The precursor to the modern mobile phone was bulky — many people would have been unable to hold it easily in one hand — and it could not make a direct call. Also, there were only a very limited number of places where it could get a signal. The evolution toward today’s versatile cell phone has been long and sporadic, says Daniel Bliss, a Fulton Schools professor or electrical, computer and energy engineering. Historically, if not for the military’s interest in mobile communications, early versions of mobile telephones would likely not have been developed until decades later than they were. In the future, Bliss says to expect more convergences of technologies that combine various communication functions, such as a phone with a personal health monitor or a radar device that makes users more aware of what’s in their immediate environments. Communication technologies might even be built into clothes, he says.