I'd note that the above writeups covered some legitimate complaints about the iPhone, although the 2.0 and 3.0 software upgrades eliminated many if not most of their gripes, and the iPhone 3G and 3G S added even more features.

The iPhone is a smartphone released by Apple Inc in 2007 following the runaway success of the iPod line. Steve Jobs remarked in the 2007 Macworld keynote that their surveys showed the vast majority (>80%) of iPod owners also owned a cell phone, and decided to see if they could compete in that market.

Running a modified stripped-down version of OS X, the iPhone is known for several features not before seen in a device, such as a Multitouch interface, allowing the screen to detect multiple points of tapping at once. The advantage of this is already apparent in some of its original apps, such as pinching to zoom in and out of photos and Google Maps. It also came with "30 new patented features" such as an accelerometer to detect whether the iPhone was held in landscape mode in order to rotate the screen, ambient light sensors to adjust the brightness, and proximity sensors to turn the screen off when the iPhone was placed to the ear.

The killer app of the iPhone was that "it makes phone calls" according to Steve Jobs. It was billed as the "best iPod ever," because it was an amalgam of an iPod, mobile phone, and wireless internet device. The iPod interface aspect was completely new; consisting of a touchscreen and CoverFlow, which allowed you to scroll through album covers in an iTunes-like style. The mobile phone aspect practically hid the keypad in favor of address book and favorites lists. The iPhone was a first in that it included Visual voicemail, which let you scroll through the voicemail messages by name and play them as audio files in any order you wished. As a mobile internet device, it contained a full Safari browser, which was unheard of among cell phones of the time. It also had google maps, an email client, a youtube client, and originally shipped with widgets like Weather and Stocks. It also contained a WiFi antenna which could be used in place of the original iPhone's EDGE data plan.

Critics originally derided it for its non-replaceable battery and lack of a keyboard, although Steve Jobs portrayed it as a strength of the device, as the on-screen keys could be remapped for any application or language, and could vanish when not needed, providing more screen space. I did find out after a few hours that it has really good autocorrect built in that figures out words based on the keys next to the ones pressed and fixes it while typing. I type about as fast on my iPhone as using my old Palm Treo now. Touted as a "one button phone" (for the home screen button) it was hailed by Steve Jobs as the culmination of years of work and design. Steve Ballmer pooh-poohed the idea of the iPhone, saying it was hundreds of dollars (the 8GB model originally sold for $599US without carrier fees). Many said it would not be able to compete with Palm or Blackberry devices. Still, it became the most talked about technology device of 2007, with CmdrTaco of slashdot saying "they're going to print money with this thing" to pundits mockingly calling it "the Jesus phone." Apple sold millions in the first few weeks alone, and fans queued up in lines with some waiting a week before release.

The iPhone shook up the mobile phone market as well. Apple originally pitched the idea to Verizon, which turned them down without even looking at a prototype. Instead, Apple went to Cingular, which at the time was the largest mobile carrier in America, and they accepted a deal immediately. Apple stipulated that they would be in charge of development and could put whatever they want in the device, which is something that others like Motorola are unable to do. Activation of the phones was initially through iTunes, meaning you bought the phone, brought it home, and activated it online instead of in the store.

The iPhone did have some early flaws. Originally it was expensive and non-subsidized, meaning the carriers did not have any discounts on the device (which shook up the mobile market). It was a GSM phone which was locked to Cingulair (now part of AT&T), and Apple legally pursued any businesses that tried to make money off unlocks. It ran on the 2G EDGE network, which was widely panned as being slow compared to the cutting-edge (but less ubiquitous) 3G systems in place. Apple did not release an SDK or allow third party apps to be installed on the device, which spawned a lively hacking community to create unofficial ones that could be installed by "jailbreaking" the iPhone. There were supporters and critics of the decision, with Apple suggesting developers develop web-apps. By New Years' 2008 Apple relented and announced that they would release an SDK later that year and lined up big-name developers to develop for it, as well as the iPod Touch which was announced 9 months after the iPhone and was basically an iPhone without the phone.

In 2008 Apple demonstrated their SDK and programming features, which showed OS X roots and features like using the accelerometer for games and the always-on internet connection to develop online-interfacing software. What was more surprising was that Apple developed an App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch, which functioned in an iTunes-like fashion and let you buy apps even on the mobile device itself. The device would download the app over the air or through Wifi or through iTunes on a PC and install it as a package. All programs would be approved by Apple, and only delivered through the App Store. The reasons were myriad; fear of viruses propagating through iPhones, high quality-control, prevention of pornographic or illegal or bandwidth-hogging apps, and an Apple monopoly (Apple took 30% of the sale price and gave the rest to the developer). All of this was to be incorporated into the 2.0 software release for the iPhone, and allowed other features like a more robust email client, MobileMe syncing, Push notitfications and Exchange support, as well as 802.x wifi support and VPN improvements. Apple wanted to compete in the business and enterprise markets, adding features like remote wiping, IT tools to setup and administer devices, and security improvements like signed apps.

In 2008 Apple timed the 2.0 software release with the release of the next generation of iPhone, the iPhone 3G. In a thinner and sleeker design, it used the much faster 3G network and improved speakerphone as well as a much longer battery life (3G drains it much more, meaning they couldn't release 3G originally). Apple also made deals with other carriers to sell the iPhone in 60 other countries. The price also fell dramatically, to $299US for an 8GB model and $399 for a 16GB model, with carriers subsidizing the price to get it that low. It became a hit, selling millions of iPhones worldwide and tens of millions of apps through the App Store