SIMON SAYS START OF SMARTPHONES

In the fall and winter of 1994, IBM launched the release of IBM Simon. This was a cellular phone and a PDA (personal digital assistant)  matched into one portable device. The device was assembled under Bellsouth Cellular Corp. The device was able to receive and send  cellular phone calls,  faxes, email, and cellular pages (remember those?). Initial cost of the device was about $1000.