Microsoft Passed On iPhone-Like Device In 1991

Posted by samzenpus on Sunday April 15, 2012 @02:10AM from the late-to-the-party dept.

theodp writes "Microsoft apparently could have been a contender in the smartphone market, instead of what WP7 is today. Former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold says he tried to convince Microsoft to make an iPhone-like device more than two decades ago. 'The cost will not be very high,' Myhrvold wrote in 1991. 'It is pretty easy to imagine a $400 to $1,000 retail price.' So is Myhrvold bitter that cost-conscious and risk averse Microsoft opted not to pursue his vision? Nope. 'Hey, it was better than predicting the wrong thing,' Myhrvold explains."

1 of 184 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Re:We have flying cars. by Fred+Ferrigno · 2012-04-15 07:20 · Score: -1, Offtopic

If helicopters were as cheap as cars, millions more people would learn to fly. It's difficult, but every helicopter pilot today was once a layman who didn't know how to fly. There is no such thing as someone who is naturally good at flying helicopters, just people who put in the time and effort to learn.