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Those phones with the antennas! Now, they're antiques! Imagine if they had cell phones back then. 

I think it’s good there weren’t cellphones back then.  Cellphones are instant communication and the fact there weren’t any cellphones back then meant it was easier for there to be an element of surprise, lack of communication, not knowing where someone is and what’s going on.  Nowadays you can know where everyone is instantly with cellphones and some apps.  It takes away the mystery.  I think some directors these days try to create an element of surprise and mystery by taking away cellphones (maybe main character lost their cellphone or out of power  or there’s no reception).

For those who don't know, the first handheld cellphones were sold commercially in 1983 before the show started but they were incredibly expensive. Known by us in the industry as brickphones. Cordless phones like the one Sonny had on the boat were far less expensive and utilized landline connections. We do see cellphones in use in the cars though as Sonny is seen making calls in the Daytona and Testa. They were installed in the cars and made use of a handset on the center console. Early versions were also very expensive.