Remembering Simon, the first smartphone ever

The first mobile phones came up as long back as the 1970’s. But three decades passed before cellular phones changed forever with the advent of digital telecom. We’ll walk down memory lane to 1992 today, when IBM unveiled the very first smartphone. It hit the market two years later though.  

What was the first smartphone like?  
The first smartphone was created by IBM in 1992, and marketed in 1994. Called the Simon Personal Communicator (SPC), it was a bulky gadget, but it did feature several elements that became staple to every smartphone after that. It was also expensive, at USD 1,100, but in just 6 months, it managed to sell over 50,000 pieces!  

SPC had a touch screen, the ability to send and receive emails and faxes, a calendar, address book, and even an appointment scheduler. Simon had a screen keyboard for input too, though it looked different than the ones we have now.  

When did the first major internet connectivity breakthrough happen for mobiles? 
In the year 2000, the smartphone crossed another milestone as it got connected the with the 3G network. Video conferencing, chatting, sending large attachments on email all became possible. But accessing the internet from the smartphone came with a hefty price tag. It was less than Simon, but early 3G smartphones still cost USD 300 to 700 when they were released.  

When did smartphones go sleek, and actually smart?  
2007 was an important year in smartphone history. That’s when Steve Jobs and his team at Macworld revealed the very first iPhone. This was by far the sleekest touch screen device to hit the market. More importantly, iPhone was the first truly ‘smart’ phone that gave a full-blown version of internet capabilities. On an iPhone, users could browse the web and use apps just like they had been doing on a computer. While Simon had only an hour worth of battery life, the first iPhone gave 8 hours with talk time. Typing on the Apple device was a problem, but apart from a few drawbacks, it was a big step towards the device we can’t live without today.