The genesis of the iPhone

"Everybody hates their phone, and that's not a good thing. And there's an opportunity there." Jobs told Time for a rather interesting and revealing piece chronicling the genesis Apple's new iPhone. (We didn't realize for sure that the iPhone can't use its WiFi to download tracks over the air, for instance.) What started more than two and a half years ago as a foray into tablet computing to counter Microsoft's efforts (whodathunk, Apple really was thinking of building a tablet PC), which inevitably led them to creating the iPhone. If you're the type wondering things like why the new device doesn't have rubber feet, check out the piece, it's a good read.

[Thanks, Adhik]

[giedrys @ Jan 9th 2007 8:19PM]

I can't agree with you more! 600$+2year? That's ridiculous! Most carriers in Europe will give you almost any phone for free, if you'll agree to sign 2 year deal with them!

[mj @ Jan 9th 2007 8:29PM]

Very well said this would be the main reason for me not getting iPhone. Apple is basically trying to double milk people here. They will get full price from consumer as well as they will get commission from Cingular for each phone sold. Sorry but if I'm signing 2 years contract with Cingular I want this phone for maximum of 199. And with new SSD cards declared in CES 2007 I dont see how long Apple will survive at 599 usd price when 16GB SSD card from Ri-data will cost less than 200usd.

[Jet Tredmont @ Jan 9th 2007 11:01PM]

Have you priced out any alternatives? They're all pretty much in the same boat, or were when launched, within $50-100 more or less.

Smartphones are not the cheapo $50 with contract specials. Smartphones tend to run $499-$699 WITH CONTRACT new, descending to $250 or so a year or two later.

The price of the iPhone without activation, should such a thing happen tomorrow, would likely be $699/$799, which is, as typical, $200 more than the price with 2-year contract. That's just standard. I don't see why people think Apple's getting "double diping" here or whatever.

[FMB @ Jan 9th 2007 6:42PM]

Mr. Jobs. If i buy one of these, I will still hate my phone.

[BiG? @ Jan 9th 2007 6:48PM]

As I was watching, I realized how many Apple rumors were tied up in this one device - tablet, video iPod, phone...makes the Apple rumor mill kind of bare, doesn't it? Will we see a video iPod sans a phone? Will the iPhone get GPS? Will there be a full-blown htpc version of the Mac Mini?

[daddycool @ Jan 9th 2007 6:55PM]

He forgot to mention VISTA. Windows Vista had alot to do with the Genesis of iPhone. The whole friggin UI looks just like it! It looks nothing like OS X or iTunes.

[Jonhimslf @ Jan 9th 2007 7:05PM]

I'm not seeing it (the similarities to Vista). I don't use Vista, so I can't really say much, but what is similar about it? It doesn't really look like OSX either... unless you count the iChat-esque interface, the coverflow album dealie, the icons in the main menu and the menu bar at the top. Other than that it just looks like nice look/sleek menus and whatnot.

[v_dogg @ Jan 9th 2007 7:07PM]

ya no crap. This is totally vista. I was expecting the typical mac background and icons. but i do have to say, this phone is sexy

[rp @ Jan 9th 2007 7:07PM]

I really doubt Vista had anything to do with the genesis of the iPhone. That's a pretty lame comment aimed at bashing Apple with no real basis in reality. I can't understand the high ranking of that comment, please elaborate. After all, OS X came before Vista, and everyone knows Vista is largely ripped off from OS X (like usual with MS). So, if you do say that and consider it valid, then it's more like "OS X is the genesis of Vista, which was the genesis of iPhone." Therefore, OS X is the genesis of iPhone.

[John @ Jan 9th 2007 9:23PM]

The interface (the stuff that isn't brand new and original like the "pinch" picture scaling) is all Mac. The front menu icons resemble the menu icons from the dashboard, and the rest of the interface is a scaled up version of things you see on the iPod (scaled up so that people can select them using the touch screen). When you say it looks like Vista you're probably thinking about the coverflow graphics, which kind of look like the Alt-Tab Aero effects in Vista, but coverflow came first...

[Alegoo92 @ Apr 27th 2007 10:28AM]

So glass is now officially Microsoft-property?

Look up your facts, Apple's been putting glass and transluscency in macs since XP...

[Echo_ @ Jan 9th 2007 6:58PM]

Everybody hates their nonuser-replaceable battery, and that's not a good thing. And there's an opportunity there.

[morgan @ Jan 9th 2007 6:59PM]

That is a great article. A lot of people are complaining about it being locked to Cingular, but from this article you can tell that Apple had to work with a carrier to support the features they wanted in the device. Maybe eventually they will open it up if other carriers change their infrastructure, who knows. I know that I'll be dumping t-mobile and my sidekick as soon as I can for one.

[Jay @ Jan 9th 2007 7:02PM]

I there VOIP in the phone or not?

[Josh @ Jan 9th 2007 7:03PM]

The genesis? No. The genius.

[Reality Check @ Jan 9th 2007 7:04PM]

This thing will not sell well unless the price comes down, it adds 3G, and is available for the CDMA carriers (Sprint and Verizon). Cingular is the worst carrier in the US, and people are not going to switch to them just to use the apple phone.

Other than that, it will just be an expensinve gadget that only a few technophiles and apple fanboys will buy.

[Fin @ Jan 9th 2007 7:06PM]

I'm a long time Mac owner, doing pro music, design, and film and I
certainly prefer the Apple experience over the rest. But I've never
bought an iPod and I still always have one PC for PC reasons (like
.NET web development). So I'm nobody's idea of a purist.

They did a great job of knocking out regular phones and even smartphones, but they didn't quite kill the Pocket PC platform now did they. I have an HTC Apache (Verizon XV6700) and I like having the slideout QWERTY tray (nice sized keys). I don't think I'd like typing on a touchscreen. You can't possibly touch type without tactile feedback. And they couldn't *pay* me to switch to Cingular, regardless of the plan/price problems with Verizon. I only have problems with delivering text messages and such with Cingular users.

The iPhone is neat. But I'm not going to go farther than that. We waited a long time for this, but it's kind of expensive for a power toy for regular users. Those of us on the high end of the gadget spectrum will prolly stick with our current toys. And I really wanted it to blow me away so I could go buy one. :/

[mesonto @ Jan 9th 2007 7:06PM]

They have invented a 3 year old IMATE JAM. (Even if the States doesn't know what they are)

[giedrys @ Jan 9th 2007 7:08PM]

Bollocks, Mr.Jobs! I love my phone (SE K800i),so please stop with those "everybodys".

[Archietype @ Jan 9th 2007 7:09PM]

I think Steve Jobs might be exaggerating just a teensy bit with this "everybody hates their phone" line...the current situation isn't so bad that people were desperate for a radical solution. I actually quite like my phone even if its not a touchscreen monster like the iPhone.

At the moment its too pricey, too big, and possibly even too feature laden for the average user. The moment Apple do to the iPhone what they did with the iPod by shrinking it down in both size and features for users with smaller budgets, is the moment when they'll really capture the phone market. As much as I dread seeing them everywhere in the future, the styling would suit a Nano sized phone incredibly well.

[Jonhimslf @ Jan 9th 2007 7:09PM]

"Other than that, it will just be an expensinve gadget that only a few technophiles and apple fanboys will buy."

That's weird, didn't they say that when the iPod first came out too? I mean, there's no way this will dominate the market like the iPod does (probably won't even come close) BUT i think that you may be underestimating it juuuuust a little.

[guillone @ Jan 10th 2007 4:44AM]

I agree. I've never owned a Mac. But I've owned every cell-phone and this thing is too cool. I'm getting one, period. My son is a college student and uses the video ipod which I love. The touch screen and ease of use making calls, syncing to your address book, full blown OSX, rich text HTML email, ipod built in,etc. What's not to love? I had a $600.00 Nokia and not one person could tell me how to use it. It sucked. Finally, a phone for us over 50 non-techies!

[sunday @ Jan 9th 2007 7:12PM]

i just want a phone to be a freaking phone

[Richard Prince @ Jan 12th 2007 11:05AM]

I think it is important to realize this is NOT a phone. It is a palm media device and communicator that also makes phone calls.

However, what really astonishes me is that when you see how Apple has implmented features in this phone like the message list of voice mail -- simple, easy and non-linear -- you have to ask, why can't the other cell phone companies get this right? Why have we had to put up with such crap for so long? Can't they even think of a better way themselves? They all seem to push to imitate eachothers poor design and implementations instead of creating new and better solutions.

I am not going to say Apple is the only one with good design or better ideas, because there is huge room for improvement with the iPhone but WHY do the other cell phone companies SUX SO BAD! I've had so many cell phones ver the years from the whole range of manufacturers and they are astonsihingly bad design and frustratingly STUPID!

[CaptMonkey @ Jan 9th 2007 7:12PM]

Yeah, the iPhone looks really sweet, but I can't help but thinking that it's not going to sell well. I mean the market can't be very big at that price and due to the fact that you have to sign a two-year contract with Cingular. I know I'd like one, but I think for me and many others it will become nothing more than a gadget that it would be neat to have.

[Bill @ Jan 9th 2007 7:14PM]

I've been a Cingular customer for year with no problems. They could have done this deal with any cell carrier and we'd be seeing the "(insert carrier name) sucks!" posts.

[fondy44 @ Jan 10th 2007 5:08PM]

"They could have done this deal with any cell carrier and we'd be seeing the "(insert carrier name) sucks!" posts."
ISTR not that long ago, Cingular was listed as one of the worst carriers in the U.S. Anyone remember who ran that story?
A bunch of us at work were gathered around the computer, drooling pretty heavily while reading engadget's coverage, up until we saw the price and carrier deets. Then everyone was like, "okay, that's nice", and starting disappearing one by one.
Regardless of carrier, the two-year contract is going to be the real deal-breaker. I mean, until now, if you wanted a nice phone, you either signed a contract OR paid $400+ out of your own pocket. Now they want us to do both?!?

[b @ Jan 9th 2007 7:15PM]

"He even forced Cingular to re-engineer its infrastructure to handle the iPhone's unique voicemail scheme. "They broke all their typical process rules to make it happen," says Tony Fadell, who heads Apple's iPod division. "They were infected by this product, and they were like, we've gotta do this!""

Why don't people call Apple out on this sort of stuff? Imagine if MS etc. did something this non-standard. Is it because Jobs spins it so well?

[Zadillo @ Jan 9th 2007 7:34PM]

It's non-standard in the sense that the way voicemail systems work right now kind of suck (that you have to just listen to all your voicemail, or at least skip or delete one by one). The iPhone lets you view a visual list of all the voicemail you have and play a specific voicemail. Why would you call Apple or anyone else out on getting a cell company to allow that to happen? I think a feature like that is going to have to get implemented on other phones eventually as well, as it will seem archaic that other phones can't do it.

[Chad @ Jan 9th 2007 8:24PM]

Because when MS does non-standard it is a work around for bad engineering, when Apple does non-standard it is because the standard needs improvement.

[Kevin @ Jan 9th 2007 10:45PM]

Cingular's servers were broke to begin with, so Apple was doing them a favor

[guillone @ Jan 10th 2007 5:15AM]

Nobody forced Cingular to do anything. That would never happen. Apple has come up with some creative ideas again and other companies want in on it. I saw the MS/Palm/Verizon presentation a few months ago; they combined forces and gave us "NOTHING". This actually has a full blown email, browser, OS package that MS could have done if they had the actual ability to pull it off - but they don't. I'm not a Mac user, but when Apple does something right we should give them credit. I'm going to buy Vista because it's a great OS. But Mac makes a great OS also and I'm going to finally get one and enjoy both. This iPhone is too cool! Can't wait to get one. I just looked at all the new Nokia phones (N95 for $799.00) and it didn't wow me at all like this iPhone.

[Richard Prince @ Jan 12th 2007 11:02AM]

The entire cell phone industry needs to have it back broken. The standards need to be busted because they have completely Balkanized the marketplace and destroyed innovation. The "contract system" is anti-competitive and takes choices out of the hands of the consumer. I don't care if it is Microsoft or Apple or Google that busts up the cell phone inudstry -- it is long overdue. I do hate my cell phone and I have hated the last eight of the one I've owned because the totally SUX.

[Chris @ Jan 9th 2007 7:17PM]

What everyone is missing here is what this means for the iPod line down the road: a touch-sensitive screen, wide format, Coverflow browsing, embedded OS X.... The 6G iPod is going to be very cool.

[Reality Check @ Jan 9th 2007 7:18PM]

Bill, I work in cell phones, and have smartphones from three of the major carriers (Cingular, Sprint, and Verizon). And I can tell you that Cingular is the only carrier for which I do not receive service in my residence. Plus, Cingular's data connectivity is terrible: UMTS barely works, and GPRS is slow as all heck. Sprint and Verizon's EVDO networks are fast and reliable and cheaper than Cingular's data plans.

This is why I won't buy an iPhone on Cingular. Bring it out on Sprint for $100 less, then we're talking. A huge chunk of people will share my viewpoint as well.

[steven @ Jan 9th 2007 7:23PM]

lots of features. nice interface. expensive. has technical specs greater than many other products. Will it sell well? *cough*PS3*cough*

[Jean-Michel Decombe @ Jan 9th 2007 7:24PM]

There will be a lot of further iterations (cheaper, smaller, unlocked) after this first iPhone. The point here is that Apple is now in the mobile phone market and they did an incredible job with this first iteration. The point here is that Steve Jobs has finally mastered the art of partnership. Look at the people involved, for God's sake: Intel, Google, Yahoo!, and AT&T (yes, Cingular is AT&T now, let's not forget that). Steve Jobs is the only guy in this industry who can create the kind of excitement that will raise the bar for all these partners and get them to improve their own products and services. This is majorly powerful no matter what you can think of this first version of the iPhone.

[theninthcloud @ Jan 9th 2007 7:24PM]

The technology aspects (2G, wifi, BT 2.0, etc) have already been tackled by various others so I think the UI is the big unknown here.

If it works as well as Jobs says it does, it could be a very critically-acclaimed device. If the UI is buggy or slow, then I think it could spell an early doom for this device.

I plan on getting one anyway.

[Alain @ Jan 9th 2007 7:26PM]

So i just read that it wont be available until June. Considering apple's history... this phone will be replaced with a newer version by then.

[zippo @ Jan 9th 2007 7:31PM]

It looks amazing at first blush and then reality sets in.

1) Durability? Thoughts of how Nanos fare when placed in pockets comes to mind. Crackity crack crack. I'd be scared to toss this in a pocket or purse. A cell phone needs to be a workhorse, is the iPhone up to the task?

2) Poor shape for the hand, slippery metal and plastic case design = dropping very expensive gadget. No thought given to grips, rubberized areas, curves or anything that will improve a human grip on this phone. It's pure aesthetic beauty and no substance when it comes to ergonomics.

3) Huge screen + no cover + using hands for stylus = scratched grimy fingerprint covered screen. Just what I want to look at my photos through...

4) No actual keyboard... we are told this is a plus and I see the reasoning but... when you want to really type, having a tactile set of buttons you can press is important. I don't even have to look at my sidekick keyboard to type. Not sure if this one will be as efficient. Plus... touch screens can be finicky. I'll reserve judgment but... I'm leaning towards calling hype on this.

5) Battery Life. Do we really want our ipod and phone mixed? The demographic that can afford this phone probably works for a living, and uses their phones a lot. Do they really want to get off the plane after listening to 5 hours of music just to find they can't call a business associate? Not really. Phone battery life is very important. Especially in a device aimed at the rich.

6) To few buttons. No question the minimalism is beautiful, but is it usable? Quick easy volume while on a call? Nope. There is one button on this phone and that's it. Nifty but maybe a little overzealous.

7) Price. This is a major factor to adoption. Yes, the are giving you a good value for what you get with the iPhone in my opinion. But the PS3 also gives you a good value for what you get... and it's sitting on shelves right now. Just giving people a ton of fancy tech at a "good price" doesn't mean they have the money to buy it.

Overall it's great that Apple has joined the foray. I see a lot of awesome innovation with their product and really exciting new ideas. I wouldn't be so quick to buy into Steve Jobs' "The smartphone is dead" mindset just yet tough. He'd like you to think so, but... in the end he is an idealist and it's showing with how the iPhone was made. Kudos for the attempt, but I'll wait to see if the hype holds up during day to day use.

[b @ Jan 9th 2007 7:41PM]

Isn't that saying that if a feature is good enough (whatever that means) it's OK to violate standards though? Isn't this exactly what people harp on MS et al about?

[Zadillo @ Jan 9th 2007 7:37PM]

Btw, if you want to see the UI in action, there are some nice movies illustrating a lot of the functions at www.apple.com/iphone. Helped me a lot more to understand it, and got me more excited about it.

I think also re: the complaints about Cingular; it is pretty clear that Apple had to find a cellular company willing to let them offer the whole bag of functionality. Verizon, for example, seems like they would probably not be willing to let the iPhone do some of the things it does, which would be a problem. It seems like Apple partnered with Cingular partly because Cingular isn't going to ask them to cripple the functionality (i.e. you have to download songs through the Verizon music store, you can't put your own ringtones on it, etc.).

Also, I have to think they will eventually make it possible to use the wifi or bluetooth for sync (and let you purchase music directly from the iPhone). It makes sense for the Zune to eventually add this capability, and it does for the iPhone as well.

[L. M. Lloyd @ Jan 9th 2007 8:36PM]

Yeah, but don't you understand that Microsoft is the Great Satan, and mullah Jobs is the one true profit of the computer gods?

If Jobs started eating live kittens for breakfast, it would be because the kittens deserved it. If Bill Gates gave all his money to charity, it would be some cynical plot to forward his evil and stupid goals.

I mean come on, Bill Gates doesn't even own a turtleneck, how can he do anything right?

[MosquitoControl @ Jan 9th 2007 7:45PM]

Where is the market for this phone?

It's expensive, flashy smartphone. But it doesn't havea qwerty keyboard, and likely doesn't have as many apps as other smartphone OSs. So your typical businessman gleefully spending $400 for a smartphone and $100/month for a data plan will hate it. He wants the tactile feel of punching buttons, and he wants to run dozens of programs. He doesn't care about the flashy ipod features.


So how about your standard ipod fan? Too expensive, too many features. They wanted a standard phone grafted onto an ipod.


Honestly, though, does anyone here know anyone that plays mp3s on their phone? I don't. Everyone I know has an mp3 phone and ignores the mp3 features. It's a pain in the ass and eats battery life. It's just easier to have an ipod that you take around when you think you want music and a phone you take around at all time. Better as two devices, not one.




It's a gorgeous piece of engineering. But I think it tried to go into one market where it won't be welcomed while ignoring the market in which it would be. They should have designed this for HS and college kids, not professionals.

At best this is a Sidekick killer... at an extra $150 and requiring you to look in order to type.

Bottom line - get yourself a good phone with great battery life from your provider for $50 and an 80 GB iPod for $350. You still save $100.

[Xinyu @ Jan 9th 2007 7:46PM]

I know some of you don't use Cingular, but 59 million others do. So get over it.

[nicleT @ Jan 9th 2007 7:47PM]

It's a good preview of what the "iTablet" would look. I'm still waiting
for its release...

[Javaflash @ Jan 9th 2007 7:53PM]

mesonto, Creative CEO expressed a similar analogy when iPod came out. Look where they're today. It's not about the spec and feature. It's about the design of spec and features, and I don't mean how they look only. It's about how they work. Btw, I believe iPhone uses a solid state touch screen from Synaptics instead of those touch screens on most PDA.

As for Cingular, it's not a big deal. Many will end up using Cingular to make basic phone calls + emails + messages (which Cingular does well). Wifi eventually will dominate the data side of function. Data via service providers like Verizon, Cingular, Sprint will all appear overpriced + inefficient when blanket municipal wifi starts to take hold around US (only few months away, cities have the money, incentives, and pressures to roll those out quickly now).

[flamer's grill @ Jan 9th 2007 8:49PM]

Blanket municipal wifi is a pipedream. Especially FREE municipal wifi. Not all of us live in the city, or even the suburbs. And yet here I am in a rural area and I have 3G courtesy of Sprint!

Do you think that somehow, in the next year, WiFi will magically cover the entire US? No, that will not happen. But 3G might, and perhaps sooner than you think. How soon until Sprint completes switching its entire network to EVDO? Then Verizon? Alltel? When will Cingular convert their entire network to 3G?

This phone is super sexy, but it needs 3G. EDGE just ain't gonna cut it for those of us who don't live in San Francisco and can't latch on to a free municipal wifi network.

[Xinyu @ Jan 9th 2007 7:54PM]

The reason that most people don't use their current phone to listen to music is because the experience sucks. The stupid interface and clunky programs that require you to read the manual just so that you can get some songs onto your phone pretty much kill it. But iPhone is also an iPod, a better looking, smarter iPod that syncs with your computer the same way iPod does. So of course carrying only iPhone is better than carrying two devices, and most people are smart enough to realize this obvious point. For those of you who don't, that's why I write this comment.

[J?n Veisdal @ Jan 9th 2007 8:03PM]

Well, this phone announcement is just the start. I'm guessing the thing that took 2 and a half year to perfect was in fact the multi-pointer touchscreen, and after doing something for 2 and a half years, you don't stop at one product! We'll see touchscreen laptops, screens and ipods within the next years, I guarantee it.