The genesis of the iPhone began with Apple CEO Steve Jobs' direction that Apple engineers investigate touchscreens. Apple created the device during a secretive and unprecedented collaboration with AT&T Mobility—Cingular Wireless at the time of the phone's inception—at a development cost of US$150 million by one estimate. During development, the iPhone was codenamed "Purple 2". The company rejected an early "design by committee" built with Motorola in favor of engineering a custom operating system and interface and building custom hardware.

The iPhone went on sale in the United States on June 29, 2007. Apple closed its stores at 2:00 pm local time to prepare for the 6:00 pm iPhone launch, while hundreds of customers lined up at stores nationwide. Apple sold 270,000 iPhones in the first 30 hours on launch weekend. In 2007, 8 million iPhones were sold in the U.S. according to the Entertainment Software Association. The original iPhone was subsequently made available in five other countries: Ireland, the UK, France, Germany, and Austria. 

iPhone quarterly sales

 

iPhone availability around the world(Official):      Available in 2007      Available in 2008      Available later

On July 11, 2008, Apple released the iPhone 3G in twenty-two countries, including the original six. Forty-eight more are expected to follow in the months afterwards. The first iPhone 3G in the world was sold in Auckland, New Zealand to Jonny Gladwell, a 22-year-old student, at one minute past midnight NZST. On the iPhone 3G release date in the United States, many units initially failed to activate because Apple's iTunes servers were overloaded. Apple sold 1 million iPhone 3Gs in its first 3 days on sale.

Specifications

Size comparison between a first generation iPod nano, a first generation iPhone, and a fourth generation iPod, from top to bottom.

Features common to both versions

• Screen size: 3.5 in (89 mm)
• Screen resolution: 480×320 pixels at 163 ppi, with 3:2 aspect ratio
• Input devices: Multi-touch screen interface plus a "Home" button
• Built-in rechargeable, non-removable battery
• 2 megapixel camera
• Location finding by detection of cell towers and Wi-Fi networks
• Samsung S5L8900 (412 MHz ARM 1176 processor, PowerVR MBX 3D graphics co-processor)
• Memory: 128 MB DRAM
• Storage: 8 GB or 16 GB flash memory
• Operating System: iPhone OS
• Quad band GSM / GPRS / EDGE: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
• Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)
• Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR

Original model

• 4 GB model (discontinued after two months) or 8 GB model
• Size: 4.5 inches (115 mm) (h) × 2.4 inches (61 mm) (w) × 0.46 inch (11.6 mm) (d)
• Weight: 135 g (4.8 oz)
• Battery has up to 8 hours of talk, 6 hours of Internet use, 7 hours of video playback, and up to 24 hours of audio playback, lasting over 250 hours on standby.
• Headphone jack (recessed)
• Digital SAR of 0.974 W/kg

3G model

• Color: Black (8 GB or 16 GB) or white (16 GB)
• Size: 4.5 inches (115.5 mm) (h) × 2.4 inches (62.1 mm) (w) × 0.48 inch (12.3 mm) (d)
• Weight: 133 g (4.7 oz)
• Headphone jack (non-recessed)
• Battery has up to 10 hours of 2G talk, 5 hours of 3G talk, 5 (3G) or 6 (Wi-Fi) hours of Internet use, 7 hours of video playback, and up to 24 hours of audio playback, lasting over 300 hours on standby.
• Tri band UMTS / HSDPA: UMTS 850 / 1900 / 2100
• Assisted GPS, with preference to location based on Wi-Fi or cell towers
• Digital SAR Rating: 1.38 W/kg