The Apple vs Samsung legal wingding continues to give insights into a company known for its secrecy, and its ability to keep information close to the vest. The testimony of Apple Senior VP Phil Schiller today gave us a peek behind the scenes at the creation of the iPhone.
Apple Senior VP Phil Schiller testified on Friday that, following the iPod, Apple was looking for another category it could reinvent. The iPod, Schiller said, allowed Apple to move beyond being a successful but niche player in the computer market.
Schiller said the iPod changed everyone’s view of Apple. Both inside and outside of the company. People had all sorts of suggestions about what Apple should do next, Schiller recalled: “Make a camera, make a car, crazy stuff.”
(According to Apple board member and and J. Crew CEO Mickey Drexler, Steve Jobs did in fact dream of designing the ultimate vehicle – an iCar!)
Schiller said the company had been working on the tablet computer that would eventually become the iPad, but decided to shift their attention to the phone. “At the time, cellphones weren’t any good as entertainment devices,” Schiller said.
Schiller recalls executives at Microsoft and Palm saying the new phone would fail. “Probably the biggest reason was that Apple had never had a phone before,” Schiller said. “They expected we would fall on our faces.”
Similar comments were heard in the industry after the introduction of the iPad. Schiller said the industry expected that a device without a physical keyboard as setting itself up for failure.
Of course, history proved Apple correct, and everyone else… Well, you know.
