When Steve Jobs took the stage at the Moscone Center in San Francisco on Jan. 9, 2007, he changed the world.

On that day, exactly 10 years ago, the late Apple co-founder unveiled the iPhone. At the Moscone Center, home to the Macworld 2007 convention, Jobs showcased a handset that would be available exclusively on AT&T's (t) wireless network (then known as Cingular) for much of its early life. The iPhone had a touchscreen, ditched the physical keyboard, and delivered a new mobile operating system designed solely by Apple and for Apple—an OS that was unlike anything popular competitors at the time were offering.

While the world learned officially of the iPhone during that Jobs keynote, Apple had been working on the project since 2004 under the codename Project Purple. Over the three-year period, Apple (aapl) amassed a team of more than 1,000 people to work on different facets of the iPhone's development, and Jobs was there every step of the way. He evaluated different versions of the gadget, including one that looked like an iPod (scroll wheel and all) and nixed everything that wasn't up to snuff. He also evaluated the software, which would morph into the iOS we know now, to ensure it was something different and appealing that could impress the world.

Jobs said when he unveiled the iPhone that the handset would be revolutionary. And he was right. But in the context of the broader marketplace, it wasn't alone. At the time, the smartphone market was moving toward touchscreen devices and there were some handsets already on the market that delivered some (but not nearly all) of the touch features offered by the iPhone.

But Apple's iPhone was the first device to get it right. It offered multitouch, a big-screen display to watch movies and other content, the ability to organize the user's life, and just as important, was a solid phone. Apple's iPhone was the first device that actually understood what users needed—perhaps even before users even knew they needed it.

Once Steve Jobs unveiled his company's handset, a new era began. Competitors around the world mobilized to respond to Apple's iPhone, delivered clones, and tried to one-up the company. Entrenched competitors like Palm and BlackBerry would soon be forgotten by the onslaught of customers who wanted the next best thing and not the old wares they were peddling.

Simply put, the smartphone market—and indeed, the broader mobile market—has two ages: the pre-iPhone era and the post-iPhone era.

Apple, of course, has proven to be the biggest beneficiary of that. With a single release, the company created an entirely new business segment that has generated massive sums of cash for a decade. Without the iPhone, Apple wouldn't be the Apple we know it as today.

But it's the historical significance the iPhone has had on users that is arguably most important. Consumer lives changed dramatically when the iPhone was released 10 years ago—although introduced in January, it actually reached customers in June. We now live in a mobile-first world, iPhones (or Android devices) at our side, ready to take on the day's challenges. Computers—and, at times, the person sitting in front of us—have become secondary. The smartphone—touchscreen, App Store, and all—is what matters most now. And we have Steve Jobs and Apple to thank for that.

2007年1月9日，在旧金山的莫斯康展览中心（Moscone Center），史蒂夫·乔布斯登上了展台，改变了世界。

这位已故的苹果共同创始人在当天发布了iPhone手机，距离如今正好十年。在Macworld 2007大会的主办地莫斯康展览中心，乔布斯展示了一款在早期的大部分时候只支持AT&T无线网络（当时还叫Cingular）的手机。这款iPhone拥有触摸屏，抛弃了物理键盘，搭载了一款由苹果设计、也只支持苹果产品的新移动系统——这款系统与当时流行的竞争对手的产品截然不同。

尽管世人正式认识iPhone是在乔布斯掌权期间，但苹果早在2004年就开始研发这个代号为Project Purple的项目。三年中，苹果建立了超过1,000人的团队，负责iPhone研发的方方面面，而乔布斯参与了每一步。他评估了不同版本的设计，包括一种类似iPod的版本（带滚轮的等等），否定了所有不合标准的方案。他还评估了软件，也就是我们如今所知的iOS，确保它与众不同、充满吸引力，从而给人们留下深刻印象。

乔布斯在发布iPhone时说，这是一款革命性的手机。他说得没错。不过在当时的市场环境中，iPhone的特质不是唯一的。当时，智能手机市场正开始向触屏设备转型，一些产品已经提供了iPhone所具有的部分（但还差距甚远）触屏功能。

不过苹果的iPhone是第一款把这项特色做好的产品。它拥有多点触控功能，可以观看电影及其他内容的大屏幕，还能帮助用户安排自己的生活，另外重要的一点是，它还很耐用。iPhone是第一款真正理解用户需求的设备——甚至是在用户知道自己有相关需求之前。

史蒂夫·乔布斯推出这款手机的那一刻起，新的时代就拉开了序幕。全球的竞争对手都因为iPhone而行动起来，他们推出了类似的产品，企图超越苹果。地位稳固的竞争对手如Palm和BlackBerry，很快就被厌倦他们沿街叫卖的老式手机，想要更好的新产品的消费者所遗忘。

简而言之，智能手机市场——实际上，可以说是整个移动产品市场——分为两个时代：前iPhone时代和后iPhone时代。

毫无疑问，苹果是最大的受益者。凭借这一款产品，公司建立了全新的业务分部，十年来收获了巨额的资金。没有iPhone，苹果就不会是我们现在所知的苹果。

不过，iPhone最重要的时代意义，可能在于它给用户带来的影响。十年前发布的iPhone对消费者的生活产生了巨大的影响。尽管苹果1月时就推出了它，但消费者真正拿到这款产品是在6月。我们如今生活在移动先行的世界里，手边就放着iPhone（或安卓产品），随时准备应对着当日的挑战。计算机以及偶尔坐在我们面前的人成为了次要的。智能手机——触屏、应用商店以及一切——现在是最重要的。这都是拜史蒂夫·乔布斯和苹果所赐。（财富中文网）

作者：Don Reisinger

译者：严匡正