Before the iPhone concept turned black

Jul 23, 2007 12:17 GMT  ·  By

It looks like the iPhone concept goes a long way back in time. The very first version of this concept was developed by Apple back in 1983, but never hit the market.

Touchscreen technology for the year 1983 sounds quite difficult to believe. Moreover, at the time, Apple had designed the first portable computer device, the IIc model. The same designer as that of this concept is actually behind the first iPhone concept. One important thing that the concept proves is that Apple took into consideration the possibility of them releasing a phone model some time ago.

Hartmut Esslinger is the designer of this first iPhone resembling phone concept. The phone lacks the main feature of a modern cellular and, yes, there is one even more important than touchscreen and we are talking about mobility. The concept is one of a fixed phone which makes it possible for the user to interact through a stick situated somewhere between a pen and a stylus.

The images of this device coming from Apple have been considered by many people to be the first iPhone version to have ever been released. For the time when it was designed, the device might have been considered revolutionary, although it is quite unlikely for people to choose to stand in line for it and cause such a craze as it has with the iPhone.

It took some while for Apple's phone concept to evolve to this extent, but considering the huge success that it has been registering, perhaps it turns out to have been a better choice to keep it a secret and develop it. The iPhone proved to be extremely expensive for many people. Still, at that time, such technology should have proved to be way above the amount of money that anyone would be willing to spend on high technology.