iPhone: the Epitome of Innovation

The iPhone was a first of its kind and the true debut of the innovative touchscreen technology. Apple, however, did not invent the first smartphone; there had been 22 million smartphones sold a full year before the first iPhone was even announced. Nokia, BlackBerry, Motorola, and a few other companies all had mass-produced smartphones before Apple released the iPhone, however, they were a bulky hybrid of screen and keyboard. Apple changed the game in 2007 with a new sleek design and by introducing a full screen and touchscreen technology.

The iPhone was doubted and criticized by many "top dogs" in the technology world. For instance, in early 2007, former Microsoft CEO said that there was "no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share," and that Apple had "no chance" in taking over the smartphone market. Techcrunch even released an article entitled "We Predict the iPhone Will Fail". Little did they know that the iPhone would be one of the biggest competitors in the smartphone industry.

The first generation iPhone was finally released on June 29th, 2007 and was priced between $499-599 depending on if you wanted a 4GB or 8GB model. Even with the price being significantly lower compared to more temporary models, the first iPhone was not readily available to everyone as Apple had entered into a two-year exclusive contract with AT&T.

The second-generation iPhone, the iPhone 3G, was introduced a year later and included 3G functionality, the AppStore (the first model did not allow third-party apps, only the ones included), and other never-before-seen features. That same week, the original iPhone was discontinued and then Apple officially declared it obsolete in June of 2013, right before the reveal of the iPhone 5 and 5S.


https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/06/29/the-story-of-the-original-iphone-that-nobody-thought-was-possible
http://allthingsd.com/20070626/the-iphone-is-breakthrough-handheld-computer/?mod=ptech_two_decades