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Re:Smartphones set to become the fastest spreading technolog... by pavlov on Wednesday May 09, 2012 @09:42AM (#3948484)
Indeed.

The first commercial smartphone was introduced in 1996: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_9000_Communicator

The Ericsson R380 from the year 2000 was the first to look more like a modern smartphone with a full-front touchscreen: http://www.gsmarena.com/ericsson_r380-195.php

Re:Smartphones set to become the fastest spreading technolog... by RichClaxton on Wednesday May 09, 2012 @09:56AM (#3948552)
I actually worked on the 9000 Communicator when I worked for Geoworks in the UK, many moons ago.

We also worked on the Seiko Epson locatio, phone with PDA browser and GPS all in 1998, http://www.knorbury.co.uk/locatio.gif

Re:Smartphones set to become the fastest spreading technolog... by diminish on Wednesday May 09, 2012 @09:57AM (#3948554)
totally agree about the misguiding article. When you compare to the first 2billion mobile phones, smartphones may even be seen as slower, given there is a strict definition for what a smartphone is.