Happy 15th anniversary, iPhone

Just a tip, I always take an older phone and throw it in the carry-on when we go on vacation. That way if something happens and we lose or break a phone, all I need is a SIM card and we are back up and able to communicate.
 
I remember watching that keynote that day in January and seeing the iPhone as Steve proudly presented it and talked about what it could do.... I thought, "I hardly use the cell phone I have now, why would I want one of THOSE things?" Strangely, the usual magic (Reality Distortion Field) charismatic Steve normally wrapped around and encased me in didn't quite penetrate some barrier.....

Ah, but the seed was planted nonetheless and months later, when "the thing" was about to be launched for real I decided just for the heck of it to watch that January introductory keynote again, and this time, uh, yeah, it really resonated with me just what I could do with "one of those things". This wasn't merely a cell phone, it was a little computer, a music player and a cell phone, too, all in one device in the user's pocket. WOW!!!! OK, so that was the death knell for the Samsung cell phone I had been using....... So, yep, on Launch Day I was in line at the Tysons Mall, number 106 or something, hanging out with my fellow pioneers as we all lined up through the mall, reaching to near the Bloomingdale's store at one end of it. I called a friend on my old cell phone -- the last call it would ever make -- and told her where I was and what I was waiting to do. Her pithy pronouncement was that I was crazy. LOL! Then shortly after, the action started happening and I had to quickly get off the call so that I could start moving forward towards the Apple store to get in there and finally lay eyes and hands on the magical "Jesus Phone", the very first iPhone.....

As it happened, they processed us through pretty quickly so that it was a matter of handing over my plastic to pay for it, stating what I wanted in terms of capacity and in return receiving a lovely bag with the box containing the new iPhone inside. I didn't even see what I'd just bought until I passed by a display table on the way out of the store, firmly clutching my bag with the precious new purchase..... It wasn't until I got home that I had a good opportunity to finally examine the thing and then of course I had to go online and port my phone number from the old Samsung phone and my account at my previous cell phone service provider (it's since gone through so many name changes now that I can't recall what it was!) to AT&T. Then it was time to set up the new device to do its nifty things and it was only then that I really began to appreciate the treasure I'd just gotten.....

Yes, I've still got her, she is residing comfortably in a drawer alongside a couple of other favorite iPhones that came along after her, but I haven't kept all of them.


Had to go looking for this in my archives -- the first iPhone and my iPhone X side-by-side....

IMG_0734 (1).jpg
 
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Cmaier said:
Who loses or breaks a phone on vacation? Don’t do that.
Click to expand...

Never the plan.

Came close once. The offspring had gotten a 6S when they came out and we were traveling to visit the outlaws over Thanksgiving. We stopped at a rest area to use the bathroom. About the time we were back on the interstate and up to speed, she realized she had left it in the bathroom. She was in full tears, not because she had left a $700 phone, but because she had concert video from some concert she went to and hadn't backed them up.

So we located it and we doubled back which took about 15 minutes. Thankfully some honest person found it and turned it in to the maintenance staff. So she got it back. Sometimes a good scare is a great teacher.
 
I recall thinking that way too. The problem is we were looking at it as a just a phone. We were not getting that it would become a computer in our pocket.
 
Thomas Veil said:
Yup. Fifteen years ago today.

www.cnet.com

The iPhone at 15: Steve Jobs Revealed His Greatest Product in 2007

The first iPhone went on sale on June 29, 2007 and it helped Apple grow into a $3 trillion company over the next 15 years.
www.cnet.com www.cnet.com

I can remember watching with interest as I planned on replacing my flip phone with this. I didn’t get to it right away, though. My first iPhone was a 5.
Click to expand...

Yep... stood on line in September that year to get the thing. The one and only time I've done that. It was a blast. I was in a line near some kids who had just received production of their first garage band CD, and were handing some out to people in the queue lol. Couldn't tell if they were more excited about the prospect of nailing original iPhones or having their new CDs in hand. I remember walking back through the mall and passing a Verizon kiosk where absolutely nothing was going on and the sales clerks were totally demoralized just watching this parade of people coming out of the Apple Store with their (ATT-only) iPhones in the special little shopping bags.

I was handing down iPhones to family or neighbor kids for awhile. I hung onto 4S and 5C because I really liked them so much. Finally wiped them a couple years ago along with one or two old iPod touch models so they're ready for a trip to e-cycle when they finally resume having the local one up here in early autumn. Funny how I refuse to let go of my iPod nanos though. The second gen ones and a 7th. Love 'em.
 
Ulenspiegel said:
My first iPhone was a 3S.

I still have it in its original box.

It was a wonder, I enjoyed it very much.

Somehow I feel nostalgic as it was/is so (much) comfortable to hold in hand.
Click to expand...
I had an iPod touch with the processor of the 3 (AFAIR). It wasn't great but there's a lot of nostalgic value still. We all were much younger 15 years ago, LOL
 

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