undefined | Better HN

0 pointsem5005y ago0 comments

iPhone (2007)

Ok, maybe not so much the original 2007 model, arguably it wasn't until the iPhone 4 (2010) until it really came into its own. But few products released in my lifetime changed modern life as the iPhone did. And unlike most other seismic tech products (world-wide-web, linux) that took years to build momentum, it had lots of pre-release hype.

0 comments

9 comments · 6 top-level

codeulike5y ago· 1 in thread

This should be at the top.

Until that iPhone unveil, no-one had ever seen swipe-to-scroll, now its second nature to at least half the planet.

Video of the 2007 unveil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN4U5FqrOdQ

rgovostes5y ago

My favorite thing about the iPhone announcement is when Steve shows Cover Flow of album art (at about 18 minutes in your link), which spins around to show a track listing. It was a slick 3D animation on a phone, when most of us were carrying bar or flip phones navigated with stiff arrow keys. Yet the audience reaction is pretty tepid. Already the future seemed ordinary just a few minutes into the announcement!

Aunche5y ago· 1 in thread

The original iPhone nailed so much on the first time. The UX was truly ahead of its time: intuitive touchscreen gestures, portrait and landscape modes, a surprisingly usable touchscreen keyboard, and proximity sensor to prevent accidental touches.

Before the iPhone became popular, there was so much variety in phone design like the Juke or Nokia Ngage. Today billions of people use a phone that resembles an iPhone.

sircastor5y ago

I remember thinking that the iPhone wasn’t a big deal and I didn’t really care until I walked into an Apple store and used one. I was blown away. I think we really forget how many things the introduction of the iPhone brought about.

city415y ago· 1 in thread

Although I totally agree, it also ushered in the virtual keyboard. 13 years of using them and I still absolutely hate them.

IshKebab5y ago

You obviously never used one before the iPhone! Part of the reason the iPhone was such a revolution was that it had the first decent virtual keyboard.

1 more reply

ksec5y ago

Not even sure why this isn't the top comment.

>Ok, maybe not so much the original 2007 model

It was. Original iPhone was extremely hyped before it was announced in the tech / Apple circles. In case anyone arguing that is a small niche, the same argument could be used for Games as the OP used in examples. It is very rare to see Technology Announcement being used on Front Page newspaper.( Remember that thing we used to buy every day?) And this wasn't just in US alone.

Original iPhone ( 2007 ) was only available in US, and it was very expensive at the time, $499 with contract. And Apple was selling every iPhone as fast as they could make it. And around the world iPhone continue the same strategy of only contract with iPhone. Arguably it wasn't until iPhone 5 before it was readily available , I guess Steve Jobs relented on making iPhone Just in Time before passing away because it could never match the huge demand.

And yes, not only did it lived up to its hype, it was more than anyone could ever imagine.

Eric_WVGG5y ago

Absolutely the iPhone. Especially the original. Even today I think you could remove every optionally installed "app", and if all it had was a world-class web browser, weather, and the Maps app, be completely indispensable.

belly_joe5y ago

What I like about this reply is that I think the best answers are probably the ones you don't immediately think of, as they've changed things so immensely that they're now a component of cultural background noise.

FWIW, I remember my uncle in 2007 trying to game his contract with Verizon just so he could get AT&T and the iPhone. I thought he was being stupid for what I gathered was a useless toy. But now...

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse