Dos_Box Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 This has been nagging at me for ages now, and this article from Wikipedia annoys me slightly: Smartphone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia as it (IMO) goes back too far. So my question is this. What is the first true 'modern' smartphone? I remember back in about 2005 one of the staff in the pace I was working had a HP iPaq (6310?) that was a phone coupled with a PDA running a version of Windows. It was quite a nice device for the time as well. So to set a criteria for this and to define a 'modern' era phone it most meet the following criteria: Combine the functionality of a phone and PDA Have a touch screen (keyboard optional) Able to access the internet via a system other than wi-fi/bluetooth/tethering i.e WAP/3G Support the sending and receiving of email Have a camera Be able to install software from third parties Natively support media playback and storage To fit into a pocket easily I was going to include GPS as a feature but it was still a novelty in many phones until a few years ago. Anyway, over to you guys. Lets see what you can come up with and don't hesitate to suggest new criteria (please note it must be a universal criteria and not a feature that favours a single manufacturer/product).
twin--turbo Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 02 did somethign in the early 2k's... can't remember what it was but it was a phone with extra functionality. Rob
Domino Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 My old Nokia 7650 hit all those except touchscreen (which I don't actually think is vital in considering a 'smartphone') Nokia 7650 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Might be a Palm Treo that was older though?
tmcd35 Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 I hate to say it, but given the criteria it wouldn't surprise me if it is the iPhone. I'm sure you can think of something wrong with all contenders prior to that. For my money the Nokia Communicator 9100 should be considered the first Smartphone, but that relied on a keyboard and didn't have much in the way of media playback and storage to my knowledge, don't even think they had cameras. The Palm Treo's are another very good contender, but again I'm sure they all had keyboards for some reason even though the Palm Pilot didn't. Again no camera and little media playback. Internet on all these devices so far would have been WAP, so not real web pages. The Compaq iPaq might be a close as you get but I don't remember them having a camera either...
Dos_Box Posted March 14, 2013 Author Posted March 14, 2013 This is why I was looking for 'modern'. I should have added wi-fi and/or bluetooth as part of the criteria though thinking about it!
tmcd35 Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 Then I defy anyone to say it wasn't the first iPhone! Apple were never a revolutionary company but they have always been one of the best evolutionary companies out there. They saw the Palm Pilot, The Nokia 9100, the Camera phones and 2G WAP Internet phones, the MP3 players and put them all be in one device.
Dos_Box Posted March 14, 2013 Author Posted March 14, 2013 Then I defy anyone to say it wasn't the first iPhone! Apple were never a revolutionary company but they have always been one of the best evolutionary companies out there. They saw the Palm Pilot, The Nokia 9100, the Camera phones and 2G WAP Internet phones, the MP3 players and put them all be in one device. It wasn't. HTC were releasing devices before that with all of the required criteria in place. Often these devices were re-branded such as the iMate K-Jam (HTC Wizard) which I was once issued with in 2006. The iPhone came out in June 2007. HTC Wizard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 1
Domino Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 Then I defy anyone to say it wasn't the first iPhone! HTC touch. boom. HTC Touch - Full phone specifications
localzuk Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 I'd be looking at the 02 XDAs personally, they had a pile of them. The XDA IIi or IIs in late 2004/early 2005 predates the iPhone and fits all of the criteria. The Palm Treo 650 was released at the same time and also meets the criteria.
Flatpackhamster Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 My old Nokia 7650 hit all those except touchscreen (which I don't actually think is vital in considering a 'smartphone') Nokia 7650 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Might be a Palm Treo that was older though? Agree, I don't consider a touchscreen makes a phone 'smart'.
Geoff Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 Nokia Communicator 9500 from 2004 fits the bill (minus the touch screen as discussed). Nokia 9500 Communicator - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Nokia 9500 Communicator Review | Mobile Phones | CNET UK
Brucy Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 Sony P800? Think it fits the bill ~2002 Sony Ericsson P800 - Full phone specifications
Dos_Box Posted March 14, 2013 Author Posted March 14, 2013 (edited) Agree, I don't consider a touchscreen makes a phone 'smart'. It makes it a hell of a lot easier to use though This is why I am pointing out (one more) the 'modern' aspect of smartphones. If someone said they were going to issue you with a smartphone and you got one without a touch screen you'd be a bit miffed. It does baffle me as to why it took RIM so long to release one! Edited March 14, 2013 by Dos_Box
Dos_Box Posted March 14, 2013 Author Posted March 14, 2013 Sony P800? Think it fits the bill ~2002 Sony Ericsson P800 - Full phone specifications It does indeed have a touchscreen, but no media playback (no headphone socket).
themightymrp Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 HTC touch. boom. HTC Touch - Full phone specifications I had one of those!! It fits the criteria but I think there was something out before it?
aerospacemango Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 I had one of those!! It fits the criteria but I think there was something out before it? LG KE850 Prada - Full phone specifications I thought this was commonly thought of as the "inspiration" behind the iPhone?
Hokalus Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 It does indeed have a touchscreen, but no media playback (no headphone socket). It had a stupid Sony Ericsson headphone socket which could be used with supplied earphones to listen to MP3 and other files. You can also get a converter to connect standard 3.5mm ones.
ben604 Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 It had a stupid Sony Ericsson headphone socket which could be used with supplied earphones to listen to MP3 and other files. You can also get a converter to connect standard 3.5mm ones. The man speaks the truth. Headphones included! P800 manual
localzuk Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 LG KE850 Prada - Full phone specifications I thought this was commonly thought of as the "inspiration" behind the iPhone? That came out in the same year as the iPhone, so couldn't really be inspiration, as the iPhone had been in development for longer than that... Not to mention, the others being looked at are 3 years earlier.
Dos_Box Posted March 14, 2013 Author Posted March 14, 2013 The man speaks the truth. Headphones included! P800 manual Sony lock you into a technology that on-one else uses? Who'd thought it?!
Brucy Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 It had a stupid Sony Ericsson headphone socket which could be used with supplied earphones to listen to MP3 and other files. You can also get a converter to connect standard 3.5mm ones. Knew i remembered using headphones with mine!
Dos_Box Posted March 14, 2013 Author Posted March 14, 2013 I've a sneaking suspicion that early HTC's may be the ones we are to look at in our quest.
Dos_Box Posted March 14, 2013 Author Posted March 14, 2013 This is handy: List of HTC phones - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yeo695 Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 Palm Treo maybe. I had one of the first cheap smart phones. It was a Palm Centro.
Bromcom_John Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 It does baffle me as to why it took RIM so long to release one! You could argue they never did... Didn't they rebrand their corporate identity to Blackberry when they released there touch screen phone earlier in the year?
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