
50 years ago, a story describing modern mobile phones and online encyclopedias - JPLeRouzic
When the middle class was discovering the fixed phone in the 60&#x27;, a sci-fi author told stories about people using phones with screens and cameras, that where used to access online encyclopedias.<p>p38: &quot;Occasionally when orbiting Bennie Noakes punches an encyclopedia connection on his phone and marvels at what it tells him&quot;<p>p40: &quot;phone efficient with viewscreens&quot;<p>p61: &quot;Eventually she scribbled a list and reached for the switch of the phone, after another quick glance at herself to make sure the image on the screen would be fitting.&quot;<p>p87: &quot;However, when he had summed up what he could recall of Beninia—privately wondering all the time why Norman didn&#x27;t simply go to the phone and punch for an encyclopedia&quot;<p>p129: &quot;He approached the phone. But that wouldn&#x27;t do—just conversing with an image on a screen. He wanted to see and hear strangers, to be reassured of their independence from himself.&quot;<p>p130: &quot;If that phone were to ring, and the Colonel were on the screen activating me, telling me to report for duty at once&quot;<p>p176: &quot;Stretched out on the couch naked, hair dyed the fashionable bronze shade that everyone said suited her so well, a screen protecting the majority of her body from the scan of the camera on the phone but bathing her in the blue-white of the sunshine lamps&quot;<p>p352: &quot;&quot;Same with the screen on your phone.&quot;<p>p418: &quot;Donald drew a deep breath. What he was going to say could have been found as easily through an encyclopedia connection over the phone&quot;<p>etc, etc...
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ahazred8ta
Heinlein described mobile pocket phones in 1948, 1953, and 1962. (although
they were probably analog)

[http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=595](http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=595)

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JPLeRouzic
Amazing, but a bit different prediction, Heilein (from the link provided)
described mobile phones at a time where there was walky-talkies (invented in
1937). The difference between walky-talkies and mobile phones is in the lack
of phone switches and base stations, not so much in the terminal.

Brunner described phones (not necessarily mobile) that had a camera and a
screen and that were used to access encyclopedias.

There was at that time ATT's picturephone, but it was point to point
connections through the switched network. Given it used a Vidicon tube for the
camera an a cathodic tube for the screen, it must have been quite large. And
it was not used to find information on online encyclopedias.

Hey it was published even _before_ Arpanet was launched!

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saluki
Science fiction has always been amazing at predicting the future.

Totally amazing how creative our writers and movie makers are and even more
amazing how much of it becomes reality.

Hope to see a lot more fiction becoming reality in my lifetime.

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JPLeRouzic
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand_on_Zanzibar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand_on_Zanzibar)

