The evolution of wireless generations -- from 1G to LTE Advanced

The first mobile phones were released back in 1984 and were capable of making and receiving phone calls, but nothing else. Analog "brick" phones were large, heavy, and very dumb. You couldn’t send or receive data on them.

In 1991 that changed with the arrival of 2G technology which introduced the wonders of text messaging, and even email. Ten years later 3G changed the game entirely, and of course in 2009 4G/LTE arrived, making it possible to stream movies on your mobile.

Intel has put together an interesting infographic charting the evolution of wireless technology, from the very start when 1G was a thing (but no-one knew), to today and LTE-Advanced which will make it possible to download 100 minute HD videos in as little as 37 seconds (in theory at least).

The infographic reveals some interesting stats as well, including the average download speeds of each generation and mobile subscription numbers. In 1984 less than 1 percent of Americans had mobile subscriptions. Today around 96 percent do.

You can browse the full infographic below.

Infographic credit: Intel