How 40 years of mobile has changed us all

It may be hard to believe today, but the first mobile call, made on the streets of New York in 1973, was met with gasps and stares, writes John Daly

IT doesn’t seem like 40 years since the world was introduced to the first mobile phone.

It was April 1973 — the same year the Vietnam war ended, Pink Floyd released Dark Side of the Moon, Ireland joined the EEC, and Hugh Leonard’s Da was first staged — that the essential item which would command pride of place in every pocket and handbag on the planet was unveiled.