Electronics: The Cellphone

The very first smartphone was introduced in the summer of 1994, the IBM Simon. This was the very first of many and does not even resemble the smart phone of today. The oblong shape was similar to a traditional 1980’s cell phone except in place of the traditional buttons was a long screen.

“Simon still managed to cram in a modem for sending and receiving data and faxes. It also had a handful of built-in apps, including an address book and notepad with predictive text input, but there was no web browser” (Prokaza, 2018).

About ten years after the introduction of the Simon, the Blackberry made mobile communication even simpler. The Blackberry enabled users to access their email and the internet from the palm of their hands. This was the company’s smallest phone with a camera. This is also the rise of seeing phones on tables in restaurants, offices, and schools.

A short two years later, Apple released the very first iPhone. The iPhone 3G opened the user to the world of apps. People showed interest in how apps worked, were created, and the many tasks that apps make more convenient to the everyday person. Apple also had a huge influence on the musical aspect of smartphones. The Telegraph refers to it as the introduction to “music in your pocket” (O2, 2016).

Apple then updated their iPhone again in 2012 with the introduction of the iPhone 5. This iPhone allowed the user to use features like mobile banking, and apple wallet which allows you to add your boarding passes to the app. This was the last big leap before the extremely advanced handheld technology that we have today.

References

Prokaza, J. (2018). What was the first smartphone? Celebrating the IBM Simon. Retrieved from http://home.bt.com/tech-gadgets/phones-tablets/the-ibm-simon-the-first-smartphone-11363997537456

O2. (2016, September 06). Remember Snake, flip phones and the Nokia 3310? Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/how-phones-changed-the-world/evolution-of-mobile-phones/