Development 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—at an estimated
development cost of US$150 million
over thirty months. Apple rejected
the "design by committee" approach
that had yielded the Motorola ROKR E1,
a largely unsuccessful collaboration
with Motorola. Instead, Cingular gave
Apple the liberty to develop the
iPhone's hardware and software in-
house.
Jobs unveiled the iPhone to the public
on January 9, 2007 at Macworld 2007.
Apple was required to file for
operating permits with the FCC, but
since such filings are made available to
the public, the announcement came
months before the iPhone had
received approval. The iPhone went
on sale in the United States on June 29,
2007, at 6:00 pm local time,