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`1/23/2017
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`Before IPhone and Android Came Simon,the First Smartphone - Bloomberg
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`Before IPhone and Android Came Simon,the First Smartphone
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`Ira Sager
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`June 29, 2012, 8:50 AM EDT
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`Simon next to an iPhone. Lookslike the physical differences between any 5- and 20-year old
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`In the 1995 technothriller, The Net, Sandra Bullock plays a software programmerwho unwittingly uncoversa plot to gain accessto the world’s
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`most sensitive computers. The bad guy, played by Jeremy Northan,,triesto kill Bullockliterally and virtually—bystealing her identity. (For a
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`hacker, Bullock’s character is remarkably dim; whenshefinally catches on to what’s happening, she whines: “Our wholelives are on the
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`computer.”) Apple gets the customary product cameoas the movie imagines a world in which ordering pizza online or accessing a database
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`from a laptop computerin a car is commonplace.
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`https:/Avww.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-06-29/before-i phone-and-android-came-simon-the-first-smartphone
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`Before IPhone and Android Came Simon,the First Smartphone - Bloomberg
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`Ee,
`
`June 28 (Bloomberg) -- Long before the smartphonerevolution, IBM and BellSouth teamedupto build and sell the Simon Personal Communicator, a 1-pound, $899 mobile phone
`that ran apps and featuredthefirst touch screen.It lasted just six months after being put on the market in the summerof 1994. (Source: Bloomberg)
`
`A second product has a more prominentrole, only there’s no logo or corporate sponsorcredited for the cell phone used by Northam’svillain. In
`the final chase scene, he makesa call simply by pressing his phone’s touchscreen. When The Net was made,there wasonly onecell phone with
`a touchscreen andsufficient smarts for one-touchdialing: the Simon Personal Communicator. By the time the moviehit theaters that summer,
`the phone wasoff the marketafterits brief, six-month run before consumers. At least Simonleft a more lasting impression than the moviedid.
`
`Personal Communicators
`
`
`
`
`
`April 20, 1992
`
`May 15, 1992
`
`a A
`
`pril 6, 1992
`
`Early prototype designs. The yellow one (never produced)gotall
`the attention in presentations
`
`Photography by Woodbury & Associates
`
`Simon wasthefirst smartphone. Twenty years ago, it envisioned our app-happy mobile lives, squeezing the featuresof a cell phone, pager, fax
`machine, and computerinto an 18-ounce black brick. The touchscreen (monochrome)had icons you tapped, or poked with a stylus, for e-mail,
`calculator, calendar, clock, and a game called Scramble in which you moved squares aroundthe screen until you formeda picture. It featured
`predictive typing that would guess the next characters as you pecked. Andit had apps,or at least a way to deliver more features—including a
`camera, maps, and music—by plugging a memorycardinto the phone.
`
`
`
`BellSouth wanted customersto think of the phone as being as
`easy to use as “SimonSays...”
`
`It would take an additional 10 years before anyonecalled a cell phone “smart,” and a furtherfive before the iPhone shattered our view of what
`these digital devices could dofor us. Simonretailed for $899 and sold approximately 50,000 units. If you were a heavy data user, you had about
`60 minutes before you needed to recharge—aslittle as 30 minutesin areas with poorcell coverage. The Smithsonian Institution has one.
`Nearly two decadeslater, you canstill find Simonsfor sale by collectors at the sameretail price.
`
`Whena few IBM engineersfirst showed a working prototype at the 1992 Comdex computershow in Las Vegas, the model was code-named
`“Angler” and drew crowdsof people eight-to-10 deep. BellSouth Cellular teamed with IBMto turn it into a commercial productwith a Milton-
`Bradley-meets-Gene-Rodenberry name. The two companieshold 11 Simon-related patents—including how to highlight text on a touchscreen
`
`https:/Awww.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-06-29/before-iphone-and-android-came-simon-the-first-smartphone
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`1/23/2017
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`Before IPhone and Android Came Simon,the First Smartphone - Bloomberg
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`to do thingslike place a call, update appsin the field, and remotely set up andactivate a cell phone—amongother unique functionsthat are
`now standard on smartphones.
`
`Thestory of Simonis the timeless lesson of tech innovation: Groundbreaking products require a rich ecosystem before the “big idea” can
`becometruly useful or widespread. In this case, what was needed includedfast networks, Web browsers, and a whole lot of apps waiting to be
`pulled off the Internet. In the early 1990s, none of these were available. Phone networks were designed mostly for voice, not sending data.
`When Simonwasconceived, a Web browserhadyet to be released. IBM was hemorrhaging moneyand people, losing $16 billion and over
`100,000jobsin the years from 1991 to 1993. In the end, technicallimitations, product delays, a world-class corporate meltdown,revolving-door
`management, and bad businessdecisions conspired against Simon.
`
`
`
`Plastic mockups of memory cards show howadditional features
`(today's apps) could make Simonversatile
`
`IBM and BellSouth choseto drop the phone and abandona next-generation version of Simon that would have been closerin size to an iPhone.
`Motorola, a supplier of the cellular smarts for the prototype, passed whenit cametimeto build the product, concerned that it would be helping
`IBM becomea future competitor. Mitsubishi (6503:JP) replaced Motorola and built the commercial product.
`
`Simon’sshortlifespanalsoillustrates how truly original tech products feed so many othercreativeefforts, if not those of its creators—atleast
`directly. “The innovations of the Simonare reflected in virtually all modern touchscreen phones,” writes Bill Buxton in an e-mail. Buxton, a
`computerscientist at Microsoft Research, has been collecting groundbreaking tech gadgets for 30 years. He has two Simons,including one in
`
`its original box.
`
`It’s somehowfitting that Simon is nowherein the credits of The Net. IBM has norecord of Simonin its archives. The companypasses inquiries
`on to BellSouth, which merged with AT&T in an $86billion deal in 2006. The original engineers that worked on Simonstill refer to themselves
`as “Simoneers.” In over 20 conversations and e-mail exchangesI had with the BellSouth and IBM team members aboutthe project, some
`memorieshadfadedover time. But the team discussed its technical accomplishmentswith pride, despite Simon’s belly flop in the market.
`
`Frank J. CanovaJr. is the IBM engineer who came upwith the original concept for Simon. With 51 patents logged over the courseofhis career,
`he alwayshad a few ideas banging aroundin his head.In the early 90s, he was thinking chip-and-wireless technology was becoming small
`enoughto put in the palm of your hand. He described his conceptto colleagues, including his boss Jerry Merckel, who was on an industry task
`force working up specifications for a now defunctdevice (the PCMCIAcard) that could plug into a laptop computerfor extra memory—the
`
`grandfatherof today’s thumbdrives. Merckel realized the cards could be used to launch otherappsor services for Canova’s phone. He just
`needed approvalto build a prototype.
`
`https:/Awww.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-06-29/before-iphone-and-android-came-simon-the-first-smartphone
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`Before IPhone and Android Came Simon,the First Smartphone - Bloomberg
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`Paul C. Mugge indirectly putall this in motion after he becamedirectorof the Florida Research Lab in late 1988—longafter the glory daysof
`the IBM Personal Computer Co.—with a mandateto re-energize development. Muggeput together a small team of engineers including Canova
`and Merckelto explore waysto use ever-smaller, more powerful electronics to build new products.
`
`One day in Mugge’soffice, he listened to Merckel’s pitch. “This is the phoneofthe future,” Merckel said, reaching into a sleek black aluminum
`box to pull out plastic cards, all in different colors. (Those cards didn’t function and were purely for show; they had been created by HunterT.
`Foy, who headed a small groupof industrial designers attached to the lab.) Merckel explained to Muggethat you plug the card into the phone to
`
`get directions or music. One card, labeled “ZZ Top’s Greatest Hits” (with a picture of the group), was Merckel’s personalfavorite. On reading the
`label, Mugge asked: “Who’s ZZ Top?” He approved the project anyway.
`
`The applications on those cards becamethecore of IBM’sfirst services, code-named InTouch. “We knew services would make or break Simon,”
`
`says Mugge, now executive director of the Center for Innovation ManagementStudies at North Carolina State University. “As you see with
`Apple, without apps [the iPhone]is just a device. It all came to pass—unfortunately 15 years later,” he says.
`
`To give the conceptform, IBM turnedto Frog Design, a rare move because the computergiant never wentoutside for design work. When Foy
`projected it would cost $80,000to create the prototype, he says, Merckel and Mugge “threw uponit.” WhenFrog didn’t come up with anything
`radically different from Foy’s early sketches, he was soon back onthe project. IBM paid Frog $49,760 for its sketches, according to an unsigned
`copy of the agreement.
`
`There wasn’t much leeway for Frog to come up with a different look. The phone could be only so small. The memory cardsdictated a certain
`width. The touchscreen had a set thickness. And you needed a battery with enoughjuice to powerthe device. The finished prototypeis the
`Shaq of phones, standing 8 incheshigh, 2.5 inches wide,and1.5 in. thick. Pull out your smartphone and you'll see the difference.
`
`Everything about the phonerequired something unique, from the motherboard housing anIntel chip to the operating system andon to the
`wayall its features interrelated. At first there was no rush to producethe prototype, but IBM decided 14 weeks before Comdexthat it wanted to
`display the device at the trade show. The race was on. Canova and other engineers worked 80-hourweeks,including weekends,right up to the
`last day.
`
`The prototype at Comdexdisplayed a mapof the Las Vegasstrip, plus stock quotes. There was no website for Canova to download that
`information, so he scanned the mapsinto the prototype’s memoryfrom printed sources and punchedin sampletickerdata. “It was hard for
`
`people to believe back then you would carry mapsor stock quotes in your phone,”he says. “As we know now,it wasjust the tip of the iceberg.”
`
`Whenthe team finished the prototype—it wasn’t clear they’d makethe deadline until two weeks before the show—IBMsent a managerto
`Florida to make sure “Angler” worked as advertised. (A substitute was readyif it didn’t.) It worked too well: The company made the team
`encase eachof the three prototypes for Comdexin bulky, see-throughplastic housing to makeclear that these were notfinished products. “IBM
`wasafraid people would wantto buyit,” says Canova.
`
`In truth, IBM wasn’t sure it wanted to be in the phonebusiness. Alan Testani recalls showing Jack Keuhler, then IBM’s top technologist, a
`prototype. Keuhler, an internal critic of IBM’s already troubled communicationseffort, called it “a World WarII walkie talkie.” It wasn’t a
`
`compliment.
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`Early prototype designs. The yellow one, which was never
`produced,gotall the attention in presentations
`
`The effort moved forward, anyway. Deep within IBM’s DNAwastheeternalbelief that the multiplication of electronic gadgets—cell phonesor
`PCs—would fuel demandfor big, powerful mainframe computers. Jim Cannavino,then a senior vice president responsible for IBM’s Personal
`Systemsdivision,recalls telling the board: “Whether you wantto build them ornot(cell phones), you really want them to happen. That was the
`air cover to get Simon outthe door.”
`
`Canovahasa video taken by oneof the Simoneersas they’re setting up in Las Vegas before Comdex opens.Thenarrator approachesthe
`mustachioed engineeras he’s intently working on the prototype. Thenin his early 30s, Canova is wearing a white, short-sleeved shirt. He
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`seems genuinely surprised as he reports that everything is working smoothly. There’s a hint of pride whenhesayscolleagueslike the device.
`
`Later, Canova walked out into the cool Las Vegasnightto call Gary Wisgo, the project’s engineering manager. Wisgo had bookedtoolate to get a
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`hotel room anywherenearthe convention center. “Here I was, talking to someone with access to my calendar, e-mail, and much more,with
`only a phonein my hand.Forthefirst time, no computer was needed,” recalls Canova. “That simple momentis whenI realized the world was
`about to change.”
`
`Whenthe show openedthe next day, Canova and the other engineers demonstrating the product were swamped.Theprototype wasa hit.
`Wisgo remembers awakeningto a ringing phoneat 6 a.m. An excited engineer wascalling to tell him the project had madethe front page of
`USA Today’s Moneysection, with a photo of Canova holding the prototype. The positive reaction convinced IBM’s senor managementto build
`areal product. It helped that BellSouth wantedin on the action. IBM pumped moneyinto theeffort and the team grew from five engineers to
`32. This was oneofthe rare parts of IBM that washiring.
`
`The timing wasperfect for Jim Thorpe, senior vice president of marketing for BellSouth Cellular, whose boss wanted to know what they could
`do to differentiate the company. Thorpe hadset up a research and developmentlab, run by Dan Norman,to devise innovative products. It was
`BellSouth that came up with the name Simon,following an internal debate over whetherthe phone should havea sciencefiction-sounding
`name(Merlin and Wizard were suggestions.) Others wanted something easy to rememberthat would evoke simplicity. One of the marketing
`managers had seen his kids play with the popular electronic memory game, Simon, which asked youto repeat a series of tones that got
`progressively moredifficult in order to win. He suggested Simon,as in “Simon says simplicity.” An ad campaign was born.
`
`The Simon Personal Communicator had its coming-out party on Nov.2, 1993, at a telecommunications trade show at Disney World in Orlando.
`Before an audienceof 150 analysts and journalists, Norman and Rich Guidotti, a product development manager,did their interpretation of
`Alexander Graham Bell’s celebrated moment. On stage, Norman sent Guidotti a fax: “Rich, Simon looks great. Dan.” Thorpe hasthe fax framed
`in his house, along with the stylus Norman used.
`
`To promote Simonattrade showsandto distributors, BellSouth made a video. Norman says the company was concerned customers would
`think Simon wastoo complicated because it could do so much.(This wasright after Apple’s Newton bombed.) Theyhired an actress to have a
`little fun with Simon,playing a character named Christy. She is shownin situations you might not think to use Simon,but could: Send a fax
`while on a picnic, or check e-mail at the opera. As the video progresses, Christy starts making outrageous claimssuchas,“It’ll wash yourcar,”
`and “You cantalk to aliens.” Normanappearsin the videoas the voice of reason, denying you can do thosethings. The video evenveers into
`late-night infomercial territory: “What would you expectto pay for a machinethat doesall this, $5,000, $10,000, or more? How about under
`$1,000?”
`
`The video drummedupinterest, but Simon wasn’t readyfor its scheduled release in May 1994, Customerscouldn’t get one until Aug. 16. IBM
`wasstill wrestling with the device’s short batterylife. Its engineers reworked somesoftware, but the ultimate solution was to provide a second
`battery, as a lot of video camerasdid at the time. That was just one issue. Consumers were then enthralled by the popular, less expensive, $500
`flip cell phones. They were small and cool. (And they looked much morelike those communicators on Star Trek.)
`
`Norman, who hasoneoftheoriginal Simon prototypes from Comdex, conceived what would havebeena first for the cellular industry—
`activating a cell phone “wirelessly overtheair.” (AT&T nowholdsthe patent.) At the time, cell phones had to be programmedatthestore. It
`wasa laborious, manualprocess that could take two hours. Norman plannedto include with every Simonthe software that would let BellSouth
`handle everything. Simon wasoff the marketbefore the feature was ready. “That wasactually a bigger deal than anything else that Simon was
`capable of doing,” he says.
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`Before IPhone and Android Came Simon,the First Smartphone - Bloomberg
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`There was a second generation of Simon, code named Neon—thinnerand shorter—thatalso didn’t make it out. The design, sans fax, was to be
`closer in shapeto the eventual iPhone. IBM even madea logo for Neon with the name runningboth vertically and horizontally around the
`letter O; it would say Neon, no matter how it was held. “Weactually rotated the screen like the iPhone,” says Canova.
`
`By now,IBM wasclosing plants and offices around the world. The company moved PC operationsoutof Florida, sending the Simon design
`workto Raleigh, N.C. Many Simon engineers didn’t want to movenorth,so they left. Canova eventually departed after trying to work with the
`team in Raleigh.
`
`Merckel, now a professor of engineering at the University of North Florida, had more features in the works,too, including a card that would
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`turn the phoneinto a radio. Healso tried to convince Advanced Micro Devices to supply the chip for future products. Those efforts went
`nowhere.“I threw it in the trash,” he says of the working prototypefor the radio. “IBM was disappearing.”
`
`By early 1995, Simonwasoff the market. IBM decidednotto pursue the business. BellSouth put moneyinto improving its own
`communications network.
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`Today, BellSouth executives say Simon was worthwhile. Tech companies began to think about how they could usecellular technology in their
`products. BellSouth received recognition and attracted partners such as Microsoft, which had neverbefore called on their company.
`
`For Mugge,the lesson of Simonis a familiar tale for many pioneers: “Don’t invent oneof these things before they invent the Internetor fiber
`optics with tremendous bandwidth.”
`
`
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