Slideshow: A History of the Smartphone in 20 Handsets
The devices that made a market
With the news that world smartphone usage total has passed the billion mark in 20 years, we present 20 of the most important smartphones from the past 20 years.
From the very first devices - IBM's Simon and Nokia's Communicator - to the defining products from the major platforms - RIM's BlackBerry 5810, HP's iPaq h6315 and Palm's Pre - and the handsets that left industry-spanning marks - the first touchscreen smartphone, the first iPhone, the first Android device - they're all here.
How the heck could you have missed the... ?!?!?
Brings back memories, does it? Post your recollections in the Comments section. Ditto the devices you think we should have included.
COMMENTS
Nokia N-Gage?
Come on why on earth was that heap of junk included. I made the sad mistake of purchasing one without realizing that the speaker and microphone were on the side of the device, making it look like an elephants ear every time you used it as a phone!
Fond memories of the Nokia Communicator though :-)
I started with the Orange SPV
This was the first Windows Mobile phone, and the first handset from HTC. Bloody awful thing, but quite a few people bought them, would have been worthy of inclusion I think. The Palm / Handspring Treo 600 to this day is one of the best phones I ever had, fantastic thing, so sad that Palm dropped the ball.
Re: Nokia N-Gage?
i guess the N-Gage does deserve to be here - it's a prime example of everything that was wrong with smart phone and why people weren't buying them, prior to the current golden age of Android and iOS devices
Orange SPV
I had a sudden Captain Scarlet flashback there...
Re: Nokia N-Gage?
Hey, they included an iPAQ ... that too was an entire line of elephant dung. From start to finish. Ever see a "smart" phone corrupt its entire OS (and all subsequent backups) by simply loading a Word doc greater than half-a-meg in size? Way to go, HP! My brother bought the entire deal - bluetooth voice dialing, camera, Microsoft apps, everything - long before the iPhone came on the market ... and he said, he would never buy HP again. And he hasn't.
