While many of us would struggle to remember a time when we didn't have mobile phones at our fingertips at any given moment, it's only in the last few decades that the mobile phone as we know it has come into existence.
The mobile phone has seen various incarnations over the years, starting with the clunky "brick" made infamous by Michael Douglas' Gordon Gekko in 1987's Wall Street, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X.
While teens today would probably balk at the idea that a chunky, hideous piece of plastic that measured 13 inches could in fact be considered useful, let alone a status symbol, when it was released in 1983, it cost a whopping $3,995.
Today's mobile phones are as sleek and small as we ever could have imagined, and have shifted from business tools to personal life essentials. They act as cameras, torches, calendars, calculators and alarm clocks. Countless apps simplify our lives by helping us to find destinations, time our bus journeys, track our fitness goals or occupy us with brain training or time-wasting games.
The power of today's mobiles also goes beyond the individual: mobile forensic technology is used to help solve crimes, while medical researchers are working on turning smartphones into diagnostic devices for medical studies. You can already hear your baby's heartbeat on your phone. Creepy or cool? You decide.
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Of course, mobiles have also caused their share of concern - a 2014 study from Baylor University discovering that female students spent an average of 10 hours a day on their phones, reportedly feeling stressed if they couldn't see their mobile devices.
Love 'em or hate 'em, the mobile is here to stay. Take a look back at the evolution of the mobile phone over the years, from the childhood favourite, that humble tin can, to the future of mobiles...