Apple’s Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone on January 9, 2007. (The iPhone was officially released in June.)
Here is an excerpt from his keynote at MacWorld 2007:
“This is a day I’ve been looking forward to for two-and-a-half years. Every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything….Well, today, we’re introducing three revolutionary products of this class. The first one is a widescreen iPod with touch controls. The second is a revolutionary mobile phone. And the third is a breakthrough Internet communications device. So, three things: a widescreen iPod with touch controls; a revolutionary mobile phone; and a breakthrough Internet communications device. An iPod, a phone, and an Internet communicator. An iPod, a phone…are you getting it? These are not three separate devices, this is one device, and we are calling it iPhone. Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone….”
“One of the most important trends in personal technology over the past few years has been the evolution of the humble cellphone into a true handheld computer, a device able to replicate many of the key functions of a laptop.
….Now, Apple Inc., whose digital products are hailed for their design and innovation, is jumping into this smart-phone market with the iPhone, which goes on sale in a few days after months of the most frenzied hype and speculation we have ever seen for a single technology product.
….We have been testing the iPhone for two weeks, in multiple usage scenarios, in cities across the country. Our verdict is that, despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer.”
— “The iPhone Is a Breakthrough Handheld Computer”
AllThingsD, June 26, 2007
The New York Times website is featured in this early iPod commercial.
In many ways, the iPhone marked the beginning of mobile news as a permanent part of journalism.
The following comes from Pew’s 2008 “State of the News Media” report:
“In 2007, the evidence suggests online access through mobile phones was still a niche activity. The debut of Apple’s iPhone in June of 2007 may begin to change that. In February 2008, the company projected sales of 10 million iPhones by the end of the year. In addition, other technology companies such as Google are developing software and other technology to make it easier to use the Internet over the phone.
….For those people who do use their phones online, what news sites do they tend to visit? Data from January of 2007, six months before the release of the iPhone, found it is a mix of traditional news, pure play and sports sites.
For now, the heaviest consumers of mobile video appear to be men and young people, according to research conducted by comScore, a leading online measurement firm. More frequent use over all should rise when and if other demographic groups become more regular users….”
