In 2007, Steve Jobs stood on a stage and denounced the “smart” phone — ugly, mismatched keyboards of Nokia and RIM. Rightfully! But he also championed Apple as the mobile keyboard killer. However, IBM beat them almost two decades earlier.
The Simon, an unassuming collaboration between Apple antithesis IBM and Bellsouth (?) in 1992, sported an entirely touch-based interface. No buttons, no keys and certainly no keyboard. Instead it presented nothing but a slender slab of grayscale display that would adapt to the given application — calendar, calculator, phone calls, etc. Sound familiar?
Granted, the Simon wasn’t exactly on the app store level of sophistication — it included fax machine functionality, after all — but the basic idea is there, in 1992. Get rid of the keyboard! Unfortunately, it was an enormous Zack Morris machine, as 90s phones tended to be, and far too ahead of its time. But there’s something beautiful about a good idea too early, and I’ll always be a sucker for 90s matte black minimalism.
wardski
Monday, January 2, 2012 at 9:46 AMIt has icon tiles… Nicely copied Apple
Brenton
Monday, January 2, 2012 at 11:23 AMOnly Apple fanboys think Apple invented the touchscreen phone with icons. I still have my Sharp MC-G1 from 1997.
http://vintage-mobile.livejournal.com/31500.html?thread=6668
http://www.antrak.org.tr/gazete/111999/gsm-gps-sharp.jpg
Richard
Monday, January 2, 2012 at 12:23 PMNo one ever said apple did invent them…PDA’s had had some success on the market doing a similar thing for years also.
Dave
Monday, January 2, 2012 at 12:46 PMLooks like one of those early TFT displays where you had to look at the screen spot on, otherwise it would fade out, and you could barely read it.
Paul
Monday, January 2, 2012 at 1:23 PMApple seems to think they’re the creators though, and it shows in their lawsuits.
MD
Monday, January 2, 2012 at 2:53 PMAPPLE DID say that they invented it, they even filed an innovation patent (several) claiming such an Invention…. (incorporating multi-touch capacitive screens) Multitouch capacitative screens were developed by Fingerworks in 1999-2005…Apple Bought Fingerworks in 2005, thereby claiming that they invented the technology…. They invented nothing, they merely Bought the IP… (5 years after “everyone else: had started developing similar tech….) remember,
Have you noted that Apple has not successfully sued anyone both touch screens (resisting capacitative and camera controlled), and multi touch were developed a long time before, Grats to Fingerworks for incorporating it into a system which Apple could just buy off the shelf and claim it as theirs…. (Prning the IP through acquisition, really they are no better than Google etc in buying patents… (Why else did Google Buy Motorola Mobility..)
All they have succeeded in, is getting injunctions based on Design Patents, ie they have a registered Design, and if someone else slavishly copies the design they may be liable to prosecution…. Rather than Breach of Innovation patents…
We see… APPLE well learned the Need to Patent everything, seeing they ripped ideas off many giants who didn’t bother to patent inventions, thinking that there wasn’t a lot of use for the many toys their Engineers developed…
MD
Monday, January 2, 2012 at 2:55 PMTypos suck, that’s the bad for not being able to edit…. and being in a rush
Spock
Monday, January 2, 2012 at 6:19 PMBasically what I’m seeing here is, “Blah blah blah blah BLAH…”
All of the stuff you’re angry at Apple for doing? Any other company could’ve done that. They all had *plenty* of time. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Apple taking up undeveloped properties and making money off of them. If other companies and their ‘tarded fans don’t like it, then they should get out of the game.
Thanioti
Monday, January 2, 2012 at 8:38 PMYou’re absolutely right Spoof. They (I guess you mean everyone else besides Crapple???) had plenty of time. Maybe it will take the same amount of time Crapple took in resurrecting it’s crappy business due to the rubbish it was flogging off then.. I guess Spoof you know all about flogging with your glossy white fanboy love for Crapple. Enjoy Crapple’s second demise it this game whilst sitting around in your turtle neck sweater. Enjoy the Crapple marketing machine Sppof.
Dimitri
Tuesday, January 3, 2012 at 8:30 AMDid anyone else catch the bit about “The Simon” above having a Tegra 3… or was it just me in my own world?