IBM Simon (1994): the original smartphone, explained in its own ad

Was IBM’s Simon from 1994 the original smartphone?

The IBM Simon Personal Communicator (simply known as IBM Simon) is a cellular phone and personal digital assistant (PDA) designed by International Business Machines (IBM), released in 1994. Built on an x86 processor, the IBM Simon features a 4.5 inch resistive touchscreen display and runs an MS-DOS-compatible operating system with the ability to install additional software using its PCMCIA slot. The Simon also has a modem for faxing and email and was also the first PDA to make phone calls through a cellular network; due to these features and capabilities, it has retrospectively been referred to as the first true smartphone.

Sales were hampered by its high price and a short battery life lasting only an hour.

See the video below. Via Hacker News and Wikipedia.

— Source: Adafruit Industries – Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers! — Read More