10 years ago -- Apple's iPhone as seen on AppleInsider and by our readers

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in iPhone
AppleInsider was heavily invested the the launch of the original iPhone, and you were too. Here's some of the things we said about it at launch -- and what somer of you thought then.




AppleInsider was on the scene at the announcement in January 2007. Crowds gathering around the two iPhones on display were five to seven people deep, as photographers and enthusiasts tried to snag some clean shots of the groundbreaking device to call their own.

A second feature published the same day looked more closely at the software installed on the phone. There weren't a lot to go around -- there didn't appear to be any more besides the two in the plexiglass shields, and the one that Jobs was clutching.

In a 22-page forum thread, AppleInsider readers speculated on Jobs's release, with the general consensus that it would do very well for Apple. Of course, there were some nay-sayers, and to match them, a few who thought that it would revolutionize the industry.

On June 29, 2007 AppleInsider finally got one and quickly got pictures up, without comment.

Examination would begin discussing the hardware a couple of days later, with long-time staffer Daniel Eran Dilger reviewing the first iPhone, in his own timeless style. In a sprawling review, he called it "the most incredible piece of consumer hardware I've ever touched."

We asked for your stories and pictures, and here are some of the responses we received:

Twitter user Sean Terry told us about his early iPhone experience as a blind user. He skipped the first two iPhones, but got the first iPhone to have VoiceOver for the Blind -- the iPhone 3GS. Terry called the iPhone "a life changing experience."

Long time forum member Singularity spoke on Thursday of his experience, and said:
"Before the iPhone I had a Sony Ericsson M600i, but after the reveal in January I found myself a few days after the launch in the UK, in the O2 phone shop and a few minutes later I had the phone in my hand. That would teach my wife to leave me alone for a few minutes. Coming from a resistive touchscreen to a capacitive touch screen meant that I didn't have such a shift in user input and I soon forgot about the keys. The big plus was the screen it was big and it was nice! "

I was first in line at ATT store Muscle Shoals Al, got there at 3 pm was out at 6:15 with one. Picked up second later. They both still work! pic.twitter.com/WcjSMzsOLR

— Walter25 (@walter25)


Here's my first gen iPhone next to the 6s Plus! Still powers up but very limited with the apps now. pic.twitter.com/r0bWrqrN2C

-- Dylan Gardner (@Dylan_Gardner)


And here's the rather stunning flip side.... pic.twitter.com/aPf1Ws4Q9p

— Dylan Gardner (@Dylan_Gardner)


My dad bought me a 4S before he got an iPhone himself. Sounds mean now but I was delighted. When I swapped it for a 6, the size dif startled

-- Rachel P (@museum_mouse)


My 1st Selfie...had to use a mirror. pic.twitter.com/plGN6GsOW6

-- Xyanth (@DaveOwens23)


Still have mine, still works, didn't need to upgrade til iphone 5s came out

— Ryan Wuckert (@RWDMTDIT)


First #Apple product was #iPod 3. Still working like a charm.

Since then, the house has been invaded by Apple !

— SylvainL (@monblogApple)


I remember when I wanted an iPhone so badly. Now I have one I totally forget that I do. We can take things for granted sometimes.

— Aaron Garcia (@agarciatv)

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,053member
    Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone to public: the best keynote ever presented to the world..."This is a day I’ve been looking forward to for two-and-a-half years...". Boom...we all know it (the iPhone) changed the way we used the phone forever".
    lolliverlamboaudi4watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 9
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    I worked for a competitor of Apple in the cell phone industry, and I remember when it was introduce and remember readying the live feed on Appleinsider at the time. Later that day after the unveiling was all over the media and Our CTO of the company made a company wide announcement that told everyone that what Apple introduced was noting new. Needless to say she was gone a year later, the fact the CTO of a cell phone company could not see the fundamental change that was about to hit the world show you why they company no longer exist. 
    radarthekatlamboaudi4watto_cobrapscooter63zoetmb
  • Reply 3 of 9
    tyler82tyler82 Posts: 1,098member
    fallenjt said:
    Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone to public: the best keynote ever presented to the world..."This is a day I’ve been looking forward to for two-and-a-half years...". Boom...we all know it (the iPhone) changed the way we used the phone forever".
    The best was when he said they were unveiling 3 new products, and then we realized it was an all in one device
    radarthekatlamboaudi4watto_cobrapscooter63zoetmbretrogusto
  • Reply 4 of 9
    xbitxbit Posts: 390member
    maestro64 said:
    I worked for a competitor of Apple in the cell phone industry, and I remember when it was introduce and remember readying the live feed on Appleinsider at the time. Later that day after the unveiling was all over the media and Our CTO of the company made a company wide announcement that told everyone that what Apple introduced was noting new. Needless to say she was gone a year later, the fact the CTO of a cell phone company could not see the fundamental change that was about to hit the world show you why they company no longer exist. 
    That's interesting.

    I was in a weird situation at the time. I officially worked for Nokia but I worked in a Samsung office. The official line from Nokia was that the iPhone validated their approach to mobile (i.e. smartphones for everyone). And that was true - Nokia coined the term 'smartphone' and already had a line of touchscreen tablets. They knew what the future was going to look like. Unfortunately, they didn't have the ability to execute on that vision long-term. To misquote Wayne Gretzky, Nokia knew where the puck was going but couldn't skate there fast enough.

    Samsung's attitude was different: work around the clock to copy the iPhone in every way possible. They had the hardware and the rest could be fudged together, right?
  • Reply 5 of 9
    mobiusmobius Posts: 380member
    "On the scene" link takes me to a blank article...

    http://appleinsider.com/article/?id=2370
  • Reply 6 of 9
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,837administrator
    mobius said:
    "On the scene" link takes me to a blank article...

    http://appleinsider.com/article/?id=2370
    Don't know why - loading here on a few devices. Maybe a temporary problem. The pictures do take a bit to load.
    edited June 2017
  • Reply 7 of 9
    zoetmbzoetmb Posts: 2,653member
    And here are some quotes from some industry geniuses.   While I don't know for sure, I don't think any of the naysayers ever admitted they were incredibly wrong.  

    12/23/2006 Bill Ray (Mobile)

    “Why the Apple phone will fail, and fail badly”

    It's the Pippin all over again”

     

    1/14/2007 Matthew Lynn

    Apple iPhone Will Fail in a Late, Defensive Move

    “…Don't let that fool you into thinking that it matters. The big competitors in the mobile-phone industry such as Nokia Oyj and Motorola Inc. won't be whispering nervously into their clamshells over a new threat to their business…

    The iPhone is nothing more than a luxury bauble that will appeal to a few gadget freaks. In terms of its impact on the industry, the iPhone is less relevant”

     

    3/28/2007 John Dvorak

    Apple should pull the plug in the iPhone

    Commentary:  Company risks its reputation in competitive business

    … Now compare that effort and overlay the mobile handset business. This is not an emerging business. In fact it's gone so far that it's in the process of consolidation with probably two players dominating everything, Nokia Corp… and Motorola Inc.” 


    As for me personally, I didn't buy the first iPhone.  I waited until they started offering subsidized phones, but when I finally did buy the iPhone (from the Fifth Avenue, NYC Apple Store), I sat outside the store and setup my email accounts in about 60 seconds.   I couldn't believe how easy it was.   When my mail came through and I saw how good it looked and how well attachments worked and the quality of the browser, I immediately realized that the iPhone would change my life.   I no longer needed to wait at home for clients to send me email that I could respond to professionally.   I couldn't write detailed specs on the iPhone, but I could do everything else.   It was so miraculous to me that I was almost in tears.   Looking back at those early devices now, it's hard to believe they were practical with their relatively slow speeds and smaller screens, but it was miraculous at the time.   It's hard to remember now just how restricted I was before the iPhone.   

    The next day I walked into the office of my main client and returned their Blackberry.   I never wanted to see that thing again.

    edited June 2017 retrogusto
  • Reply 8 of 9
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,014member
    "Longtime forum member, Singularity"

    LOL.  I'm pre-blackout, January 2000.  anyone beat that?  
    singularitytallest skil
  • Reply 9 of 9
    singularitysingularity Posts: 1,328member
    sdw2001 said:
    "Longtime forum member, Singularity"

    LOL.  I'm pre-blackout, January 2000.  anyone beat that?  
    fame at last!!!!, though I havent been here as long as sdw2001
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