 Did you know that the first cell phone call was in New York City? On April 3, 1973, the first ever mobile phone call was made by Martin Cooper, an employee of Motorola, and it was made from the streets of New York City. Cooper lifted the two-and-a-half-pound prototype to his ear and called a rival, Joel Angle, of Bell Laboratories at AT&T, to declare that his Motorola team had devised a functional portable phone. The rest is history.