The iPhone (pronounced /ˈaɪfoʊn/, EYE-fohn) 

— retroactively labeled the original iPhone —

was the first generation of iPhone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. and was succeeded
by the iPhone 3G. It was announced on January 9, 2007[9] after months of rumors and
speculation.[10] It was introduced in the United States on June 29, 2007 before being marketed
in Europe. It featured quad-band GSM with GPRS and EDGE.

Contents
[hide]

 1 History
o 1.1 Development
o 1.2 Release
o 1.3 After release
 2 Design
 3 Software
o 3.1 Software History
o 3.2 Unlicensed third party software and jailbreaking
 4 Reception
 5 Timeline of iPhone models
 6 References
 7 External links
 8 Related information

[edit] History
[edit] Development

Development of the iPhone began when Steve Jobs, CEO at Apple Inc., conceived the idea of
using a multi-touch touchscreen to interact with a computer in a way in which he could type
directly onto the display, essentially removing the physical keyboard and mouse. Jobs
recruited a party of Apple engineers to investigate the idea as a side project.[11] When Jobs
reviewed the prototype and its user interface, he conceived a second idea of implementing the
technology onto a mobile phone.[12]

Apple created the device during a secretive and unprecedented collaboration with AT&T,
previously Cingular Wireless. The development cost of the collaboration was estimated to
have been $150 million[13] over a thirty-month period. Apple rejected the "design by
committee" approach that had yielded the Motorola ROKR E1, a largely unsuccessful
collaboration with Motorola. Instead, Cingular Wireless gave Apple the liberty to develop the
iPhone's hardware and software in-house.[14][15]

The original iPhone was introduced by Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007 in a keynote address at
the Macworld Conference & Expo held in Moscone West in San Francisco, California.[16] In
his address, Jobs said, "I have been looking forward to this for two and a half years", and that
"today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone."[17] Jobs introduced the iPhone as a combination
of three devices: a "widescreen iPod with touch controls"; a "revolutionary mobile phone";
and a "breakthrough Internet communicator".[18]

[edit] Release

The iPhone was released on June 29, 2007 in the United States where hundreds of people
were reported to have queued outside Apple and AT&T retail stores days before the devices
launch;[19] with many stores reporting stock shortages within an hour. To prevent a repeat of
the PlayStation 3's launch, which caused burglaries and even a shooting, off-duty police
officers were hired to guard stores overnight.[20]

It was later made available in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany in November 2007,
and the Republic of Ireland and Austria in the spring of 2008.

In the United Kingdom, the original iPhone was released at 6.02pm to relate to the exclusive
carrier 02 who were the only original carriers to supply the phone in the UK.

Six out of ten Americans surveyed said they knew the release date of the iPhone.[21]

[edit] After release

The iPod Touch, a touchscreen device with the media and internet capabilities and interface
of the iPhone, but no phone, was released on September 5, 2007. At the same time, Apple
significantly dropped the price of the 8GB model while discontinuing the 4GB model
entirely.[22] Apple sold the one millionth iPhone five days later, or 74 days after the release.[23]
After receiving "hundreds of emails...upset" about the price drop, Apple gave store credit to
early adopters.[24]

A 16GB model was released on February 5, 2008.[25] Apple released an SDK on March 6,
2008, allowing developers to create the apps that would be available starting in iPhone OS
version 2.0, a free upgrade for iPhone users. On June 9, Apple announced the iPhone 3G,
which began shipping July 11.[26] The original iPhone was discontinued at that time; total
sales volume came to 6,124,000 units.[2]

While most Apple literature simply called the device "iPhone," the term "the original iPhone"
appears in a press release from July 2010.[27]

[edit] Design
The combined metal and plastic rear is unique to the original iPhone.

The original iPhone's design was centered on a 3.5 inches (89 mm) glass multi-touch
touchscreen display. The original iPhone introduced five physical buttons that have remained
consistent over newer generations of iPhone. The device featured a chrome plated metal
frame. The back of the which was made of brushed aluminum with a black plastic base,
required because metal shields cellular and Wi-Fi signals. The camera was located in the
upper-left corner of the iPhone's rear. The headphone socket was recessed into the casing,
making it incompatible with most headsets without the use of an adapter. Other models do
not have this issue.[28]

The original iPhone is the only iPhone model not to be available in multiple colors; all
models since the original have been available in either black or white.

[edit] Software
During release, the iPhone was marketed as running "OS X". The name of the operating
system was revealed in the iPhone 2.0 SDK. Apple has released 2 major software upgrades
for the iPhone since its introduction.

[edit] Software History

The original release of the operating system included Visual Voicemail, multi-touch gestures,
HTML email, Safari web browser, threaded text messaging, and YouTube. However, many
features like MMS, third-party apps, and copy and paste were not supported at release. These
missing features led to hackers "jailbreaking" their phones which added these missing
features. Official software updates slowly added these features.

iPhone OS 2.0 (released July 11, 08) introduced 3rd party applications, exchange support,
push e-mail, and other enhancements.

iPhone OS 3.0 (released June 17, 2009) introduced copy and paste, and new YouTube
features. Not all of the features of iPhone OS 3.0 were supported on the original iPhone.
The original iPhone did not receive the iOS 4 software upgrade, which indicates that it is no
longer supported.

[edit] Unlicensed third party software and jailbreaking

See also: Jailbreaking for iOS and iPhone Dev Team

The iPhone's operating system is designed to only run software that has an Apple-approved
cryptographic signature. This restriction can be overcome by "jailbreaking" the phone,[29]
which involves replacing the iPhone's firmware with a slightly modified version that does not
enforce the signature check. Doing so may be a circumvention of Apple's technical protection
measures.[30] Apple, in a statement to the United States Copyright Office in response to EFF
lobbying for a DMCA exception for this kind of hacking, claimed that jailbreaking the
iPhone would be copyright infringement due to the necessary modification of system
software.[31] Jailbroken iPhones may be susceptible to computer viruses, but few such
incidents have been reported.[32][33]

[edit] Reception
The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal published positive, but cautious, reviews of
the iPhone, their primary criticisms being the slow speed of the AT&T network and the
phone's inability to connect using 3G services.

The Wall Street Journal's technology columnist, Walt Mossberg, concluded that "despite
some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough
handheld computer."[34]

Time magazine named it the Invention of the Year in 2007.[35]

[edit] Timeline of iPhone models

Sources: Apple press release library,[36] Mactracker Apple Inc. product database[