The Brief History of Smartphones

Part 1

In 1926, during an interview for "Collier" magazine, legendary scientist

and inventor Nikola Tesla described a piece of technology that would
revolutionize the lives of its users. Here’s the quote:

When wireless is perfectly applied, the whole earth will be converted into a
huge brain, which in fact it is, all things being particles of a real and rhythmic
whole. We shall be able to communicate with one another instantly,
irrespective of distance. Not only this, but through television and telephony
we shall see and hear one another as perfectly as though we were face to face,
despite intervening distances of thousands of miles; and the instruments
through which we shall be able to do his will be amazingly simple compared
with our present telephone. A man will be able to carry one in his vest pocket.

While Tesla might not have chosen to call this instrument a smartphone, his
foresight was spot on. These future phones have, in essence, reprogrammed
how we interact with and experience the world. But they didn’t appear
overnight. There were many technologies that progressed, competed,
converged, and evolved toward the fairly sophisticated pocket companions we
have come to rely on.

The Modern Smartphone

So who invented the smartphone? First, let's make it clear that the
smartphone didn’t start with Apple—though the company and its
charismatic co-founder Steve Jobs deserve much credit for perfecting a model
that has made the technology just about indispensable among the masses. In
fact, there were phones capable of transmitting data, as well as featured

1
applications such as email, in use prior to the arrival of early popular devices,
such as the Blackberry.

Since then, the definition of the smartphone has essentially become arbitrary.
For example, is a phone still smart if it doesn’t have a touchscreen? At one
time, the Sidekick, a popular phone from carrier T-Mobile, was considered
cutting edge. It had a swiveling full-qwerty keyboard that allowed for rapid-
fire text messaging, LCD screen, and stereo speakers. In modern times, few
people would find a phone remotely acceptable that cannot run third-party
apps. The lack of consensus is muddied even further by the concept of a
“feature phone,” which shares some of the smartphone's abilities. But is it
smart enough?

A solid textbook definition comes from the Oxford dictionary, which describes
a smartphone as “a mobile phone that performs many of the functions of
a computer, typically having a touchscreen interface, internet access, and an
operating system capable of running downloaded apps.” So for the purpose of
being as comprehensive as possible, let’s begin with the very minimal
threshold of what constitutes “smart” features: computing.

Who Invented Smartphones?

The first device that technically qualifies as a smartphone was simply a

highly-sophisticated (for its time) brick phone. You know one of those bulky,
but fairly exclusive status-symbol toys flashed in 1980s movies like "Wall
Street?" The IBM Simon Personal Communicator, released in 1994, was a
sleeker, more advanced, and premium brick that sold for $1,100. Sure, a lot of
smartphones today cost about as much, but remember that $1,100 in the
1990s was nothing to sneeze at.

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IBM had conceived of the idea for a computer-style phone as early as the
1970s, but it wasn’t until 1992 that the company unveiled a prototype at the
COMDEX computer and technology trade show in Las Vegas. Besides placing
and receiving calls, the Simon prototype could also send facsimiles, emails,
and cellular pages. It even had a nifty touchscreen for dialing numbers. Extra
features included apps for a calendar, address book, calculator, scheduler, and
notepad. IBM also demonstrated that the phone was capable of displaying
maps, stocks, news, and other third-party applications, with certain
modifications.

Tragically, the Simon ended up in the heap pile of being too ahead of its time.
Despite all the snazzy features, it was cost-prohibitive for most and was only
useful for a very niche clientele. The distributor, BellSouth Cellular, would
later reduce the price of the phone to $599 with a two-year contract. And even
then, the company only sold about 50,000 units. The company took the
product off the market after six months.