Motorola bag phone

By reducing the size and weight of the transceiver and battery pack, and introducing more fashionable bags (originally nylon on the earliest models, but changed to leather in about 1990 or so) in which to contain them, Motorola was able to make them more marketable to the average cellular phone consumer, and hence the Bag Phone.

Because both the AMPS and TDMA networks are extinct as of February 2008,[2] the service life of all Motorola Bag Phones have come to end, and they now serve only as a collector's item.

An incandescent lamp is used for backlighting, which not only draws more power, thus reducing battery life in a portable application, but has a definite lifespan.

In addition, the display can be hard to read in sunlight, and when the backlight extinguishes during battery operated use, the indicators become nearly invisible.

The earliest bag phones, which used a large transceiver similar to that used in the Tough Talker transportable phone, came in a large upright case, in which the transceiver and battery (if applicable) sat in the bottom of the case, with the handset and hang-up cup assembly placed on top.

Other cases available included the Soft-PAK, which houses the transceiver and battery in a large pocket beside the handset, and the Attaché Carry Case, which in addition to a setup similar to the Soft-PAK, contains several pockets for accessories such as a pen, day planner, and the phone's included documentation.

The Power PAK phone came in a unique case similar to the Soft-PAK, with an external zippered pocket in which to contain the battery.

Motorola 2950 Special Edition Bag Phone, with 2-line display
A Motorola 2900 "Bagless" Bag Phone which has been removed from its bag, illustrating how the parts, including the optional battery pack, interconnect. At the far left is the handset hang-up cup, which does not electrically connect to the phone.
The Motorola Power PAK Bag Phone positioned the controls and display on the transceiver instead of the handset; a design which was carried over to the current M-series digital bag phones.