The world’s first smartphone

The IBM Simon Personal Communicator, a handheld mobile device with a touchscreen is often hailed as the first true smartphone, making its debut in the United States. Distributed by BellSouth Cellular Corp., it sold 50,000 units between August 1994 and February 1995. Combining PDA features with mobile capabilities, the Simon offered functionalities such as faxing, emailing and cellular paging. Despite its innovative design, it faced challenges due to a short battery life and the rise of sleeker flip phones. The Simon’s legacy lies in pioneering the integration of communication and computing, setting the stage for the future of mobile technology. One of Casey Reas’s pre conditions for NFTs is supercomputers in our pockets with high res screens. Like many things that impact our lives so much today, it began in the mid-90s.