Never judge a phone by its cover. The chunky, black box pictured above was in fact the world's first 'smartphone'. The IBM Simon went on sale to the public on 16 August 1994 and combined mobile phone technology with a wide range of computing features. To mark the 20th anniversary, London's Science Museum is putting it on display in its new Information Age gallery. "The Simon wasn't called a smartphone back then," said curator Charlotte Connelly. "But it had a lot of the features we see today. It had a calendar, it could take notes, and send emails and messages - and combined all of this with a cell phone." Weighing in at half a kilo, the Simon was not exactly pocket-sized. However, Ms Connelly insisted the design was ahead of its time. "It looks like a grey block but it's not as big as you'd imagine," she said. "It had a stylus and a green LCD screen, which is similar in size to the iPhone 4. In fact, it's not a bad looking thing." It was also the first mobile phone to feature software apps (which are now more important 20 years down the line) and could be linked up to a fax machine. It was only available to customers in the United States, operating within a 15 state network. The device, which sold around 50,000 models, was particularly popular with members of the business community, who craved a transportable phone that doubled up as a mini-computer. However, a hefty price tag (US$899, which was worth more 20 years ago than now) and limited battery life (about one hour) contributed to its eventual disappearance from the market around two years after its launch. It could've made it, but IBM can still look at getting into today's smartphone game with a new model closer to today's offerings. If they do, I can guarantee you it won't be as good as Apple's product.
No comments:
Post a Comment