Reddit reviews The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone

iPod touch and iPhone we're developed simultaneously.
"... the embryo of the iPhone was basically a prototyped research project for a long, long time. (Jobs was concerned) with whether entering the market at all was worth the risk. When it became clear enough that smartphones would become competitors to the iPod, it added some pressure and forced his hand a bit." -Motherboard senior editor Brian Merchant's "The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone."

https://www.amazon.com/dp/031654616X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_dp_T1_AxerzbRMW7AKW

All that came before fed into the development of the iPhone because no invention springs fully formed from the aether or leaps Athena-like from one man's head.

Autogenerated.

It’s the 10th anniversary of the iPhone—I interviewed its inventors, snuck into the factory where it’s made, and melted one down to its core elements. AMA.

I'm the author of a new book, The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone, in which I interviewed its creators, traced its history, and traveled around the world to reveal the inside story of the invention that changed everything—and became the most profitable product in the world. Ask me anything!

Proof: https://twitter.com/bcmerchant/status/880810340291813378

Book details: https://www.amazon.com/One-Device-Secret-History-iPhone/dp/031654616X


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thepropotatoface :



How exactly did you sneak into the factory?



: merbrian :

:

: Honestly? We told a bored-looking security guard I had to take a leak. I

: really did; we'd been trying to get through the gates all day, through

: different entrances, and I hadn't had a bathroom break for hours. We saw one

: through the gates, and recognized a weird, potentially useful set of

: circumstances. My translator was so persistent, and made this poor guy feel

: so uncomfortable, he finally just waved us through and said, 'Come right

: back, I'm watching'. And then we didn't.

:


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Chtorrr :



What is the very best cheese?



: merbrian :

:

: Manchego.

:


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Chtorrr :



How did you first become interested in iphones?



: merbrian :

:

: When I finally lost one—I somehow went years without breaking or losing or

: otherwise being away from my phone, and when I finally left my iPhone 6 in

: the back of a cab, it was like this weird, itchy wakeup call: This thing owns

: us. And I thought it'd be worth investigating why. Then, when I saw the

: insides of a phone at iFixit, and the teardown experts were telling me about

: each of the components, I knew there had to be a host of stories behind the

: hood that were worth telling.

:


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Litpunk :



Did the idea of it really start before the ipod?



: merbrian :

:

: The iPod was out the door as a product first, but the touch-screen based

: experiments undertaken by the core group of designers and engineers that

: would evolve into the iPhone began not too long after, in 2002 and 2003.

:


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doray :



Why was the motivation to lock user customization for the first iPhones? I

remember my friends couldn't change their background or ringtone



: merbrian :

:

: The motivation was pretty simple: Steve Jobs. He originally conceived of the

: iPhone as more an immaculately built cell phone, or an accessory, than a

: mobile computer (his engineering team, on the other hand, knew its power from

: the beginning). Furthermore, he had a predilection for sealed, tightly

: controlled products—he wanted Apple to be able to control every facet of the

: experience, to prevent bugs or glitches like dropped calls. It was a

: herculean effort just to talk him into allowing an App Store, allowing

: developers to make third party apps. Finally, there was the issue of timeline

: in play; when the iPhone hit stores, the Apple developers didn't have time to

: finish all the functions they knew they'd eventually want to roll out. A

: confluence of those three reasons is why the phone was so locked up when it

: first launched.

:


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moparhippy420 :



Oh yeah? Well im taking a shit right now. Ask ME anything.



: merbrian :

:

: Are you using an iPhone while you do?

:

:: moparhippy420 :

::

:: I am not. Android all the way. Takin that open source poo

::

::: merbrian :

:::

::: Don't forget to wipe your system when you're done.

:::


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Updated at 2017-07-01 13:09:18.550596

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