The IBM Simon first shown in 1992 was the world’s first smartphone. It had all the basics like smartphones have today including a calendar, contacts, clock, and notepad and most important to every person on the go, email. But the smartphone actually didn’t reach large public sales till the 1996 release of the Nokia Communicator line of phones. Seen as a take-with-you-anywhere device within the enterprise segment, this communications tool did not become popular until the larger expansion of Microsoft Exchange and Activesync products.
IBM Simon in Charging Station
Microsoft Exchange, first released with the Windows 95 operating system was Microsoft’s first module in charge of handling email. This would later become an important tool for companies to manage emails and other collaborative tools within their company network and would grow in popularity as an industry standard overtaking the former industry leader Lotus Notes in 1997.
Microsoft Exchange would later introduce a mobile option called Activesync which was released in 1996. Used in its line of pocket PC’s and mobile devices it was the beginning of mobile email that we see today. Primarily distributed on Pocket PC’s and other mobile devices using the Window’s Mobile OS it would be sold by manufacturers such as HP, HTC and Dell.
It wasn’t until 2004 that Microsoft’s Exchange Activesync system would be open for use on other platforms and become an increasingly popular mobile communications tool. Seeking to make it easier for users to connect their mobile devices to corporate email servers, Palm One bought licensing to the Activesync protocol where it would first debut on its Treo smartphone. To not be outdone, Symbian LTD would also become a license holder in 2005, allowing major manufacturers such as Sony Ericson, Samsung and Siemens use of the Exchange Activesync platform. This may have been the turning point for Microsoft as a major player in the smartphone segment.
By 2005 Microsoft had Activesync and Exchange in use on over 100 million mobile computing devices but was then facing larger competition in the smartphone market. Recent entrant Research in Motion (RIM) and their Blackberry where offering customers push email and messaging and was quickly beginning to be known for their smartphones made for business. In reaction to this Microsoft began offering what they called Direct Push service (based in Activesync) looking to compete as a lower cost alternative.
According to RBC Capital Markets, while smartphones were still widely considered a niche in the cell phone market, during the period from 2007-2009 was when this phone really began to see mass market appeal. Said to have occurred as a result of larger demand for mobile email and wider enterprise adoption, RBC estimated that while in 2007 there were 19 million enterprise smartphone users, it is expected to grow to 74 Million by 2011. A large driver in this growth would be due to the larger expansion of the Microsoft Exchange platform (RBC Capital Markets,2008).
In February of 2007 the Microsoft Exchange server system through Activesync was opened to third party licensing for all smartphone manufacturers providing a broader base for enterprise users to choose from for their mobile communications. The smartphone was now beginning to be seen as not only a tool to surf the web and make phone calls but for secure enterprise messaging; something that was limited to only a select group of mobile devices prior.
After opening up to the market in 2007, makers like Nokia began using the system in the fall of that year. Apple and Google would follow in 2008. While Microsoft already had wide distribution with its Window’s mobile platform on phones from manufacturers such as HTC, LG and Motorola, making Microsoft Exchange and Activesync available on all major platforms made these phones more relevant to business and gave them a wider choice of handhelds. Phones such as the Apple iPhone which has mass consumer appeal were often disregarded as not suitable for business. As a result of adding Activesync and the Microsoft Exchange system, phones like this were now made viable for the business market.
What’s next for the Exchange platform and Activesync?
While 2009 was a major year for Microsoft with the introduction of its Window’s Mobile Market Place and of Window’s Mobile 6.5, 2010 will be looking like a year of major growth in the smartphone market. With the introduction of Windows Mobile 7 and its branded ‘Project Pink’ smartphones Microsoft’s smartphone offerings will be made to be easier to use and more visually appealing to attract a larger consumer audience who will begin to have mobile email and web communications more widely available to them.
Some highly anticipated phones are also expected to support the Microsoft Exchange system as well. In November the Motorola Droid running the Android OS and the Palm Pixie running Palm’s Web OS will be released to the public. Expect to see the Microsoft Exchange and Activesync systems to continue to be a major push in the adoption of the smartphone. With wider availability these communications devices will continue to be a draw to enterprise owners and the general public for secure mobile communications.
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Very interesting history here. I’d love to try to make a phone call on one of those Simons today.
Yeah, the Simon looks pretty cool. I don’t know how people carried that thing around with them, though.