The history of the iPhone line of phones began with Steve Jobs' direction that Apple Inc.engineers investigate touch-screens. At the time he had been considering having Apple work ontablet PCs, which later came to fruition with the iPad.[1][2][3][4] Many have noted the device's similarities to Apple's previous touch-screen portable device, the Newton MessagePad.[5][6][7][8]Like the Newton, the iPhone is nearly all screen. Its form factor is credited to Apple's head of design, Jonathan Ive.[3][9]
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[edit]Origins
In April 2003 at the "D: All Things Digital" executive conference, Jobs expressed his belief that tablet PCs and traditional PDAs were not good choices as high-demand markets for Apple to enter, despite many requests made to him that Apple create another PDA. He did believe thatcell phones were going to become important devices for portable information access, and that what cell phones needed to have was excellentsynchronization software. At the time, instead of focusing on a follow-up to their Newton PDA, Jobs had Apple put its energies into the iPod, and the iTunes software (which can be used to synchronize content with iPod devices), released January 2001.[10][11][12][13] On September 7, 2005, Apple and Motorola released the ROKR E1, the first mobile phone to use iTunes. Jobs was unhappy with the ROKR, feeling that having to compromise with a non-Apple designer (Motorola) prevented Apple from designing the phone they wanted to make.[14] In September 2006, Apple discontinued support for the ROKR and released a version of iTunes that included references to an as-yet unknown mobile phone that could display pictures and video.[15] On January 9, 2007, Jobs announced the iPhone at the Macworld convention, receiving substantial media attention,[16] and on June 11, 2007 announced at the Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference that the iPhone would support third-party applications using the Safari engine on the device. Third-parties would create the Web 2.0 applications and users would access them via the internet.[17] Such applications appeared even before the release of the iPhone; the first being "OneTrip", a program meant to keep track of the user's shopping list.[18] On June 29, 2007, Apple released version 7.3 of iTunes to coincide with the release of the iPhone.[19]This release contains support for iPhone service activation and syncing.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the iPhone is manufactured on contract in the Shenzhen factory of the Taiwanese company Hon Hai(also known as Foxconn).[20]
[edit]Advertising
See also: iPod advertising
The first advertisement for iPhone, titled "Hello," aired during the 79th Academy Awards on February 25, 2007 on ABC. The ad features clips from several notable films and television shows over the last 70 years, showing iconic characters answering telephones and saying "hello" or a similar greeting. The iPhone is shown at the end with the caption "Hello. Coming in June."
The commercial was created by TBWA\Chiat\Day, Apple's ad agency since CEO Steve Jobs' return to the company in 1998. TBWA's Media Arts Lab will continue to handle all upcoming advertising for iPhone, much as it has for iPod.[21]
On June 3, 2007, Apple released four advertisements announcing a June 29, 2007 release date.[22] A fifth ad featuring YouTube was released on June 21, 2007. All five advertisements feature a voice over describing various iPhone features, demonstrated on-screen. The song "Perfect Timing (This Morning)" by Orba Squara plays in the background.[citation needed]
The first publicly released iPhone 3G ad was first shown at WWDC 2008.[23] Since then, iPhone 3G ads have been similar to those of the original iPhone; however, the background is white and the music used is "You, Me, and the Bourgeoisie" by The Submarines and can be viewed on Apple's website.[citation needed]
One iPhone television advertisement was banned in the UK after the Advertising Standards Authority decided that the ad made false claims about the device's ability to access websites, and did not mention limitations in doing so.[24]
In April 2009, iPhone commercials started to showcase applications as part of its "There's an app for that" campaign.
[edit]Domain name
On July 1, 2007, it was reported that Apple paid at least US$1 million to Michael Kovatch for the transfer of the iPhone.com domain name. Kovatch registered the domain in 1995.[25] That URL now redirects to Apple's iPhone page.
[edit]U.S. release
On June 28, 2007, during an address to Apple employees, Steve Jobs announced that all full-time Apple employees and those part-time employees that have been with the company at least one year would receive a free iPhone. Employees received their phones in July after the initial demand subsided.[26]
Initially priced at US$ 599 and US$ 499 for the 8 GB and 4 GB models, the iPhone went on sale on June 29, 2007. Apple closed its stores at 2:00 PM local time to prepare for the 6:00 PM iPhone launch, while hundreds of customers lined up at stores nationwide.[27]
Currently, in the U.S. and some other countries it can only be acquired with a credit card precluding a completely anonymous purchase.[28][29][30] There is no way to opt out of the data plan. The iPhone at first could not be added to an AT&T Business account, and any existing business account discounts cannot be applied to an iPhone AT&T account, which AT&T changed in late January 2008.[31]
The Associated Press also reported in 2007 that some users were unable to activate their phones because, according to AT&T, "high volume of activation requests were taxing the company's computer servers."[32][33]
Early estimates by technology analysts estimated sales of between 250,000 to 700,000 units in the first weekend alone, with strong sales continuing after the initial weekend.[34][35] As part of their quarterly earnings announcement, AT&T reported that 146,000 iPhones were activated in the first weekend. Though this figure does not include units that were purchased for resale on eBay or otherwise not activated until after the opening weekend, it is still less than most initial estimates.[36] It is also estimated that 95% of the units sold are the 8 GB model.[37]
On January 11, 2011, Verizon announced during a media event that it had reached an agreement with Apple and would begin selling a CDMAiPhone 4. The Verizon iPhone went on sale on February 10, 2011.[38][39][40] By contrast, T-Mobile USA's inability to provide the iPhone to customers raised its subscription churn rate, put the unit in an "unsustainable position", and contributed to parent Deutsche Telekom's decision to sell it to AT&T in March 2011.[41]
During Apple's official unveiling of the iPhone 4S on October 4, 2011 it was announced that Sprint would begin carrying the reconfigured CDMA iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S in the US on October 14.[42][43]
Price drop outcry
On September 5, 2007, the 4 GB model was discontinued, and the 8 GB model price was cut by a third.[51] Those who had purchased an iPhone in the 14-day period before the September 5, 2007 announcement were eligible for a US$200 "price protection" rebate from Apple or AT&T. However, it was widely reported that some who bought between the June 29, 2007 launch and the August 22, 2007 price protection kick-in date complained that this was a larger-than-normal price drop for such a relatively short period and accused Apple of unfair pricing.[52][53]
In response to customer complaints, on September 6, 2007, Apple CEO Steve Jobs wrote in an open letter to iPhone customers that everyone who purchased an iPhone at the higher price "and who is not receiving a rebate or other consideration", would receive a US$100 credit to be redeemed towards the purchase of any product sold in Apple's retail or online stores.[54]
[edit]iPhone 3G pricing model changes
With the July 11, 2008 release of the iPhone 3G, Apple and AT&T changed the U.S. pricing model from the previous generation. Following thede facto model for mobile phone service in the United States, AT&T will subsidize a sizable portion of the upfront cost for the iPhone 3G followed by charging moderately higher monthly fees over a minimum two year contract.[55]
[edit]European release
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On November 9, 2007, iPhone was officially launched in Europe in the United Kingdom and Germany. In the UK, sales are going through the UK O2 unit of Telefónica, while in Germany, it is offered through Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile division. Similar to the previous launch in U.S. customers lined up as much as a day in advance to get hold of the much anticipated phone.
However, the initial operating model locking iPhone owners to one selected carrier have been controversial in Europe. In Germany, a competing operator, Vodafone, brought the case for court claiming that the arrangement was against German law. On November 20, 2007, an interim court order resulted in the locked iPhone sales in Germany to be temporarily stopped.
It is currently unclear how this situation will continue to develop in Europe. The iPhone launch in France a few weeks later through the operator Orange, facing the same legal issues. Other countries that will pose the same problems for the locked iPhone business model include Belgium, Italy, Finland, and Brazil.
On December 1, 2007, Tušmobil, Slovenian mobile operator, started selling "unlocked" iPhones without an official contract with Apple. The offer caused a lot of confusion with Apple Europe, local media, and local Apple representatives.[56]
On May 6, 2008, Telecom Italia announced that it has signed a deal with Apple to sell the iPhone in Italy[57] within the end of 2008. It will probably be the second generation iPhone with 3G-UMTS capability.
On May 27, 2008, TeliaSonera released a press release stating that it will start selling the iPhone in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland,Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia during 2008.[58]
On June 4, 2008, Movistar announced that it has signed a deal with Apple to sell the iPhone in Spain[59] on July 11, 2008.
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