The
iPhone—
retroactively labeled the
original iPhone,
iPhone 2G,
iPhone EDGE, or
iPhone 1—was the
first generation of
iPhone designed and marketed by
Apple Inc. It was announced on January 9, 2007
after months of
rumors and speculation.
It was introduced in the
United States on June 29, 2007. It featured
quad-band Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) with
General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and
Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE).
The original iPhone no longer receives software updates from Apple; its final firmware version was
iOS 3.1.3.
History
Development
Steve Jobs,
CEO at
Apple Inc., conceived an 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, the same as a
tablet computer. Jobs recruited a group of Apple engineers to investigate the idea as a side project.
When Jobs reviewed the prototype and its
user interface, he conceived a second idea of implementing the technology onto a mobile phone.
The whole effort was called the Project Purple 2 and began in 2005.
Apple created the device during a secretive and unprecedented collaboration with
AT&T, formerly
Cingular Wireless. The development cost of the collaboration was estimated to have been $150 million
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.
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.
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."
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".
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 device's launch;
with many stores reporting stock shortages within an hour. To avoid repeating the problems of the
PlayStation 3 launch, which caused burglaries and even a shooting, off-duty police officers were hired to guard stores overnight.
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.
Six out of ten Americans surveyed said they knew the iPhone was coming before its release.
Post-release
The
iPod Touch, a touchscreen device with the media and internet abilities and interface of the iPhone, but without the phone application, was released on September 5, 2007. At the same time, Apple significantly dropped the price of the 8 GB model while discontinuing the 4 GB model.
Apple sold the one millionth iPhone five days later, or 74 days after the release.
After receiving "hundreds of emails...upset" about the price drop, Apple gave store credit to early adopters.
A 16 GB model was released on February 5, 2008.
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.
The original iPhone was discontinued at that time; total sales volume came to 6,124,000 units.
While most Apple literature simply called the device "iPhone," the term "the original iPhone" appears in a press release from July 2010.
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 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.
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 4 major software versions for the iPhone and one major release in the beta period, including the one bundled with original iPhone units.
Currently, software updates for the original or "2G" and 3G iPhones have been discontinued. However, unlicensed third-parties are known for creating custom firmwares for the iPhone, as well as porting Android OS onto the iPhone.
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, 2008, 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, due to hardware constraints.
Specification
| Display | Type | TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
| Size | 320 x 480 pixels, 3.5 inches (~165 ppi pixel density) |
| Multitouch | Yes |
| Protection | Scratch-resistant glass, oleophobic coating |
| Misc | SAR US | 0.97 W/kg (head) 0.38 W/kg (body) |
| SAR EU | 0.97 W/kg (head) 0.69 W/kg (body) |
Source : wikipedia 
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 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.
