World’s very first smartphone turns 20

At just 20 years of age it is undeniably a relic from another age, already long consigned to the past.

But, clunky as it may be by modern standards, the IBM Simon has an important place in history — it was the world’s very first smartphone.

Today marks the anniversary of when the Simon first went on sale, and in October it will get a new lease of life when it goes on display as part of a permanent exhibition on the history of communication and information technology at London’s Science Museum.