The history of the iPhone: Apple Newton

In the beginning, there was the Filofax - a gigantic ring-bound mess of notes, calendars and other stuff. Then, in 1984, came the Psion Organiser - the clamshell keyboard-toting PDA that was a yuppie's second favourite gadget (after a brick mobile phone). Then came the Apple Newton in 1993 - the first touchscreen electronic organiser with handwriting recognition and the first gadget termed a 'personal digital assistant'. Unfortunately for Apple, the Palm Pilot (launched in 1996) proved much more popular - with its smaller form factor and cheaper prices. Apple's first attempt at a PDA ended in failure when it discontinued the product in 1998.