IBM Simon

File:IBM's SweetSpot smartphone prototype.jpg With advances in MOSFET (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor, or MOS transistor) technology enabling smaller integrated circuit chips be powered{{cite book |last1=Sahay |first1=Shubham |last2=Kumar |first2=Mamidala Jagadesh |title=Junctionless Field-Effect Transistors: Design, Modeling, and Simulation |date=2019 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=9781119523536 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0feEDwAAQBAJ}} and the proliferation of wireless mobile networks,{{cite book |last1=Baliga |first1=B. Jayant |author1-link=B. Jayant Baliga |title=Silicon RF Power MOSFETS |date=2005 |publisher=World Scientific |isbn=9789812561213 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=StJpDQAAQBAJ}}{{cite journal |last1=O'Neill |first1=A. |title=Asad Abidi Recognized for Work in RF-CMOS |journal=IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society Newsletter |date=2008 |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=57–58 |doi=10.1109/N-SSC.2008.4785694 |issn=1098-4232}} IBM engineer Frank Canova realised that chip-and-wireless technology was becoming small enough to use in handheld devices.{{cite news |last1=Sager |first1=Ira |title=Before IPhone and Android Came Simon, the First Smartphone |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-06-29/before-iphone-and-android-came-simon-the-first-smartphone |access-date=18 August 2019 |work=Bloomberg.com |agency=Bloomberg News |date=29 June 2012}} IBM debuted a prototype device, code named "Sweetspot",{{cite web |title=Simon History |url=https://simoneer.github.io/history/ |publisher=Simoneer |access-date=4 June 2020}} on November 16, 1992,{{cite news |last1=Schneidawind |first1=John |title=IBM's new PC visions: Personal Communications |url=https://github.com/simoneer/history/blob/master/News_clippings/IBM's%20new%20PC%20vision%20Personal%20Communications%20(USA%20Today).pdf |access-date=8 December 2021 |work=Reporter's Notebook |issue=Business |publisher=USA Today |date=November 17, 1992 |pages=6B}}{{Cite news|last=Lewis|first=Peter H.|date=1992-11-15|title=Sound Bytes; Here Comes Comdex/Fall Again, With Thumbs Up (Published 1992)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/15/business/sound-bytes-here-comes-comdex-fall-again-with-thumbs-up.html|access-date=2021-02-26|issn=0362-4331}} at the COMDEX{{Cite web|title=COMDEX History|url=http://motobayashi.net/interop/comdex.html|access-date=2021-02-26|website=motobayashi.net}} computer and technology trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. The Sweetspot prototype combined a mobile phone and PDA into one device, allowing a user to make and receive telephone calls, facsimiles, emails and cellular pages. Not only did the prototype have many PDA features including a calendar, address book and notepad, but also demonstrated other digital services such as maps, stocks and news before they were widely available. COMDEX show attendees and the press showed interest in the device. The day after Sweetspot's debut, USA Today featured a photo on the front page of the Money section showing Frank Canova, IBM's lead architect and inventor of the smartphone,{{cite book |last1= Woyke |first1= Elizabeth |title= The Smartphone. Anatomy of an industry |date= 2014 |publisher= The New Press |location= New York |isbn= 978-1-59558-963-7 |pages=3–9}}{{cite web |title= US Patent 5537608 |url= https://www.google.co.ug/patents/US5537608 |website= Google |publisher= USPTO |access-date= 25 September 2015}} holding the Sweetspot prototype.{{cite news |last= Schneidawind |first=John |title= Poindexter Putting Finger on PC Bugs; Big Blue Unveiling |date= November 23, 1992 |newspaper= USA Today |issn=0734-7456 |page=2B}}{{cite web |url=http://dux.typepad.com/dux/2011/07/are-you-an-innovation-giant-.html |title=Are You an Innovation Giant? |last=Bradner |first=Erin |date=July 21, 2011 |work=Designing the User Experience at Autodesk |publisher=Autodesk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202075156/http://dux.typepad.com/dux/2011/07/are-you-an-innovation-giant-.html |archive-date=February 2, 2012 |access-date=November 23, 2012 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}

After a very successful prototype demonstration at COMDEX, IBM began work on the commercial product, code named "Angler". The IBM device was manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric, which integrated features from its own wireless personal digital assistant (PDA) and cellular radio technologies while building the IBM device. IBM initially approached Motorola to manufacture the product, but Motorola rejected the offer, concerned that IBM could become a potential rival mobile manufacturer. IBM then approached Mitsubishi to build the device.

BellSouth executives gave the finished product its final name, "Simon Personal Communicator", before its public debut at the Wireless World Conference in November 1993. BellSouth Cellular had planned to begin selling Simon in May 1994, but due to problems with the device's software, the Simon did not become available to consumers{{cite journal |date=April 4, 1994 |author= |title=IBM's Plans to Ship Simon Put On Hold for Time Being |journal=Mobile Phone News |issn=0737-5077 |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3457/is_n14_v12/ai_14973288/ |access-date=June 30, 2012|archive-date=April 27, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080427044047/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3457/is_n14_v12/ai_14973288/|quote=Technical issues, resulting from the integration of Simon's cellular faxing capability, were discovered early in the manufacturing and development cycle as IBM's quality assurance testing was being conducted. IBM will hold up shipments of the device until the bugs are worked out.}} until August 16, 1994. BellSouth Cellular initially offered the Simon throughout its 15-state service area for US$899 with a two-year service contract or US$1099 without a contract (approximately $1,945 or $2,378 respectively in 2025 adjusted for inflation). Later in the product's life, BellSouth Cellular reduced the price to US$599 with a two-year contract.{{fact|date=January 2024}}

BellSouth Cellular sold approximately 50,000 units during the product's six months on the market.

File:IBM Simon in leather case.jpg

In addition to its ability to make and receive cellular phone calls, Simon was also able to send and receive and also give faxes, e-mails and cellular pages. Simon featured many applications, including an address book, calendar, appointment scheduler, calculator, world time clock, electronic notepad, handwritten annotations, and standard and predictive stylus input screen keyboards.{{cite book |title=Simon Says "Here's How!" – Users Manual |url=http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/bibuxton/buxtoncollection/a/pdf/Simon%20User%20Manuals.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202225818/http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/bibuxton/buxtoncollection/a/pdf/Simon%20User%20Manuals.pdf |archive-date=December 2, 2013 |access-date=July 29, 2013 |year=1994 |publisher=IBM |id=Part Number 83G9872 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}

It features a liquid-crystal display (LCD) and has PC Card support.{{cite web |title=Simon History |url=https://simoneer.github.io/history/ |publisher=Simoneers |access-date=13 April 2022}} Its internal hardware includes the Vadem VG230 (CMOS) system-on-a-chip (SoC) from NEC, MOS random-access memory (RAM) chips from Sony and Hitachi, flash memory (floating-gate MOS) chips from Intel and Hitachi, and Cirrus Logic modem chips.

Each Simon was shipped with a charging base station, a nickel-cadmium battery, and a protective leather cover. Optional accessories included a PCMCIA pager card designed by Motorola, an RS-232 adapter cable for use with PC-Link to access files from a personal computer,{{citation needed|date=November 2020}} and an RJ11 adapter cable to allow voice and data calls to be made over POTS landlines. The RJ11 adapter helped users reduce expensive cellular phone bills or make calls where cellular coverage didn't exist in 1994.

The Simon used the file system from Datalight ROM-DOS along with file compression from Stacker. IBM created a unique touch-screen user interface for Simon; no DOS prompt existed. This user interface software layer for Simon was known as the Navigator.{{cite patent |country=US |number=5537608 |status=patent |title=Personal communicator apparatus |gdate=July 19, 1996 |fdate=June 2, 1995 |invent1=Brent A. Beatty |invent2=Francis J. Canova Jr. |invent3=Charles S. Lanier |invent4=Wayne P. Whitley, Debra A. G. Johnson |assign1=International Business Machines Corporation}}

The Simon could be upgraded to run third party applications either by inserting a PCMCIA card or by downloading an application to the phone's internal memory.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

PDA Dimensions developed "DispatchIt", the only aftermarket, third-party application developed for Simon. It was an early predecessor to "Remote Desktop" software.{{cite press release|author=BellSouth Cellular Corporation|date=March 9, 1995|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/BELLSOUTH+CELLULAR+CORP.+ANNOUNCES+DISPATCHIT(tm)+SOFTWARE+FOR...-a016639993|title=Bellsouth Cellular Corp. Announces Dispatchit™ Software For Simon™ Commercially Available|publisher=PR Newswire|access-date=November 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029184230/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/BELLSOUTH+CELLULAR+CORP.+ANNOUNCES+DISPATCHIT(tm)+SOFTWARE+FOR...-a016639993|archive-date=October 29, 2013}} The DispatchIt application costs were US$2,999 for the host PC software and US$299 for each Simon software client.{{cite journal |date= May 1995 |title=BellSouth Cellular Corp. Announces DispatchIt Software for Simon |journal=Wireless Telecommunications Newsletter |volume=5 |issue=5 |pages=9–10 |issn=1083-7779 |editor1-first=Paul |editor1-last=Polishuk |access-date=June 30, 2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YHBEb4TVEsUC&pg=PA9 |quote=BellSouth Cellular Corp. (BSCC) and PDA Dimensions...announced the commercial availability of DispatchIt, a work order field service application using Simon, BSCC's personal communicator.}}

• Ericsson R380
• IBM PCradio
• {{portal-inline|Telephones}}

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• {{cite web |url=http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/bibuxton/buxtoncollection/detail.aspx?id=40 |title=Simon |year=2012 |work=Buxton Collection |publisher=Microsoft Corporation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130317003257/http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/bibuxton/buxtoncollection/detail.aspx?id=40 |archive-date=March 17, 2013 |access-date=November 23, 2012 |quote=Simon is the first smartphone. It paved the way for the ones of today by introducing touch screens to phones. |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.chi2011.org/program/buxtoncollection.pdf |title=Buxton Collection Sampler |year=2011 |work=CHI 2011 |publisher=ACM SIGCHI |page=6 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318082415/http://chi2011.org/program/buxtoncollection.pdf |archive-date=March 18, 2013 |access-date=November 23, 2012 |quote=IBM / Bell South Simon Smartphone: First shown in 1993, this was the world’s first so-called 'smart phone'. |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}
• {{cite video |people= |date= June 28, 2012 |title=The $899 Prehistoric Predecessor to the iPhone |url=http://www.businessweek.com/videos/2012-06-28/the-899-prehistoric-predecessor-to-the-iphone#r=lr-fst |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707005159/http://www.businessweek.com/videos/2012-06-28/the-899-prehistoric-predecessor-to-the-iphone#r=lr-fst |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 7, 2012 |format=FLV |medium=Web video |publisher=Bloomberg |access-date=December 16, 2012 |quote=Long before the smartphone revolution, IBM and BellSouth teamed up to build and sell the Simon Personal Communicator, a 1-pound, $899 mobile phone that ran apps and featured the first touch screen. It lasted just six months after being put on the market in the summer of 1994.}}

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Simon

Category:Discontinued smartphones

Category:Personal digital assistants

Category:Computer-related introductions in 1994

Category:Products introduced in 1994

Category:NEC V20

Category:Products and services discontinued in 1995

Category:1994 in the United States