Breakthrough: The Ideas That Changed the World

The Smartphone

Dial in to the fascinating history of the smartphone, from its roots in Morse Code to 2007, when Apple unveiled the first-ever iPhone. Plus, see how the next generation of smartphones will allow us to communicate through them just by thinking.

The Smartphone

54m 51s

Dial in to the fascinating history of the smartphone, from its roots in Morse Code to 2007, when Apple unveiled the first-ever iPhone. Plus, see how the next generation of smartphones will allow us to communicate through them just by thinking.

Previews + Extras

  • Polybius Square: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Polybius Square

    S1 E6 - 1m 42s

    Polybius, a Greek statesman and tutor to the Roman general, Scipio Africanus, sees that the Romans' method of signaling on the battlefield is limited to a small number of messages. He decides to invent a code so words can be exchanged between battalions freely. The result: the first long distance messaging system.

  • Hollywood Icon Hedy Lamarr: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Hollywood Icon Hedy Lamarr

    S1 E6 - 2m 56s

    In 1941 the Nazi’s are winning the war in Europe. The Nazi U boats are fast and agile and the allied torpedoes are not very accurate. Hollywood star, a secret inventor, Hedy Lamarr is determined to help fight the Nazis. Inspired by a player piano, she invents a way to control torpedoes remotely and creates the world’s first secret communications system.

  • Episode 6 Preview | The Smartphone: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Episode 6 Preview | The Smartphone

    S1 E6 - 30s

    Dial in to the fascinating history of the smartphone, from its roots in Morse Code to 2007, when Apple unveiled the first-ever iPhone. Plus, see how the next generation of smartphones will allow us to communicate through them just by thinking.

Similar Shows

Poster Image
Stellar: show-poster2x3

Stellar

Science and Nature

WETA Passport

Stream tens of thousands of hours of your PBS and local favorites with WETA Passport whenever and wherever you want. Catch up on a single episode or binge-watch full seasons before they air on TV.