries, although replacement batteries were often NiCDs because NiMHs were very expensive. The Ultra Lite was also the first phone with a vibrating ringer.

MicroTAC Elite

  • 1994 saw the introduction of the MicroTAC Elite and the "International" series, the then smallest and light-weight model available at the time. It weighed in at a mere 3.9 ounces with the slim battery.[8] The Elite was a function of NAMPS technology from 1993. The Elite was also produced in a rare MicroTAC Elite VIP, which had a black housing, gold lettering, and an orange LED display, over the ordinary Elite, which had a gray housing, a green LED display, and white lettering. The Elite series were a feature-packed phone and retailed for around $600. The included a first-ever two line display, for a total of 14 dot-matrix characters. There were also separate LED indicator meters for signal strength and battery, as well as a Menu Icon Display. The phone's software offered advanced menu features , and each category, when accessed, was indicated with green icons at the bottom of the display. Categories included Phone Book, Timers, Security, Tone Control, Phone Options, and Answering Machine/ Messaging. This was the first mobile phone to have a built-in, recordable answering machine. It was also the first mobile phone to use a Lithium-Ion battery.

International GSM and the MicroDIGITAL

  • More digital models followed in 1994, mostly in the UK, such as the MicroTAC International 5200, MicroTAC International 8200 and the MicroTAC International Dual Band 8900, which operated on the GSM network. Another model, the International 8700 was fitted as a removable handset in the earliest Jaguar XK8 and XKR luxury sports coupes and convertibles up to the end of 1998.[9] Two digital models were produced in the US. One was the short-lived MicroDIGITAL model that operated on the AMPS and TDMA networks, and was similar in appearance to the Alpha model. The other was the MicroTAC Select 6000e, which used SIM Cards for the American GSM network. The Select models had large-format backlit LCDs.

MicroTAC 650/650E and decline

  • In 1996, the Motorola StarTAC was released, which was fierce competition for MicroTAC. The phone received a redesign in 1996, with a more rounded case and thinner flip-lid. Two memory Location keys were added to the phone. Base models were known as the DPC 650, which kept the 550's display. A more expensive model, the MicroTAC DPC 650E received the StarTAC 3000's 10-character LED display with separate battery and signal meters. It also weighed 7.8 ounces. Like the StarTAC, the MicroTAC 650E ("E" for Enhanced Features) received some feature upgrades, such as selectable ringer styles, but lost the alpha-numeric phonebook. The 650E was available in gray or black. The 650E was one of the better selling models in the US,, along with the Elite and DPC 550.The MicroTAC was produced up until 1998, where sales declined with the increasing popularity of the StarTAC. The phone was still relatively commonplace into the early 2000's. However, due to its large size and weight, many owners of the phone upgraded to smaller models like the StarTAC.

The MicroTAC body was also used as the base model for the Motorola TeleTAC and the Flare series. The TeleTAC and Flare phones used the same core body, antenna, screen, keypad, and batteries, but lacked the flip-lid cover.

[edit] Model List

1989
  • MicroTAC 9800X ( AMPS/ETACS/NMT/JTAC )
  • MicroTAC 950 (AMPS)
  • Digital Personal Communicator ( AMPS/ETACS)
1990
  • MicroTAC 9800X S.I.P. (ETACS/RTMS-450)
  • MicroTAC Business Classic (AMPS)
  • MicroTAC Classic (ETACS/NMT/GSM 900)
1991
  • MicroTAC Lite (AMPS)
  • MicroTAC II (ETACS)
1992
  • MicroTAC II Platinum (ETACS)
  • MicroTAC Alpha (AMPS)
  • MicroTAC Ultra-Lite (AMPS)
1993
  • 1993 MicroTAC Lite XL (AMPS)
  • 1993 MicroTAC Pro (ETACS)
  • 1994 MicroDIGITAL (TDMA/AMPS)
  • 1994 MicroTAC Elite ( NAMPS )
  • 1994 MicroTAC Elite VIP (NAMPS)
  • 1994 MicroTAC Piper (AMPS)
  • 1994 MicroTAC International 5200 (GSM 900)
  • 1994 MicroTAC International 7200 (GSM 900)
  • 1994 MicroTAC International 7500 (GSM 900)
  • 1994 MicroTAC International 8200 (GSM 900)
  • 1994 MicroTAC International 8400 (GSM 900)
  • 1994 MicroTAC International 8700 (GSM 900)
  • 1994 MicroTAC Select 3000e (PCS)
  • 1994 MicroTAC Select 6000e (GSM 1900)
  • 1995 DPC 550 (AMPS)
  • 1996 DPC 650 (AMPS)
  • 1996 MicroTAC 650 E (AMPS)

[edit] MicroTAC phones in media

  • Hook (1991)- Peter Banning (Robin Williams) has a black 1989 model that has much screenplay for the first half of the movie before being thrown out of a window and buried by the family dog.
  • Black Sheep (1996)- Steve Dodds (David Spade) has a MicroTAC Elite VIP that can't seem to find a signal anywhere.
  • Christmas in My Hometown (1996)- Jacob Peterson (Tim Matheson) has a DPC 550 in his car.
  • Three Kings (film) (1999)- Sergeant First Class Troy Barlow (Mark Wahlberg) finds a MicroTAC 550 amongst a pile of DynaTACs in an underground bunker. Having trouble with the Iraqi operator, he calls home.
  • From the third season onward, "NewsRadio" features a DPC650. It is featured prominently in the episode "Office Feud," in which it is used by Lisa (Maura Tierney) to report on the White House Easter Egg Roll.
  • In the HBO Series "Sex and the City," MicroTACs make many appearances in the first and second seasons. In the first episode, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) uses a friend's MicroTAC 650E to call Miranda.
  • The television series Sliders featured a heavily modified MicroTAC, which was used as a base for the "Timer".

[edit] Gallery

MicroTAC 9800x from 1989 with red LED display

For Honolulu Cellular, green segment display

MicroTAC Elite VIP, 14-character orange LED display and menu icons

MicroTAC MicroDIGITAL, Dual Band, 7-character green LED display

MicroTAC Platinum, LED

MicroTAC International 8700, GSM

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

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