They just barely had carphones in 1994. The certainly didn't have any cell phones as we know them.
Some people did have car phones back then. Most were mounted on the hump between the front seats. And if you were very special, you had a car phone in a bag! It was a leather bag that carried the car phone, antenna, and the apparatus to make it work. Remember those?
Remember TV shows in the '70s had people driving around with car phones in L.A. I distinctly remember Columbo using one. (For you young'uns, he was a cool detective on TV in the '70s and early '80s.)
One special memory that I have is from 1986, when my family flew us out to visit our "rich" uncle in California. He had a house in Orange County, Ca. He was forever telling us to come and see him. We finally saved up and did. I was in college by then, and had just declared a major: finance. Naturally, he made small talk about it, and talked about investment strategies.
He said, "I have one word for you:
cellular. That is going to be the next big thing: cellular phones. You should invest in cellular phones. It's going to take off."
I said I knew why he would say that, and that it would probably be big in Los Angeles, but it would be expensive for the infrastructure to make it work nationwide -- and, I said, "
I could never see it taking off in Virginia!"
Famous last words! Hire a college student while they still know everything!
Can you imagine how much a $100 investment in 1986 in a cellular company would be worth today? I would be rich. It might even be enough to pay for a day a the Magic Kingdom, and maybe even with a character breakfast!
