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Touchscreens were popular before Apple in business applications. That might not be hipster enough, but Apple certainly didn't invent or popularize them. Further

by drats 15y ago

Touchscreens were popular before Apple in business applications. That might not be hipster enough, but Apple certainly didn't invent or popularize them. Further, at this form factor, you have that Microsoft table as well as a great many all-in-one touch screen computers from HP and Lenovo et al. Can we please not credit Apple with inventing another thing they didn't invent?

lukifer 15y ago
I would say their relationship to touch interfaces is similar to their history with mouse-based GUI: they didn't invent it from scratch, but they innovated upon the existing ideas in ways that helped the technology reach mass market.
- eftpotrm 15y ago
  Only if you've got a short memory. Think back to 1999-2000ish. Palm Pilots were The Next Big Thing, Microsoft were pushing Windows CE handhelds of which every OEM had to have their own. Psion had their wonderful but sadly disregarded Series 5. There was a large ecosystem of handheld touchscreen devices that was frankly pretty close to mass market many, many years before the iPhone, and from which I'd suggest iOS and Android borrow a number of interface concepts.
  - lukifer 15y ago
    Admittedly, what qualifies as "mass market" is highly subjective. But I think it's fair to say Apple's innovations greatly accelerated adoption in both areas, opening up the technology to large numbers of people who would have never used it otherwise.
dramaticus3 15y ago
When you say popular, you mean failure. It is the small form factor that has made the difference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchscreen#Gorilla_arm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchscreen#Gorilla_arm
- crocowhile 15y ago
  I say it's the connectivity that made the difference. My first PDA was a dell axim x5 and it was not much bigger than a modern iphone or android. But it was as fun to use as a computer that is not connected to the internet.

by drats 15y ago

lukifer 15y ago

I would say their relationship to touch interfaces is similar to their history with mouse-based GUI: they didn't invent it from scratch, but they innovated upon the existing ideas in ways that helped the technology reach mass market.

eftpotrm 15y ago
Only if you've got a short memory. Think back to 1999-2000ish. Palm Pilots were The Next Big Thing, Microsoft were pushing Windows CE handhelds of which every OEM had to have their own. Psion had their wonderful but sadly disregarded Series 5. There was a large ecosystem of handheld touchscreen devices that was frankly pretty close to mass market many, many years before the iPhone, and from which I'd suggest iOS and Android borrow a number of interface concepts.
- lukifer 15y ago
  Admittedly, what qualifies as "mass market" is highly subjective. But I think it's fair to say Apple's innovations greatly accelerated adoption in both areas, opening up the technology to large numbers of people who would have never used it otherwise.

dramaticus3 15y ago

When you say popular, you mean failure. It is the small form factor that has made the difference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchscreen#Gorilla_arm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchscreen#Gorilla_arm

crocowhile 15y ago
I say it's the connectivity that made the difference. My first PDA was a dell axim x5 and it was not much bigger than a modern iphone or android. But it was as fun to use as a computer that is not connected to the internet.