People didn’t start using the term “smartphone” until 1995, but the first true smartphone actually made its debut three years earlier in 1992.
It was called the Simon Personal Communicator, and it was created by IBM more than 15 years before Apple released the iPhone.
IBM’s Simon was the first phone to meld together the functions of a cell phone and a PDA, and it launched with the price tag of $US899 with a service contract ($US1,435 in today’s dollars), according to Byte Magazine.
The Simon was far ahead of its time, however. The smartphone featured a monochrome LCD touchscreen measuring 4.5 inches by 1.4 inches, and it came with a stylus.
Aside from its calling capabilities, you could also use the Simon to send and receive emails, faxes, and pages. There were also a suite of built-in features including a notes collection you could write in, an address book that looked like file folder, calendar, world clock, and a way to schedule appointments.
It was called the Simon Personal Communicator, and it was created by IBM more than 15 years before Apple released the iPhone.
IBM’s Simon was the first phone to meld together the functions of a cell phone and a PDA, and it launched with the price tag of $US899 with a service contract ($US1,435 in today’s dollars), according to Byte Magazine.
The Simon was far ahead of its time, however. The smartphone featured a monochrome LCD touchscreen measuring 4.5 inches by 1.4 inches, and it came with a stylus.
Aside from its calling capabilities, you could also use the Simon to send and receive emails, faxes, and pages. There were also a suite of built-in features including a notes collection you could write in, an address book that looked like file folder, calendar, world clock, and a way to schedule appointments.
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