Aquapac
Aquapac is a registered trademark and brand name of a UK-based manufacturing company, Aquapac International Limited, specializing in waterproof cases and bags. The privately owned company was formed in 1983 and holds patents worldwide on systems for sealing bags and cases. The range commenced with a waterproof case for the original Sony Walkman known as the ‘Aquaman’, followed by cases for handheld VHF radios. Following Motorola’s invention of the first cellphone Aquapac launched the world’s first waterproof cellphone case. Nokia was an important customer for these cases during the 1990s, as were cellphone operators such as Deutsche Telekom and NTT DoCoMo. Aquapac went on to launch waterproof cases for other handheld electronics such as cameras and eReaders. The company operates out of factories in London, England.
Rotary dial
From as early as 1836 onward, various suggestions and inventions of dials for sending telegraph signals were reported. After the first commercial telephone exchange was installed in 1878, the need for an automated, user-controlled method of directing a telephone call became apparent. Addressing the technical shortcomings, Almon Brown Strowger invented a telephone dial in 1891. Before 1891, numerous competing inventions, and 26 patents for dials, push-buttons, and similar mechanisms, specified methods of signalling a destination telephone station that a subscriber wanted to call. Most inventions involved costly, intricate mechanisms and required the user to perform complex manipulations.