The only thing that was in my mind when we made that first phone call was, 'Is it going to work?' We had all these parts hand soldered together, engineers standing by with the soldering iron - just in case.
Martin CooperRead
It pleases me no end to have had some small impact on people's lives because these phones do make people's lives better. They promote productivity, they make people more comfortable, they make them feel safe and all of those things.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the positive impact of technology, specifically phones, on people's lives.
In this quote, Martin Cooper expresses his satisfaction in knowing that his contributions to mobile phone technology have significantly improved people's lives. He emphasizes the various benefits of phones, such as increased productivity, comfort, and a sense of safety, highlighting the transformative power of technology in enhancing everyday living.
Themes
PhonesTechnologyImpactProductivityComfortSafety
In practice
Example use cases
During a technology conference, you might quote this to highlight the importance of innovation.
More from Martin Cooper
All quotes →People are mobile. They move around, and anytime they want to communicate, if you tie them to the wall or the wires, you're restricting them, you're infringing on their freedom.
Martin CooperRead
As I walked down the street while talking on the phone, sophisticated New Yorkers gaped at the sight of someone actually moving around while making a phone call. Remember that in 1973, there weren't cordless telephones, let alone cellular phones. I made numerous calls, including one where I crossed the street while talking to a New York radio reporter - probably one of the more dangerous things I have ever done in my life.
Martin CooperRead
When you are doing one thing - talking on your phone, texting, whatever - you are automatically not doing something else. What is the greatest scarcity in the world today? It's not oil. It's time. Time is precious. Don't throw it away.
Martin CooperRead
Somehow in the last 100 years, every time there is a problem of getting more spectrum, there is a technology that comes along that solves that problem.
Martin CooperRead
We did envision that some day the phone would be so small that you could hang it on your ear or even have it embedded under your skin.
Martin CooperRead
Similar quotes
The one thing perhaps that technology hasn't always given us is a sense of how to make the wisest use of technology.
Pico IyerRead
The reason that Apple is able to create products like the iPad is because we've always tried to be at the intersection of technology and the liberal arts.
Steve JobsRead
If we can put a man on the moon and sequence the human genome, we should be able to devise something close to a universal digital public library.
Peter SingerRead
All countries will eventually need to rebuild their growth models around digital technologies and the human capital that supports their deployment and expansion.
Michael SpenceRead
Now it's easy for someone to set up a storefront and reach the entire world in very modest ways. So these technologies that we thought would dis-intermediate traditional sellers gave more people the tools to be sellers. It also changed the balance of power between sellers and buyers.
Daniel H. PinkRead
AI-assisted driving is a perfect platform for advancing fundamental human-centric artificial intelligence research while also producing practical applications.
Fei-Fei LiRead