History of the iPhone
[1] Initially, making an Apple phone was not favored by CEO Steve Jobs, but eventually Hullot was able to convince him.
[10][11] While pitting two teams of engineers led by Fadell and Forstall, Jobs decided to investigate the use of touchscreen devices and tablet computers (which later came to fruition with the iPad).
After seeing millions of Americans carrying separate BlackBerrys, phones, and Apple's iPod MP3 players; he felt eventually consumers would prefer just one device.
[21] Jobs also saw that as cell phones and mobile devices would keep amassing more features, they will be challenging the iPod's dominance as a music player.
To protect the iPod new product line, which by the start of 2007 was responsible for 48% of all of Apple's revenue,[22] Jobs decided he would need to venture into the wireless world.
[27] Apple approached glass manufacturer Corning in 2005 to investigate the possibility of a thin, flexible, and transparent material that could avoid the problem of metal keys scratching up phone screens.
[30] Feeling that having to compromise with a non-Apple designer (Motorola) prevented Apple from designing the phone they wanted to make,[31] Apple discontinued support for the ROKR in September 2006, and, after creating a deal with AT&T (at the time still called Cingular), released a version of iTunes that included references to an as-yet unknown mobile phone that could display pictures and video.
On January 9, 2007, Steve Jobs announced the first iPhone at the Macworld convention, receiving substantial media attention.
[34] Such applications appeared even before the release of the iPhone; the first of these, called OneTrip, was a program meant to keep track of users' shopping lists.
[31] After 18 months of negotiations, Steve Jobs reached an agreement with the wireless division of AT&T[38] to be the iPhone's exclusive carrier.
[43] The state-court suit, filed by the law office of Damian R. Fernandez on behalf of California resident Timothy P. Smith,[43] sought an injunction barring Apple from selling iPhones with a software lock and $200 million in damages.
The plaintiff, Paul Holman, filed a complaint against Apple and AT&T Mobility that he could not switch carriers or change SIM cards without losing iPhone improvements to which he was entitled.
Though this figure does not include units that were purchased for resale on eBay or otherwise not activated until after the opening weekend, it is still less than most initial estimates.
[62] Stories of unexpected billing issues began to circulate in blogs and the technical press a little more than a month after iPhone's heavily advertised and anticipated release.
[63] The 300-page iPhone bill in a box received by iJustine on Saturday, August 11, 2007[64][65] became the subject of a viral video, posted by the following Monday, which quickly became an Internet meme.
Ten days later, after the video had been viewed more than 3 million times on the Internet,[68] and had received international news coverage, AT&T sent iPhone users a text message outlining changes in its billing practices.
[71][72] In response to customer complaints, on September 6, 2007, Apple CEO Steve Jobs wrote in an open letter to iPhone customers that everyone who purchased an iPhone at the higher price "and who is not receiving a rebate or other consideration", would receive a $100 credit to be redeemed towards the purchase of any product sold in Apple's retail or online stores.
Following the de facto model for mobile phone service in the United States, AT&T would subsidize a sizable portion of the upfront cost for the iPhone 3G, followed by charging moderately higher monthly fees over a minimum two-year contract.
[75] This speculation increased on October 6, 2010, when The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple would begin producing a CDMA-compatible iPhone, with such a model going on sale in early 2011.
[76] On January 11, 2011, Verizon announced during a media event that it had reached an agreement with Apple and would begin selling a CDMA iPhone 4.
[77][78][79] The CDMA version was a bespoke model, lacking a SIM slot and with a revised metal chassis, the design of which would be reused on the iPhone 4S.
[83] A week later, Virgin Mobile USA became the second American prepaid carrier to offer iPhone 4 and 4S, announcing plans to release the phones on June 29, 2012.
Sapphire materials were used for home button and the camera to help resist scratches and fingerprints, while anodized aluminum and ceramic glass were used for the phone's body.
In October 2002, Apple applied for the "iPhone" trademark in the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, and the European Union.
Both companies will be allowed to use the "iPhone" name[116] in exchange for "exploring interoperability" between their security, consumer, and business communications products.
The Supreme Court of Mexico upheld that iFone is the rightful owner and held that Apple iPhone is a trademark violation.
On December 18, 2012, IGB launched its own line of Android smartphones under the tradename to which it has exclusive rights in the local market.
[127] In February 2013, the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (known as "Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial") issued a ruling that Gradiente Eletrônica, not Apple, owned the "iPhone" mark in Brazil.
Although Gradiente intended to appeal, with the decision Apple can use freely the brand without paying royalties to the Brazilian company.
Apple lost the trademark battle to Solid Group in a 2015 decision made by IPO director Nathaniel Arevalo, who also reportedly said that it was unlikely that consumers would be confused between the "iPhone" and the "MyPhone".
