IBM Simon, The First Smartphone, Turns 20

[H.B Annapurna]

Good Afternoon Members,

The First Eveq Smartphone - Clunky IBM Simon Mobile Phone - Turned 20
On Saturday.

The Phone, With A Battery Life Of One Hour, Was Developed By IBM and
American Cellular Company BelSelf and Went On Sale In 1994.

At Around 23cm long And Weighing Half A KG It Was About Half a Size Of
A House Brick.

"It Was Called Simon Because It Was Simple And Could Do Almost
Anything You Wanted," The Irish Times Reported.

With Its Greemm LCD Screen, Simon Had Touch Screen Technology.

Its Software Allowed Users to Write Notes, Draw, Update Their Calendar
And Contacts and send n receive Faxes, As well As Allowing Incoming
Calls.

It Has Components Of A Smartphone, Including A Slot In The Bottom To
Insert Different Applications Such As Mapping, Spreadsheets, And
Games. So It Was Really A Forerunner To iPhone.

Around 50,000 Handsets were Sold - IANS