When my dad and I went to a trip to Virginia (from NY) in the summer of 1996, I remember my grandma giving my dad a phone which looked like a cordless house phone. It was taped up at the back where the battery would be I think. I remember that as we were driving out we talked to my mom on the phone through it and just after we got over the Verrazano Bridge (probably half an hour's ride from my grandma's) the signal went out and the phone disconnected and we weren't able to use the phone any longer. Was this an early cell phone?

Anyone?

Back then, cellphones had long retractable antennas, from what I can remember.

When I hear "early cellphones", I think of 1980s cellphones though. They were starting to get more modern in the second half of the 1990s! I doubt that was a cordless phone you had there though. A 30 minute drive from your grandma's house? Nah-uh. ;D

I'm guessing it was a Car Phone. Those were pretty common in the 90's

In the early '90s I had a "bag phone" for my car.  It had a long antenna and a bag with innards in it.  I'd plug it into the lighter for electricity (constantly), and I could make (or take) calls on it.  It was a gift.  It was liberating to have a phone available in the car, but I didn't use it a lot because the contract had limited minutes and going over was costly.  :-\\

In the mid '90s I traded it for an early "flip" type car phone having batteries - I didn't plug that one in continually but it annoyed me that it always seemed to run out of juice.  Plus the contract was still limited - and expensive.  These were not cell phones - they were "car phones".  (I didn't get a cell phone until the early '00s.)