With permission from Apple, senior software engineer Greg Christie recently spoke with The Wall Street Journal about the development of the original iPhone, disclosing some details ahead of a new patent trial involving Samsung. The original article focused on the iPhone’s software features, while a follow-up report highlights the environment and hardware that was used in this software development process.
Apple’s hardware setup for testing early prototype iPhone software
According to Christie, design decisions on early versions of Apple’s iPhone OS were made in a drab, windowless room with Mac hardware running the software and a large touchscreen device, “Wallaby”, simulating the screen of the mobile device. The room is also where Christie met with Steve Jobs to present the iPhone team’s work.
It doesn’t mean that the windowless room, lit by fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling, looked like anything special. Christie recalled the walls had signs of water damage from a flood in an adjacent bathroom. A few images covered the walls including one of Apple’s “Think Different” posters of famous graphic designer Paul Rand and another of a large chicken running around without its head.
These details on the development of the iPhone were released in advance of a second U.S. patent infringement trial between Apple and Samsung that is set to begin March 31. Apple prevailed in the first trial and was awarded a judgement of $890 million. This upcoming trial targets more recent products such the Galaxy Note II, the Galaxy S III, the iPhone 5, and the iPad 4.
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