IPhone (original)
Encyclopedia
The iPhone—retroactively labeled
the original iPhone, iPhone 2G, or iPhone EDGE—was the first generation of iPhone
designed and marketed by Apple Inc. and was succeeded by the iPhone 3G
. It was announced on January 9, 2007 after months of rumors and speculation
. It was introduced in the United States
on June 29, 2007. It featured quad-band GSM
with GPRS
and EDGE
.
The original iPhone no longer receives software updates from Apple; its final firmware version was iOS 3.1.3.
, CEO
at Apple Inc., conceived the idea of using a multi-touch
touchscreen
to interact with a computer in a way in which he could type directly onto the display, essentially removing the physical keyboard
and mouse
- the same as a tablet PC. Jobs recruited a party of Apple engineers to investigate the idea as a side project. When Jobs reviewed the prototype and its user interface
, he conceived a second idea of implementing the technology onto a mobile phone.
The whole effort was called the Project Purple 2 and began in 2005.
Apple created the device during a secretive and unprecedented collaboration with AT&T, previously Cingular Wireless
. The development cost of the collaboration was estimated to have been $150 million over a thirty-month period. Apple rejected the "design by committee" approach that had yielded the Motorola ROKR E1, a largely unsuccessful collaboration with Motorola
. Instead, Cingular Wireless gave Apple the liberty to develop the iPhone's hardware and software in-house.
The original iPhone was introduced by Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007 in a keynote address
at the Macworld Conference & Expo held in Moscone West
in San Francisco, California
. In his address, Jobs said, "I have been looking forward to this for two and a half years", and that "today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone." Jobs introduced the iPhone as a combination of three devices: a "widescreen iPod with touch controls"; a "revolutionary mobile phone"; and a "breakthrough Internet communicator".
where hundreds of people were reported to have queued outside Apple and AT&T
retail stores days before the device's launch; with many stores reporting stock shortages within an hour. To prevent a repeat of the PlayStation 3's launch
, which caused burglaries and even a shooting, off-duty police officers were hired to guard stores overnight.
It was later made available in the United Kingdom
, France
, and Germany
in November 2007, and the Republic of Ireland
and Austria
in the spring of 2008.
Six out of ten Americans surveyed said they knew the iPhone was coming prior to its release.
, a touchscreen device with the media and internet capabilities and interface of the iPhone, but without the phone application, was released on September 5, 2007. At the same time, Apple significantly dropped the price of the 8GB model while discontinuing the 4GB model entirely. Apple sold the one millionth iPhone five days later, or 74 days after the release. After receiving "hundreds of emails...upset" about the price drop, Apple gave store credit to early adopters.
A 16GB model was released on February 5, 2008. Apple released an SDK
on March 6, 2008, allowing developers to create the apps that would be available starting in iPhone OS version 2.0, a free upgrade for iPhone users. On June 9, Apple announced the iPhone 3G
, which began shipping July 11. The original iPhone was discontinued at that time; total sales volume came to 6,124,000 units.
While most Apple literature simply called the device "iPhone," the term "the original iPhone" appears in a press release from July 2010.
multi-touch
touchscreen
display. The original iPhone introduced five physical buttons that have remained consistent over newer generations of iPhone. The device featured a chrome plated metal frame. The back of which was made of brushed
aluminum with a black plastic base, required because metal shields
cellular and Wi-Fi signals. The camera was located in the upper-left corner of the iPhone's rear. The headphone socket was recessed into the casing, making it incompatible with most headsets without the use of an adapter. Other models do not have this issue.
Apple has released 4 major software versions for the iPhone and one major release in the beta period, including the one bundled with original iPhone units.
Currently, software updates for the original or "2G" and 3G iPhones have been discontinued. However, unlicensed third-parties are known for creating custom firmwares for the iPhone, as well as porting Android OS onto the iPhone.
However, many features like MMS, third-party apps, and copy and paste were not supported at release. These missing features led to hackers "jailbreaking" their phones which added these missing features. Official software updates slowly added these features.
iPhone OS 2.0 (released July 11, 2008) introduced 3rd party applications, exchange support, push e-mail, and other enhancements.
iPhone OS 3.0 (released June 17, 2009) introduced copy and paste, and new YouTube features. Not all of the features of iPhone OS 3.0 were supported on the original iPhone.
The original iPhone did not receive the iOS 4 software upgrade, due to hardware constraints.
. This restriction can be overcome by "jailbreaking" the phone, which involves replacing the iPhone's firmware
with a slightly modified version that does not enforce the signature check. Doing so may be a circumvention of Apple's technical protection measures. Apple, in a statement to the United States Copyright Office
in response to EFF
lobbying for a DMCA exception for this kind of hacking, claimed that jailbreaking the iPhone would be copyright infringement
due to the necessary modification of system software. Jailbroken iPhones may be susceptible to computer viruses, but few such incidents have been reported. In 2010, the U.S Copyright Office has said that they are not going to prosecute jailbreakers.
and The Wall Street Journal
published positive, but cautious, reviews of the iPhone, their primary criticisms being the slow speed of the AT&T
network and the phone's inability to connect using 3G
services.
The Wall Street Journal's
technology columnist, Walt Mossberg, concluded that "despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer."
Time
magazine named it the Invention of the Year in 2007.
Retronym
A retronym is a type of neologism that provides a new name for an object or concept to differentiate the original form or version of it from a more recent form or version. The original name is most often augmented with an adjective to account for later developments of the object or concept itself...
the original iPhone, iPhone 2G, or iPhone EDGE—was the first generation of iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
designed and marketed by Apple Inc. and was succeeded by the iPhone 3G
IPhone 3G
The iPhone 3G is the second generation of iPhone designed and marketed by Apple Inc.. It was the successor to the original iPhone, and is succeeded by the iPhone 3GS. Introduced on June 9, 2008 at the WWDC 2008 at the Moscone Center, San Francisco...
. It was announced on January 9, 2007 after months of rumors and speculation
Apple rumor community
The Apple rumor community is concerned with Apple Inc. and its products, including the Macintosh, the iPhone, the iPod and the iPad. In recent years, a subculture has developed around rumors about new products and services from Apple. The company enjoys a cult-like following for its Macintosh...
. It was introduced in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on June 29, 2007. It featured quad-band GSM
Global System for Mobile Communications
GSM , is a standard set developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute to describe technologies for second generation digital cellular networks...
with GPRS
General Packet Radio Service
General packet radio service is a packet oriented mobile data service on the 2G and 3G cellular communication system's global system for mobile communications . GPRS was originally standardized by European Telecommunications Standards Institute in response to the earlier CDPD and i-mode...
and EDGE
Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution
Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution is a digital mobile phone technology that allows improved data transmission rates as a backward-compatible extension of GSM...
.
The original iPhone no longer receives software updates from Apple; its final firmware version was iOS 3.1.3.
Development
Development of the iPhone began when Steve JobsSteve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
, CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
at Apple Inc., conceived the idea of using a multi-touch
Multi-touch
In computing, multi-touch refers to a touch sensing surface's ability to recognize the presence of two or more points of contact with the surface...
touchscreen
Touchscreen
A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus...
to interact with a computer in a way in which he could type directly onto the display, essentially removing the physical keyboard
Keyboard (computing)
In computing, a keyboard is a typewriter-style keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches...
and mouse
Mouse (computing)
In computing, a mouse is a pointing device that functions by detecting two-dimensional motion relative to its supporting surface. Physically, a mouse consists of an object held under one of the user's hands, with one or more buttons...
- the same as a tablet PC. Jobs recruited a party of Apple engineers to investigate the idea as a side project. When Jobs reviewed the prototype and its user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
, he conceived a second idea of implementing the technology onto a mobile phone.
The whole effort was called the Project Purple 2 and began in 2005.
Apple created the device during a secretive and unprecedented collaboration with AT&T, previously Cingular Wireless
Cingular Wireless
AT&T Mobility LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T that provides wireless services to 100.7 million subscribers in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands...
. The development cost of the collaboration was estimated to have been $150 million over a thirty-month period. Apple rejected the "design by committee" approach that had yielded the Motorola ROKR E1, a largely unsuccessful collaboration with Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
. Instead, Cingular Wireless gave Apple the liberty to develop the iPhone's hardware and software in-house.
The original iPhone was introduced by Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007 in a keynote address
Stevenote
"Stevenote" is a colloquial term for the keynote speeches given by former Apple CEO Steve Jobs at events such as the Worldwide Developers Conference and previously the Macworld and Apple Expos. Jobs' vibrant speaking style and manner of exciting the crowd was often referred to as inducing a...
at the Macworld Conference & Expo held in Moscone West
Moscone Center
Moscone Center is the largest convention and exhibition complex in San Francisco, California. It comprises three main halls: Two underground halls underneath Yerba Buena Gardens, known as Moscone North and Moscone South, and a three-level Moscone West exhibition hall across 4th Street...
in San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. In his address, Jobs said, "I have been looking forward to this for two and a half years", and that "today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone." Jobs introduced the iPhone as a combination of three devices: a "widescreen iPod with touch controls"; a "revolutionary mobile phone"; and a "breakthrough Internet communicator".
Release
The iPhone was released on June 29, 2007 in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
where hundreds of people were reported to have queued outside Apple and AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
retail stores days before the device's launch; with many stores reporting stock shortages within an hour. To prevent a repeat of the PlayStation 3's launch
PlayStation 3 launch
The launch of the PlayStation 3 into the Japanese market on 11 November 2006 marked the second major seventh generation entertainment system to be released. The system was released on 17 November in the United States...
, which caused burglaries and even a shooting, off-duty police officers were hired to guard stores overnight.
It was later made available in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in November 2007, and the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
in the spring of 2008.
Six out of ten Americans surveyed said they knew the iPhone was coming prior to its release.
After release
The iPod TouchIPod Touch
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
, a touchscreen device with the media and internet capabilities and interface of the iPhone, but without the phone application, was released on September 5, 2007. At the same time, Apple significantly dropped the price of the 8GB model while discontinuing the 4GB model entirely. Apple sold the one millionth iPhone five days later, or 74 days after the release. After receiving "hundreds of emails...upset" about the price drop, Apple gave store credit to early adopters.
A 16GB model was released on February 5, 2008. Apple released an SDK
IPhone SDK
The iOS SDK is a software development kit developed by Apple Inc. and released in February 2008 to develop native applications for iOS.-History:...
on March 6, 2008, allowing developers to create the apps that would be available starting in iPhone OS version 2.0, a free upgrade for iPhone users. On June 9, Apple announced the iPhone 3G
IPhone 3G
The iPhone 3G is the second generation of iPhone designed and marketed by Apple Inc.. It was the successor to the original iPhone, and is succeeded by the iPhone 3GS. Introduced on June 9, 2008 at the WWDC 2008 at the Moscone Center, San Francisco...
, which began shipping July 11. The original iPhone was discontinued at that time; total sales volume came to 6,124,000 units.
While most Apple literature simply called the device "iPhone," the term "the original iPhone" appears in a press release from July 2010.
Design
The original iPhone's design was centered on a 3.5 inches (88.9 mm) glassGlass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
multi-touch
Multi-touch
In computing, multi-touch refers to a touch sensing surface's ability to recognize the presence of two or more points of contact with the surface...
touchscreen
Touchscreen
A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus...
display. The original iPhone introduced five physical buttons that have remained consistent over newer generations of iPhone. The device featured a chrome plated metal frame. The back of which was made of brushed
Brushed metal
Brushed metal is metal that has been abraded , usually with a fine grit sandpaper. The brushing gives the metal a distinctive look, as it retains some but not all of its metallic lustre and is given a pattern of very fine lines. It can be compared to metal with several small scratches all running...
aluminum with a black plastic base, required because metal shields
Electromagnetic shielding
Electromagnetic shielding is the process of reducing the electromagnetic field in a space by blocking the field with barriers made of conductive and/or magnetic materials. Shielding is typically applied to enclosures to isolate electrical devices from the 'outside world' and to cables to isolate...
cellular and Wi-Fi signals. The camera was located in the upper-left corner of the iPhone's rear. The headphone socket was recessed into the casing, making it incompatible with most headsets without the use of an adapter. Other models do not have this issue.
Software
During release, the iPhone was marketed as running "OS X". The name of the operating system was revealed in the iPhone 2.0 SDK.Apple has released 4 major software versions for the iPhone and one major release in the beta period, including the one bundled with original iPhone units.
Currently, software updates for the original or "2G" and 3G iPhones have been discontinued. However, unlicensed third-parties are known for creating custom firmwares for the iPhone, as well as porting Android OS onto the iPhone.
Software History
The original release of the operating system included Visual Voicemail, multi-touch gestures, HTML email, Safari web browser, threaded text messaging, and YouTube.However, many features like MMS, third-party apps, and copy and paste were not supported at release. These missing features led to hackers "jailbreaking" their phones which added these missing features. Official software updates slowly added these features.
iPhone OS 2.0 (released July 11, 2008) introduced 3rd party applications, exchange support, push e-mail, and other enhancements.
iPhone OS 3.0 (released June 17, 2009) introduced copy and paste, and new YouTube features. Not all of the features of iPhone OS 3.0 were supported on the original iPhone.
The original iPhone did not receive the iOS 4 software upgrade, due to hardware constraints.
Unlicensed third party software and jailbreaking
The iPhone's operating system is designed to only run software that has an Apple-approved cryptographic signatureCode signing
Code signing is the process of digitally signing executables and scripts to confirm the software author and guarantee that the code has not been altered or corrupted since it was signed by use of a cryptographic hash....
. This restriction can be overcome by "jailbreaking" the phone, which involves replacing the iPhone's firmware
Firmware
In electronic systems and computing, firmware is a term often used to denote the fixed, usually rather small, programs and/or data structures that internally control various electronic devices...
with a slightly modified version that does not enforce the signature check. Doing so may be a circumvention of Apple's technical protection measures. Apple, in a statement to the United States Copyright Office
United States Copyright Office
The United States Copyright Office, a part of the Library of Congress, is the official U.S. government body that maintains records of copyright registration in the United States. It is used by copyright title searchers who are attempting to clear a chain of title for copyrighted works.The head of...
in response to EFF
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
lobbying for a DMCA exception for this kind of hacking, claimed that jailbreaking the iPhone would be copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
due to the necessary modification of system software. Jailbroken iPhones may be susceptible to computer viruses, but few such incidents have been reported. In 2010, the U.S Copyright Office has said that they are not going to prosecute jailbreakers.
Reception
The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
published positive, but cautious, reviews of the iPhone, their primary criticisms being the slow speed of the AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
network and the phone's inability to connect using 3G
3G
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
services.
The Wall Street Journal's
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
technology columnist, Walt Mossberg, concluded that "despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer."
Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine named it the Invention of the Year in 2007.