IBM Simon
The IBM Simon Personal Communicator was the world's first smartphone[1][2], created by a joint venture between IBM and BellSouth. Simon was first shown as a product concept in 1992[3] at COMDEX, the computer and technology trade show held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Launched in 1993[4] it combined the features of a mobile phone, a pager, a PDA, and a fax machine. After some delays it was sold by BellSouth in 1994 in 190 U.S. cities in 15 states and was originally priced at $899.[5]
Besides a mobile phone, the major applications were a calendar, address book, world clock, calculator, note pad, e-mail, and games. It had no physical buttons to dial with. Instead customers used a touchscreen to select phone numbers with a finger or create facsimiles and memos with an optional stylus. Text was entered with either a unique "predictive" on-screen keyboard or QWERTY keyboard. The Simon had an optional PCMCIA memory card.
[edit] References
- ^ http://bb-iphone-zone.com/2011/the-worlds-first-smartphone-ibms-simon/
- ^ http://www.business2community.com/mobile-apps/a-look-back-in-time-at-the-first-smartphone-ever-040906
- ^ Schneidawind, J: "Big Blue unveiling", USA Today, November 23, 1992, page 2B
- ^ Associated Press: "Keep it simple, Simon says", Florida Times-Union newspaper, November 3, 1993
- ^ O'Malley, C: "Simonizing the PDA", Byte Magazine, December 1994, page 145
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[edit] External links
− * Simon Put on Hold at Find Articles.com − * IBM Simon PDA cellphone
