No, the iPhone is not the first smartphone in history

Before the change of century, there were already some smartphones. They may not have been as intelligent as those of the 21st century, but they were not limited to calls and Snake game. Certain phones such as the Ericsson R380 (2000), the Nokia Connect 9110 (1998) or the Ericsson GS88 (1998) are good examples. The latter two were almost mini laptops transformed into mobile phones.

Simon, the first smartphone in history, celebrates its 30th anniversary

The first smartphone in history was presented on November 16, 1992 in Las Vegas (Nevada). Known now as IBM Simon, the mobile therefore celebrates its 30th anniversary.

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For the youngest of us, the smartphone probably starts with the iPhone. For thirties, it is probably more a derived version of the Nokia 3310 which comes to mind. But the very first smartphone is even older since it is celebrating its 30th anniversary this Wednesday, November 16. And it was IBM that developed it in 1992.

Presented at Comdex (1979-2003), Las Vegas computer fair and CES ancestor, the prototype named Sweetspot was marketed in 1994 under the name of IBM Simon. It was not even done even call “smartphone”, but “personal communicator” since the term now used every day only appeared that year later. The first mobile phone officially called “Smartphone”, Ericsson’s GS88, was presented in 1997.

The IBM Simon was equipped with a 4.7 -inch monochrome lcd touch screen, measured 20 x 6.4 x 3.8 cm and weighed 510 g. The personal communicator proposed many features such as a address book, a word processor, games, an emergency call button, a messaging service … What may today seem crazy, is that this phone worked with 1 MB of RAM and 1 MB of internal storage.

According to data gleaned from the web, mobile was sold at $ 1100 of the time, around $ 2,300 today. A plump price which allowed him to flow only 50,000 copies. Besides, the name of the mobile would come from the game Simon Says, an English -speaking equivalent of our Jacques said. In short, happy birthday, Simon !

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First touch phone

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It was the first month of 2007. The economy was on the rise and the innovations were daily. But at the end of this month, a novelty would radically change the aspect and experiences assimilated to mobile technologies. The iPhone, the original, the very first, the smartphone that has changed everything. And before, how were they ?

Nothing has changed since 2007

If we retreat all the history of mobile phones in history, 2007 was clearly a pivotal year that changed the appearance of these devices. In September, we saw two very similar terminals. The first was presented on January 9 by Steve Jobs thanks to the famous “Golden Path”. Since 2004, Apple had developed this device using 1,000 dedicated employees, and it was not sold in the United States before June 29 of the same year. The second device of the year was presented on January 18, the LG (KE 850) Prada, although its design filtered almost two months earlier in December 2006, and won the IF Design Award 2007. There is of course a controversy to know who was the first manufacturer to offer this design, LG having even asked for accounts from Apple.

In 2007, smartphones took a form that has changed little today

Since then, all smartphones have looked very much like. A large touch screen covered with glass, with the volume buttons on the side and sometimes a navigation button below the screen. You will find below a panel of the best smartphones of 2017. Are they not all alike ?

But then … was there a smartphone before the iPhone ?

A year before zero

In 2006, the world of mobile phones was very diverse, the mini USB connector was king, sometimes with strange cables or adapters to connect them to the computer or even simple headphones. There was not a lot of touch screen, and the blackberry -type mobiles (with a full keyboard) were legion. I think of devices like the BlackBerry Pearl 8100, the Motorola Q or the Palm Treo 680.

At the other end, we had Nokia who, with her fantastic N93, had changed her phone into a sort of video camera. Nokia has always been a master in the art of providing quality and innovative products, but did not know how to see what came later.

Some mobiles of the time took risks, such as the HTC Tytn which already looked like future second generation smartphones. He had a touch screen, a few buttons under the screen, WiFi, 3G, a 2.8 -inch screen with a resolution of 240×320, a full keyboard, all under Windows Mobile. And yes, nobody is perfect. But at least, with wifi and 3G, the phone would not be pale today.

Another innovative mobile was embodied in the T-Mobile Sidekick 3 and its OS danger, which offered its own cloud space to store photos and its online application store. Finally, Microsoft decided to buy the company and everything stopped, as for Nokia.

The most curious is that all the devices of 2007 had many physical touches, as was the norm at the time. But, wait, no one had had the idea of ​​putting a virtual keyboard ? The idea was however in tune with the times, but the screens of the time were not frankly adapted. The only screens that responded well at the time were capacitive screens, but they were too expensive to be integrated into mobiles by manufacturers. They almost all used a PDA type stylus.

The merits of the iPhone would be questionable on many points, but it is certain that he knew how to take advantage of a certain number of technologies underused at the time, and combine them in the service of users in order to improve their experience.

It is true that there were smartphones before the iPhone, but where is the origin ?

An evolution with lead feet

Smartphones prior to 2007 were not like those we have today but they could already do a large number of tasks. To start, it’s been a long time since the mobiles were provided with cameras. The vast majority of phones sold between 2003 and 2007 could connect to the Internet, most of them through mobile data networks, some with WiFi.

In addition, there were dozens of web pages on which to find applications. But at the time, it was difficult to find applications compatible with your phone, most apps being reserved for high -end and the latest versions of operating systems. In addition, each manufacturer offered its own system, which could even change depending on the brand’s models. The updates were not unified and each model had its own version, which already presage the fragmentation of the Android market today.

In the first years of the 2000 decade, we saw a lot of smartphones, even if they were sometimes very different from what we were used to.

The first millennial smartphones

In 2004, Nokia presented the Nokia 7710, the first smartphone to be equipped with an operating system Symbian OS V7.0 series 90. He had WiFi, a touch screen, a camera, a stylus and even supported Adobe Flash Player, which even Android and iOS do not do. It was a very intelligent device for the time, very practical, but it had a great drawback. Its design was diametrically opposed to what Sony usually proposed, and user habits (to light years from our current conceptions).

This smartphone has also marked its imprint the evolution of smartphones, but the manufacturer did not wish to insist on its model which suffered the wrath of users. One of our editorial leaders, Shu on Kwok, is the happy owner of one of these mobiles, to give you an idea of ​​the quality of the terminal at the time of its release.

That same year 2004 had also seen the marketing of the Sony Ericsson P910. From this alliance between the 2 manufacturers was born the phone on the sliding keyboard. It also had a handwriting writing recognition system, and could remotely control Sony televisions thanks to its infrared port.

A year earlier, in 2003, Nokia marketed the first portable console to also be a mobile phone: the Nokia N-Gage. Design had already been presented with some of the firm’s mobiles, but it was with this model and the next, the N-Gage QD, that he reaches maturity.

He did not have a touch screen, but thanks to the directional pad and the digital keyboard he did a good job. The terminal did everything: radio, mp3, java applications, videos, mini-jack port, mini-USB, memory card and games. While my comrades of the time used an MP3 player, a phone and a mobile game console, I only had my N-Agir. Its only defect was the battery, which only lasted a day. What today seems completely normal … Ah, yes, it was also necessary to put the phone on the side to make calls, but personally I could not find it annoying.

As I am not a reference like Shu, I will tell you that I used this phone until the end of 2008. It was all I needed and its technology was at the forefront of the moment, despite its appearance.

In 2003, Palm (bought in 2010 by HP) knew its peak with the Palm Treo 600, a range launched in 2001 and based on the Palm OS operating system. The manufacturer leaps PDAs to smartphones with full screen, with the objective of being able to write a good email. The device was rather complete, but also very large, with a prominent antenna.

In 2002, the famous Canadian manufacturer launched its BlackBerry 5810, the first mobile device to take on GSM/GPRS technology, which made this PDA a mobile phone, even if it was necessary to use headphones.

The best phones of the 20th century

Before the change of century, there were already some smartphones. They may not have been as intelligent as those of the 21st century, but they were not limited to calls and Snake game. Certain phones such as the Ericsson R380 (2000), the Nokia Connect 9110 (1998) or the Ericsson GS88 (1998) are good examples. The latter two were almost mini laptops transformed into mobile phones.

But the first smartphone in history, which offered a touch screen, was designed in 1994 by IBM and built by Mitsubishi Electric: IBM Simon. A huge black box with touch screen that only responded to the stylus but remained the most advanced model for years.

I have certainly forgotten many smartphones prior to 2007, but it seems to me that it is your turn. Remember your first smartphone ? Tell us your story.