Obsolete by current standards, Simon, the phone developed by the American companies IBM and BellSouth in 1994, occupies an important place in the history of technology: it is the first smartphone in the world.
Simon was the first device to simultaneously incorporate PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) functions and mobile phone-specific technology, according to the Daily Mail.
It was equipped with a green LCD screen with touchscreen technology, the interaction being possible with the help of a stylus. Among other things, the phone had a notebook application, a computer and a contact book, and users could insert various applications (such as online maps) and games.
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Simon also worked as a fax machine or pager. In addition, users had the option to send or receive e-mails, but the phone had to be connected to a computer for this.
The first smartphone, although this name would appear in several years, was launched at a price of 899 dollars in the USA.
Not at all practical, given that it weighed half a kilogram and had a length of 23 centimeters, with a weak battery and appeared in a period when there was no mobile Internet, the phone was a commercial failure, the price being reduced to 599 dollars after the first six months.
In all, about 50,000 units were sold, mostly to business people.
AdsIt is considered, however, a revolutionary device for the period in which it appeared. Simon turned 20 on August 16th.
On this occasion, the Guardian compiled a list of phones that have marked the evolution of smartphones over time.
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