Money Today Reporter Park Hyo-joo | 2024.01.09 05:30
Editor’s note | Let’s revisit yesterday’s today that made us laugh and cry through the news.
The late Steve Jobs introduces the first iPhone on January 9, 2007. /Photo=Business Insider “We call this product, which combines iPod, phone, and Internet communication, the ‘iPhone.'” January 9, 2007. 17 years ago, the late Steve Jobs, who was the CEO of Apple at the time, said this while introducing the first iPhone at ‘Macworld 2007’ held in San Francisco. The iPhone is considered one of the most innovative products in the history of mobile phones. This is because the popularization of smartphones has brought about major changes not only in people’s lives but also in the global IT (information technology) market.
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“Apple reinvented the cell phone”
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Apple created the iPhone by adding phone and Internet communication functions to the iPod, an existing MP3 player. The product sought to differentiate itself with a large screen by eliminating the physical QWERTY keyboard that was almost always present in existing smartphones.
In addition, it is equipped with a technology called capacitive multi-touch, which also implements functions such as scrolling the screen using a finger and zooming in and out using two fingers. When Jobs demonstrated these features, applause and cheers erupted from the audience. This is because it was a very fresh and unfamiliar feature at the time.
At the time, Jobs praised the iPhone, saying, “Apple reinvents the phone.”
Although 17 years have passed since then, most of the cell phones we use are not much different from the first iPhone. At the time, Jobs’ boast remained something that no one could refute.
Since the release of the iPhone, great changes have occurred in the daily lives of people around the world. I wake up in the morning, check the news and weather, and chat with friends. I also watch my favorite movies, work, or go shopping.
All of this happens in the palm of your hand. Smartphones have become a part of life. Of course, there were smartphones before the iPhone. However, it is no exaggeration to say that the iPhone completely changed the concept of a smartphone.
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Domestic market reaction is lukewarm… Very popular when released
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iPhone 3Gs. /Photo = Apple The announcement of the Apple iPhone was met with a lot of disapproval in Korea. This is because the domestic mobile phone market was already dominated by Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, and smartphone products were not popular. At the time, netizens reacted to the news about the iPhone with comments such as “It’s too big,” “It doesn’t look like it will fit in pants,” “There are already a lot of products in Korea that can play MP3s and make calls and text messages,” and “How is it different from a PDA?”
However, as time passed, perceptions of smartphones changed and the number of consumers wanting iPhones increased. In November 2009, KT launched the iPhone 3Gs in Korea, and its popularity was explosive.
KT’s expected sales volume at the time was 500,000 units, but this was achieved in just four months. The number of iPhones sold over the next year was 1.6 million, far exceeding expectations. It was the highest sales figure since Motorola’s ‘Razr’ in the domestic market, which was called the graveyard of foreign mobile phones.
Starting from this time, the iPhone became the only smartphone product in Korea that was on par with Samsung Electronics.
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iPhone is not the first smartphone
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It is true that the iPhone served as a catalyst for the popularization of smartphones, but it was not the first smartphone. Smartphones existed long before this.
The first smartphone was ‘Simon’, which was first introduced by IBM in 1992 and released to the US market in 1993 the following year. Simon didn’t have the physical keypad and buttons that all cell phones had at the time. Instead, it was operated using pressure-sensitive touch technology.
In addition to phone functions, it was possible to use email, fax, and call functions, and it was also equipped with applications such as an address book, calculator, calendar, and games. It has similar aspects to today’s smartphones. However, there was no name ‘smartphone’ at the time, and it was later called the first smartphone.
There is no doubt that it was an innovative product at the time, but it was not successful due to its high price and being too ahead of its time.
[저작권자 @머니투데이, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]
