Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

You are here: MacNN Forums > News > Tech News > Happy eighth birthday to the iPhone

Happy eighth birthday to the iPhone
Thread Tools
NewsPoster
MacNN Staff
Join Date: Jul 2012
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 9, 2015, 10:22 PM
 
Tech memories, sometimes, are the shortest memories of all. Do you remember what "smartphones" were like before the iPhone? Unless you were fairly well-off, you may not have any clear recall of those hazy days of 2007, when the Palm Treo and the BlackBerry ruled the world. Maybe your dad has one in a drawer somewhere -- go find it, power it up, and take a trip back to the Dark Ages (comparatively speaking). Eight years ago today, Steve Jobs blew up Macworld West in San Francisco with an earth-changing announcement.



Whether you currently own an iPhone or not, all modern smartphones -- every last one of them -- are essentially based on the iPhone. That's how much of a paradigm shifter the phone that Jobs built was. Yes, even you, the Fandroid with the Samsung t-shirt who is proud of his Apple Derangement Syndrome-esque posts: you're ignoring (or ignorant of) your history. Google and BlackBerry engineers alike have since admitted that when they saw the iPhone, they knew that all their current and previous work was dust.

Best of all, it's very obvious that Steve Jobs, visionary that he was, knew exactly what he was holding. He knew that Apple had genuinely done it -- had brought together a combination of inventions, sweat and clever combinations of existing technology into a world-beating, life-changing stroke of genius that would redefine the whole industry.

When he said during his introduction that Apple had "re-invented the phone," truer words have rarely been spoken. It was probably not Apple's intention to kill off the concept of the "land-line," re-purpose all of America's existing phone providers, and completely change the way nearly everyone on earth communicates, but Jobs clearly had a notion that the iPhone could wreak such havoc -- and that's why there's a big dopey grin and a twinkle in his eye throughout the entire segment.

The iPhone was introduced an astonishing six months ahead of its arrival to the market. His teaser for the product is nothing short of brilliant, from the "oh, one more thing," slyness to rousing the crowd with the promise of three new products: a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a breakthrough Internet communicator, and a revolutionary mobile phone. He repeated it, yelling "do you get it?" before raising the roof off the place by revealing that this was all in one device.

Six months later, I found myself standing in a sweltering Florida queue outside an AT&T store with maybe 50 or so others for several hours for the privilege of handing the company $500 of my hard-earned money and signing a cell contract for the first time in my life (yes, that's right, you kids -- you had to pay big bucks for the phone and sign a two-year pact). Within a few days of using it, I understood that all smartphones forevermore would be like this one. It was the top-selling phone in its very first month, a position it often retains at most US carriers, most months, ever since.

Lots of people unfairly give Steve Jobs sole credit for the iPhone, as if he invented it personally. This is a bit like saying Neil Armstrong single-handedly landed on the moon. Still, Jobs deserves some of the accolades -- for being an inspiration, for knowing where and when to say no, and for driving the teams that did create the various components to work together towards a singular vision. All of Apple's employees, however, should take pride in whatever they've contributed, back then or more recently, to the various iterations of the iPhone. It truly is a product on par with the light bulb in its effect on the world and the millions of ways, large and small, that it changed all our lives.

-- Charles Martin (@Editor_MacNN)

When I saw Steve's keynote about the iPhone, I was reasonably certain that it was the wave of the future, but with a baby on the way, there was just no way I could shell out that kind of dough for it. I knew I'd ultimately get one, but it would take time, so I'd suffer along with my existing piece of crap.

In February of the following year, my daughter developed some serious medical problems. Using the crap phones of the day, I called my entire family for assistance, but given the delightful state of emails on phones, voicemail, text messaging, reception, and the other garbage, it took ages to get anybody.

As soon as I could after the incident, I ponied up for the iPhone for two of my family members. The bevy of ways we could get each other with the new phone in an emergency was a safety blanket for new parents dealing with a baby with a chronic condition. Those phones are gone, but at this point, we wouldn't think about anything else. This says nothing about the connectivity from the phone during one of our many hospital stays, which was a boon as well to soothe frazzled relatives.

So, thanks, Steve. I've got a kid who hasn't joined you in part because of your phone.

-Mike Wuerthele (@MacNN_Mike)


( Last edited by NewsPoster; Jan 10, 2015 at 02:32 PM. )
     
jmelrose
Forum Regular
Join Date: Mar 1999
Location: Orlando, Florida
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 9, 2015, 10:30 PM
 
This is a great article in desperate need of proofreading.
“A man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.” -Mark Twain

Current rig: 15" MBP i7 2.6Ghz 16GB RAM 1TB Flash Drive
     
Mike Wuerthele
Managing Editor
Join Date: Jul 2012
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 9, 2015, 10:49 PM
 
This is what happens when I let the line editor run the show for a night

We're all punchy from CES.
     
Charles Martin
Mac Elite
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Maitland, FL
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 10, 2015, 01:09 AM
 
I plead guilty on the typos, I was rushed to get it out when I realized it was getting late on the East Coast, and had a social engagement to attend.
Charles Martin
MacNN Editor
     
iphonerulez
Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Nov 2008
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 10, 2015, 01:10 AM
 
I do happen to remember Steve Ballmer saying that the iPhone would be pretty much a failure and that no one would be paying that much for some overly expensive toy. I suppose his vision of the future was just a tad murky.
     
chimaera
Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Apr 2007
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 10, 2015, 02:20 AM
 
iphonerulez

I remember that. Ballmer predicting the iPhone would flop within 5 years. Also that smartphone OS's would come down to a battle between Symbian, Windows Mobile, and "a mobile version of Linux".

You'll notice Ballmer isn't running Microsoft any more.
     
driven
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Atlanta, GA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 10, 2015, 02:53 AM
 
Yeah, Balmer blew that call in what should be one of the most infamous statements of all time. He really didn't get it. But in his defense, Blackberry didn't get it either. Neither did Nokia. Palm, well, they checked out about a year or so earlier and were already in decline. (Which I hated, I was a huge Palm fan)

Blackberry couldn't get their heads around the idea that you could have a screen like that *and* good battery life, because they thought it was impossible to shrink the electronics enough to make a bigger battery to support it. When you assume it's impossible, you've already given up.
- MacBook Air M2 16GB / 512GB
- MacBook Pro 16" i9 2.4Ghz 32GB / 1TB
- MacBook Pro 15" i7 2.9Ghz 16GB / 512GB
- iMac i5 3.2Ghz 1TB
- G4 Cube 500Mhz / Shelf display unit / Museum display
     
coffeetime
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Nov 2006
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 10, 2015, 04:20 AM
 
iPhone: the smack on everyone's face (Nokia, Palm, Blackberry....etc) device that literally changed the history of mankind. It's the "moon landing" phone of the century. It's like telegram, rotary phone and then iPhone. It's one of those moments "What the heck just happened?"
     
coffeetime
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Nov 2006
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 10, 2015, 04:34 AM
 
Funny how all those pro smartphone makers (Nokia, Palm, Blackberry, Windows) couldn't pull this off except Samsung. It's like do you know Toys 'R' Us will be the dominant auto maker?
( Last edited by coffeetime; Jan 10, 2015 at 11:49 PM. )
     
coffeetime
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Nov 2006
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 10, 2015, 11:58 PM
 
For the record, Google Android is not the first one to invent touch interface like iOS. They copied it after Mr. Schmidt became Apple board member. Google Android OS originally resembled Blackberry. Even their original prototype smartphone is totally Blackberry look-a-like.
     
jdonahoe
Forum Regular
Join Date: Jul 2006
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 12, 2015, 03:54 AM
 
I also remember watching that presentation and thinking, wouldn't it be great if they also made the iPhone without the phone component and damned if the iPod Touch came out shortly afterward. We were on Verizon, so there was no iPhone in our future. I limped along with a Razor and an iPod touch for a few years looking like Batman with his utility belt in the mean time. Loving the current 6 Plus.
     
Jayhorn
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Sep 2012
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 12, 2015, 10:45 AM
 
One of my favorite reviews of the original iPhone described it as interesting, but the reviewer "can't see anyone at Nokia or Blackberry losing any sleep over it." He was right, since there isn't anyone left at Nokia or Blackberry, there isn't anyone left to lose any sleep.
     
climacs
Senior User
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: in front of my computer
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 12, 2015, 12:01 PM
 
@driven: I'm sure you know this, perhaps not everyone else does: the people at RIM (BlackBerry), as you noted, quite literally could not and did not believe it. They were absolutely certain it was impossible to do what Apple did, and they accused Apple of lying to everyone. They believed there was no way (according to them) to have a touchscreen smartphone because the battery life would be only a handful of hours. Oh here's the Electronista story about it, from waaaay back in 2010. http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/12/27/rim.thought.apple.was.lying.on.iphone.in.2007/
     
pairof9s
Senior User
Join Date: Jan 2008
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 14, 2015, 10:48 AM
 
I'll never forget the thrill I had when I bought that first iPhone on that first day. To this day, I don't think I've ever owned a more incredible piece of technology.

Thanks, Apple!
     
FastiBook
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Here.
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 15, 2015, 12:15 PM
 
I cannot imagine how much more difficult my life would be today without my iPhone. I still have my 3G, and i use it a few times a month, mostly to poke at older apps no longer available on the app store or an older version that won't work on current iOS. I have an iPhone 4s as my "daily driver", and hopefully a 6 soon!

- Andy
Fact is better than fiction.
     
   
Thread Tools
 
Forum Links
Forum Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Top
Privacy Policy
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 10:37 AM.
All contents of these forums © 1995-2017 MacNN. All rights reserved.
Branding + Design: www.gesamtbild.com
vBulletin v.3.8.8 © 2000-2017, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.,