Categories
Close
Menu
Menu
Close
Search
Search

Featured Articles

Opinion

The Apple iPhone first appeared seven years ago

Mark

Share:

Print

Rate article:

No rating
Rate this article:
No rating

Mark Bridge writes:

In a way, it’s hard to believe that the first Apple iPhone wasn’t seen in public until this day seven years ago. It - and the trend towards one-piece smartphones with hardly any buttons - seems to have been with us for much longer.

Yet it was 9th January 2007 when Apple CEO Steve Jobs walked on stage at at the Macworld Conference in San Francisco and announced “Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone”. The USA then had to wait until June for the phone to go on sale, selling a million units in 74 days. UK sales begin in November 2007, with the phone (2 megapixel camera, 3.5-inch display and a maximum 8GB of memory) costing £269 on an O2 contract.

But the iPhone wasn’t Apple’s first move into mobile communications. In 2005 the Motorola ROKR E1 had gone on sale. Although it didn’t bear the Apple name, it had been produced in partnership with Apple, was capable of linking with iTunes on a PC and had music controls that were familiar to anyone with an Apple iPod. Unfortunately, the relatively small memory and lack of features when compared to dedicated MP3 players meant the E1 didn’t sell as well as expected.

In fact, the Apple iPhone wasn’t even the world’s first smartphone with a full-length touch-controlled screen. Many would suggest that honour went to the LG Prada KE850, which was announced a week after the iPhone and went on sale in May 2007... while others would point to the stylus-operated IBM Simon from 1993.

However, it’s the success of iPhone that’s changed the way millions of people think about technology. And with $10 billion spent on downloadable apps in the Apple App Store last year, the iPhone is clearly here to stay. For a while, at least.

Comments

Collapse Expand Comments (1)
Ashley James

Apple has gone from an innovative company, to an ordinary company. The companies primary focus seems to be "how to sue Samsung" This is also reflected in margins

http://bit.ly/AppleRevenueBreakDown

1
0
You don't have permission to post comments.

Opinion Articles

ExclusiveLast week at The Fonecast: 29th October 2012

Mark Bridge writes:

In many ways it’s been a week of big news without big surprises. Apple announced the much-rumoured iPad mini, which is just like an iPad but smaller. It also introduced a fourth-generation update to its larger iPad, promising more speed and more 4G connectivity.

ExclusiveLast week at The Fonecast: 15th October 2012

Mark Bridge writes:

Can you trust a Chinese company to build a telecoms network?  Apparently not, according to the US House of Representatives. The “Investigative Report on the U.S. National Security Issues Posed by Chinese Telecommunications Companies Huawei and ZTE” wasn’t at all impressed with the two companies, although most of the complaints appeared to be about a lack of cooperation rather than hard evidence. I wonder if any mysterious agents are planning to visit the new Huawei UK HQ before next year’s official opening?

ExclusiveCongressional warning on Chinese telecoms could prompt retaliation

William Gallo of voanews.com writes:

Analysts say this week's U.S. congressional report that called two Chinese telecoms a threat to national security is likely to prompt China to retaliate against U.S. businesses.

The House Intelligence Committee report warned U.S. companies against doing business with China's largest phone equipment companies, Huawei and ZTE.

ExclusiveKenya to pull plug on counterfeit mobile phones

Gabe Joselow of voanews.com writes:

Mobile phone subscribers in Kenya may wake up Monday morning to find their phones no longer work, as the nation's telecom companies enact a nation-wide switch-off of all counterfeit devices. Retailers and customers have mixed reactions to the plan, which could affect up to three million mobile phones.

RSS
First3031323335373839Last

Recent Podcasts

ExclusivePodcast from Mobile World Congress 2015

Mark Bridge learns about the mobile technology trends at Mobile World Congress 2015 by chatting to James Rosewell of 51Degrees, Dr Kevin Curran from the IEEE and Chris Millington of Doro.

They talk about wearable devices, wireless charging, mobile operating systems and much more... including some of their favourite products from the exhibition.

ExclusiveLooking back at February: from security scares to multiple MVNOs

We're taking a look back at the biggest mobile industry news stories from February 2015, including allegations that the UK's security service tried to breach SIM card security by hacking into one of the world's biggest SIM producers.

We also talk about the planned BT and EE merger, the creation of two new UK virtual networks, some acquisitions in the mobile payment arena and a new Ubuntu smartphone.

ExclusiveA month of mobile: O2 counts on 3, Microsoft counts to 10 and Apple counts its profits

We're back with a month of mobile industry news, including takeover talks and takeover rumours. O2 and Three are said to be discussing a merger... but is there any truth in the suggestions that BlackBerry could be up for grabs?

We also discuss Apple's record-breaking quarterly figures, the highlights of CES and the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, as well as saying farewell to the current version of Google Glass.

RSS
12345678910Last

Follow thefonecast.com

Archive Calendar

«June 2026»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
25262728293031
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293012345

Archive