The First All-Touch Phone Was Created By IBM, Not Apple

1992 was an eventful year. Gas was a paltry $1.05 a gallon. John Gotti got life in Prison. Bill Clinton became president. The Rodney King Riots overtook L.A.

Oh, and IBM invented the first all-touch phone: The Simon.

Simon was a gigantic device complete with a touch-based interface via a monochrome screen of touchy goodness. The screen even adapted to a given application albeit in a limited fashion. What else did a person need to do other than make phone calls, check a calendar or receive a fax in the early 90s?


It sported a matte black finish, something modern-day designers could take a cue from. Glossy doesn’t equal expensive anymore, it only equals scratches, and uncontrollable amount of scratches.

Watching the video makes me wonder how people got anything done during my youth. Life must have been a horrible mishmash of face-to-face communication and phone calls interrupted by a screeching fax machine.

Source: Gizmodo