IBM Simon, First Smartphone in The World

Smartphones are smart devices that are present to be utilized in everyday human needs. Information, lifestyle needs, even shopping can be done by using it. Smartphones have been used for a long time. Noted, the first smartphone was introduced since the era of the 90s. Released in 1992 IBM and BellSouth showed Simon IBM Simon, which combines PDA and cellular telephone technology in one device. The first was exhibited at the COMDEX event in Las Vegas, United States on November 23, 1992. This smartphone is originally priced at a price that can be said to be expensive. At that time, the company was priced at 900 US dollars. However, then BellSouth reduced Simon's selling price to 600 US dollars because the price was considered too expensive. Simon became the first commercially available mobile phone with a touchscreen, although PDA devices have previously exhibited various portable touchscreen technologies. IBM and BellSouth accompany Simon with an easy navigation system with a stylus pencil, or users can also use fingers. At that time Simon was equipped with several applications such as phone contacts, calculator, calendar, fax, e-mail, and other applications. At that time, all of this was not called an application but often called it a feature. One of the powerful features in Simon is "PredictaKey" which can appear when we write messages or manually. In this feature, Simon provides convenience to users when writing will show what character users might need. This Simon battery only lasts 1 hour, countless wasteful for the durability of cellphone batteries at an expensive price. Because of these factors, Simon disappeared from circulation about two years after its launch. Now, the 20-year-old IBM Simon is on display at the London Science Museum exhibition. Although the term "smartphone" has not been known until 1995, because of its features and capabilities, Simon is often considered the first smartphone in the world.