Life Before iPhone - First there was Simon
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ธ.ค. 2024
- An inside story told by Wayne Whitley, one of the original five inventors of the first Smartphone and other members of the design team, describing the process of creation, from concept to product, of the IBM Personal Communicator. This product was designed by IBM and marketed by BellSouth Cellular Corporation in the early 1990s and has since been credited as the world’s first smartphone.
Links:
WhitleyVideos Channel - / whitleyvideos
Wikipedia - IBM Simon
en.wikipedia.o...
Time First Smartphone turns 50
time.com/31370...
Simonizing the PDA
byte.com/art/94...
Smartland Korea: Mobile Communications, Culture and Society
books.google.c...
Simon Patent
patents.google...
Buxton Collection - Simon
www.microsoft....
Are You an Innovation Giant?
dux.typepad.co...
The Computer Chronicles - Mobile Computing (1995)
• The Computer Chronicle...
Simon Archive
simoneer.githu...
*** In Loving Memory of Brent Beatty ***
"Our friend and colleague who brought power and light to Simon and joy to our team"
It amazing how similar Simon is to the modern smartphones. Could you imagine 28 years ago that most of the smartphones today would have the same buttons (power + volume)? And applications arranged as a grid of icons - it's 2020 and nothing has changed! Simon even has the "back" button! It's probably the great feeling of knowing that your team has predicted, or rather influenced modern technology. Thank you for this wonderful documentary on Simon!
P.S. several years ago I learned from Frank Canova that Simon had an easter egg, where you press the phone buttons in a certain combination and it shows a scrolling list of everyone that worked on Simon in 1994. Do you recall the combination? As I wasn't able to figure it out
Почему я не удивлен увидеть здесь Кирилла!
Кирилл Лейфер, спасибо за содержательные комментарии. Я видел ваш канал на TH-cam, и вы очень технический специалист. С уважением, Уэйн Уитли
жду с новыми роликами на твоем канале!!!
Thanks Mr. Whitley. I came across to this amazing story teaching English to my students, and one of the subjects was about communication and technology and then I read a magazine article about smartphones. I really got impressed. You guys rocked. May God bless y'all.
Michael, thank you for your input. We had a wonderful and talented team of engineers and programmers all working as a team to design and produce the first Smartphone, Simon.
I am pleased to hear that you and your students were interested in our story. My Best Regards to you and your class, Wayne Whitley
This guy sounds so genuine. Love to hear your story’s and being part of the tech generation that makes what our tech is now:)
Tyler, thank you for watching and for your thoughtful comment. I have been blessed "to be in the right place at the right time" with a very talented group of engineers and programmers trying to create something that would "potentially" change the way we communicate. I believe that Simon did just that and we had fun while working hard. Best of luck in your future creative ventures. Regards, Wayne Whitley
Yes it brought back a lot of memories indeed. I was on loan to the Simon team for a few months of the project and I wrote the PCMCIA socket services BIOS from scratch as well as the nondestructive memory test. I was also the lead for integrating the Award Card Services software. While I seem to have been forgotten in the larger team credits page, it was a memorable experience for me regardless.
It's great to see an extraordinary product presented by its creators. We all owe you so much. It's great to see you talking about how things developed back then. Fantastic. Thanks
mdgrkb, Thank you for your comments and input. Simon was created by a team of engineers and programmers dedicated to advancing the way people communicate. It was just ahead of its time. Best Regards, Wayne Whitley
Great video! I applaud the entire team for developing a product so far ahead of it’s time. Unbelievable the creativity and ingenuity that set the standard for todays devices. Well done!
Steve, Thank you for your kind words. This was a truly a team effort. We each played an important part in making our dream a reality. I am glad you enjoyed my story. Best Regards, Wayne Whitley
This should have way more views.
Patrick, Thank you for your comment. I was trying to tell a story that was interesting to me and wanting it to be interesting to others. Please share this story with your friends. Thank you for watching. Best Regards, Wayne Whitley
I was always interested in knowing more about Simon. thank you for sharing your story. this video should have millions views...
Peek Bee, thank you for watching and sharing your input. It was a great product and an even better team effort. I hope more folks view this story. Please share the link with your friends. Thank you again, Regards, Wayne Whitley
Thank you for all your hard work! Awesome story. Interesting and precise as hell. Greetings from Poland!
Uapsiabiduba
Thank you very much for your comment. Happy you liked the video. The Simon smartphone was one of the most enjoyable design and development projects I was fortunate to have been part of. A great team effort.
I have subscribed to your channel and enjoyed your excellent Drone coverage of Mallorca. I spent some time sailing and visiting sights on the island in 1989. Your videos brought back fond memories. Thank you. Best Regards, Wayne Whitley
Bardzo dziękuję za komentarz. Cieszę się, że filmik Ci się podobał. Smartfon Simon był jednym z najprzyjemniejszych projektów projektowych i rozwojowych, w których miałem szczęście uczestniczyć. Świetny wysiłek zespołowy.
Zasubskrybowałem Twój kanał i cieszyłem się z doskonałej relacji z Majorki z Drone. Spędziłem trochę czasu na żegludze i zwiedzaniu zabytków na wyspie w 1989 roku. Twoje filmy przywoływały miłe wspomnienia. Dziękuję Ci. Z pozdrowieniami, Wayne Whitley
Amazing video, great production value, congratulations! And it is such an interesting story. Please do more videos about technology trough the time or even a regular podcast where you, Frank Canova and even other members of the original team could talk about new technology and technology of the past. Im sure that you have more interesting stories like this that have to be shared to the new generations. I think that it could be very interesting to hear the opinions and points of view of you and the team members in the things that happen today.
Congratulations again for this well done documentary.
(English its not my native language so...)
Richardo, thank you for your thoughtful comments. I am so glad you enjoyed my story. I was truly blessed to be part of an incredible team. By the way, your use of the English language is wonderful. I am grateful for your interest in this technology story. Best Regards, Wayne Whitley
Thank you for the story, the video is really a hidden gem! The surprised look of the visitor's face at 9:18 alone shows how impressive the tech was. While I personally never encountered a Simon, the exterior design seems fairly comfortable to hold, having contemporary Newton in mind. The LCD development mentioned at around 20:00 feels especially impressive considering that at the time many PDAs and Gameboy opted in for having a reflective only screen, no backlight.
Vokabre, thank you for watching and for your thoughtful comments. I appreciate your reflection on the attributes of Simon and your understanding of the technology and its evolution over the last 28 years. Please share this video and subscribe if you like. Best Regards, Wayne Whitley
@@WhitleyVideos My pleasure! Already shared the video on a couple of tech-related online spaces. It's always great seeing stories, prototypes and footage of tech history preserved.
Awesome story! To me it looked like a very well engineered device. Thank you for telling us this great story. If this functioned well for it's users it certainly should be called the 'first smartphone'
Marcel. thank you for you input. It was an experience I will never forget. Regards, Wayne Whitley
This whole video is a time machine for us. Thanks for making this video we appreciate your work and changing our life 🙂🙂🙂🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼❤️❤️❤️❤️
Pratham Vij, I really appreciate your input. This Simon project was one of the most exciting challenges we faced as a design and development team at IBM. We hoped it would change the way people worked allowing mobility and ease of use for information and communication. We were limited in the early 1990s by the existing technology and few service providers, but it was a start to the mobile digital network. Thank you for watching. Best Regards, Wayne Whitley
Thank you, sir!
And greetings from Russia. 😄
One of the known tech enthusiasts made a review for Simon few years ago. Very interesting view from tech stuff that made it. Thank you for your work and for one more step on the long hard road of technical progress!
Никита Волков
, Thank you for your comments. And greetings from Florida. I would be interested in reading the review of Simon from the "known tech enthusiast" you mentioned. Please send me a link to the review if possible. Best Regards, Wayne Whitley
I presume the comment might be referring to the in-depth review Kirill Leyfer recorded (in Russian) th-cam.com/video/PkYKaCCwhMM/w-d-xo.html
Wow such an interesting story . Must feel great to see something every day ,being used by practically everyone on the planet. And know you had a part in developing it .👍 well done Sir😄
the craft king #1, thank you for your input. The accomplishment was very satisfying but the team experience was priceless. As engineers, we live to solve problems. In this case, the journey was as much fun as the destination. By the way, I like what I see on your channel. Keep at it. Best Regards, Wayne Whitley
Great video. Great memories. Your team’s work was inspiring.
Glad you enjoyed it! Just a dream ahead of its time. Best Regards, Wayne Whitley
This is an amazing video! Wow, needs to be shared with everyone.
Marye Benjamin, Thank you for your input. I am happy you enjoyed our story. Regards, Wayne Whitley
Hello Wayne, Just watched the first Smartphone video...Simon Says 👍 So very interesting
Jackie, thank you for your comment. Hope you enjoyed the story. Best Regards, Wayne Whitley
WhitleyVideos Aunt Pat S. sent it to me ..amazing history
Jackie, now I know you and your family. Hope you all are safe and well. Please tell your Aunt and Uncle that I miss them and thank you again for watching. Wayne
WhitleyVideos Oh good! Glad you put us together :) Sure will let them know 😊 Take Care and Stay well please xo
Mr.Whitley, I purchased my Simon while stationed at Fort Jackson South Carolina. Sir, I'm wondering if you might be available for podcast interview "Please".
1DueNorth, thank you for your comment, your interest and for watching. It is always nice to hear from one of the Simon owners. I would be happy to talk with you about Simon, just contact me at whitleyvideos@gmail.com. Best Regards, Wayne Whitley
It' very interesting story about the first smart mobile device.
Vit Nikk, thank you for your comment and for watching. Wayne Whitley
Wooow..this is so cool... 😲😲😲🤩😍just imagine to be part of 😭team who was gonna make a first ever smartphone of history..... You are awesome👍👏😊well done sir!!
thanks for the video, great job
Serge Buzytsky, you are welcome, thank you for your comment and for watching. Regards, Wayne Whitley
Great video!!!!! Thanks!
Bryan, thank you for your comment and for watching. Wayne Whitley
Very interesting, I just watched the General Magic documentary, and they were also making first smartphone/pda at about same time, I wonder if some tech leaked back and forth between those two companies, or they have independently worked on similar device.
I am a mobile phones collector from central Europe, tying to establish a publicly available museum. I purchased Simon some time ago, because it's simply a must have device, from the history point of view. I was so much ahead of it's time and influenced basically everything. While the device that was first named with the term "smartphone" was the Ericsson R380s, it's clearly visible how Simon was this and in some ways even more, almost a decate before that :) just a bit bulkier.
Wow!
Hector, thanks for the Wow! I hope that means you enjoyed my story. Regards, Wayne Whitley
@@WhitleyVideos Absolutely!
Hello from Russia. Very interesting video! Thx for yours work.
Thanks for watching! Hello from Florida, Wayne Whitley
If i had the opportunity to buy it now i would most likely do it
KeyTeamPlay , thank you for your comment, Wayne Whitley
Very cool.
Erick, thank you for your input. Simon was an exciting product and a game changer, just ahead of it time. Regards,
Wayne Whitley
honestly, we probably would’ve had more advanced phones in the 90s if they hadn’t given up.
amazing
David, thank you again for your input. This was a very exciting project to have been a part of. I am proud of what our team created and will always remember the experience.
Best Regards, Wayne Whitley
Тоже от Кирилла Лейфера?
Snap Door, спасибо за просмотр. С уважением, Уэйн Уитли
А от кого же)
I remember my first touchscreen phone ( and smartphone), its Sony Ericsson p900
14:08 Have you cut the phone?
Глеб Р, During first production of Simon, I had a number of early manufacturing units that I used to perform analysis of the manufacturing process or test failure analysis. This is one of the units that was sectioned (cut in half) for visual verification of mechanical tolerances'. There were a lot of pieces to fit into a small enclosure. Thank you for your comment. Regards, Wayne Whitley
Is that the new phone this year?
Jim, it was new in 1994 and was the beginning of the Smart Phone revolution. Wayne Whitley
Видео ТОП , жаль только я инглиш не знаю.....
Шварнер, Спасибо за комментарий. Рад, что тебе понравилось мое видео. С уважением, Уэйн Уитли
very interesting :)
Thank you Camila Cabel for your comment. I hope you will share this story with your friends. It was one of the most exciting projects I was blessed to be a part of.
Best Regards,
Wayne Whitley
Respect from subscribers of Russian blogger Kirill Leifer
Wow, thanks, Wayne Whitley
Marketing was the big problem
Thanks grandpa so this the first iPhone
Thanks for unleashing the AI ♾
Well it´s great and all... but lets make it run Doom already!
So Apple basically copied the IBM Simone Idea for there Iphone 😂 Typical of Apple.
Thank you johnm for your comments. We were ahead of our time with an idea worth copying! Best Regards, Wayne Whitley
apple just copied this tech
Thank you for your comment. I am sure we influenced a number of very fine follow-on designs. Regards, Wayne Whitley
Or my father worked at IBM during the collabs of apple with IBM Motorola collab. Don't make a war within companies. Today Samsung and all these filthy companies do war. But bacl then 3 world companies collabed IBM, MOTOROLA AND APPLE IN 1989.