
The Company That Invented the iPhone in 1990 - connorcodes
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/08/general-magic-oral-history-of-the-influential-tech-company.html
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WheelsAtLarge
People like to point out how great the iPhone was, therefore, that's why it
succeeded but the brilliance of the phone was the tie to the phone companies
and the continued improvement by apple.

Magic's big problem was that it did not have a revenue model. Engineers like
to point to great gadgets and products but if the products can't be monetized
then don't expect them to be around for long.

Steves brilliance was that he was able to monetize a gadget from the start.
The first iPhones were good but they would have failed had they not been
paired with an affordable service. Had people had to pay for the phone first
then the iPhone would have failed.

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colecut
When the iPhone came out it was $600 for the phone, plus a 2 year contract,
at&t only..

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karmakaze
There was a loophole. Apple sold them at their stores with an (iTunes?)
activation procedure. You could (and I did) buy the phone outright and never
activated with AT&T. I just used a local GSM sim. Of course the visual
voicemail never worked, but a small loss.

