The DynaTAC 8000x, the first commercially available handheld cellular phone, was released to market. This event marked the culmination of a decade-long development process led by Martin Cooper at Motorola and represented a major breakthrough in personal communication technology. In 1983 the handset was reduced to half its original weight.

The patent for the 'radio telephone system,' with Martin Cooper as the lead inventor, was filed with the U.S. Patent Office. This patent later became U.S. Patent 3,906,166 and included the names of John Francis Mitchell and other engineers from Motorola. This filing was a crucial step in securing the intellectual property rights for the invention of the handheld cellular phone.