Do you know when the touch phone was invented? Find out what the first smartphone in history was
Touchscreen phones have become the norm these days, and it’s a bit hard to imagine life without them, considering all the conveniences they provide. However, as you can probably assume, there was a time when their existence wasn’t even thought possible. If you’ve ever wondered when the touchscreen mobile phone was invented, we’ll summarize the history of these interesting devices as much as possible so that you can understand their evolution over the years in a nutshell.
- When was the touch screen mobile phone invented?
The first touch-screen mobile phone, as it is known, was quite different from the ones we see every day now. In fact, being a precursor, it had the same features as the older mobile phone, especially in that it was unwieldy in size. It was called Simon Personal Communicator and came from the IBM brand. When was this touch-screen mobile phone invented? Its official commercial debut was in 1994, shortly after cordless mobile phones started gaining popularity and Nokia and Motorola began to expand in popularity. The phone is shown in the picture above.
At the time, IBM's Simon was a very advanced phone. It had a touch screen, with a 4.5-inch monochrome LCD panel. With this device, you could make calls, send and receive emails and faxes, and it also integrated several classic applications (calculator, calendar, clock, notepad). It had 1 MB of RAM, a 16 MHz processor, and weighed just over 450 grams.
The main problem with this touch-screen mobile phone was its autonomy. It could only last for an hour after being charged to 100%. This was probably a big part of what made it unattractive at the time. The market went on as many knew it or experienced it during those times: non-smartphones and basic foldable phones dominated the market, moving from monochrome screens to those that came with color, until Apple launched its first touch-screen phone in 2007 and changed the rules of the game.
The iPhone 1 or 2G ushered in the new generation. And so smartphones began to invade the mobile phone market at a rapid pace, until they became what we know today. Today, they have become loyal allies for many to stay connected and always aware of the trends in the world.