The Vodafone VM1 was the first mobile phone that Vodafone sold, although the term “mobile” can only be used loosely with this specific model. It was a phone designed to be installed in a car and was a branded version of a Panasonic-manufactured device. The bulky receiver (typically in the boot/trunk of a car) was connected via a cable to a Vodafone-Racal branded handset mounted near the driver. There was also an antenna which would be mounted on the outside of the car to aid reception.
The Vodafone VM1 was a Class 1 device with an output of 10 watts. When it was first launched it cost £1,275, which went up to £1,350 once the hands-free kit was available. The installation cost of £100 rose to £125 with the hands-free kit. The initial connection to the network was £50.
The first unit was sold by salesman Ivan Donn to his friend Mungo Park who paid £1,200 for the device. Mungo’s phone was installed in a Mercedes 450 SEL 6.9L.
Vodafone mainly favoured hole-mount antennas so drilled holes in the roofs and wings of hundreds of thousands of luxury cars in the early years. Glass-mount antennas eventually took over when coverage improved sufficiently to tolerate their slightly poorer performance.
Front image: Vodafone