Francis James Canova Jr. (born 23 December 1956) is an American electronics designer who originated the idea for the IBM Simon and has thus been described as the inventor of the smartphone.
Frank J. Canova
Frank J. Canova Jr., inventor of the first smartphone
Canova was working at IBM when he realized that chip-and-wireless technology was small enough to use in a hand-held device. His boss, Jerry Merckel, was working on the development of PCMCIA cards that could be used to expand the memory of laptop computers and realized that they could also be used in the sort of device that Canova was thinking of. Both were working in a team that had been put together by Paul C. Mugge to enliven IBM's product range by developing smaller, lighter, products.[2]
Merckel pitched the idea to Mugge of "the phone of the future" that would use cards inserted into the phone to run services, and the development of a prototype was approved by Mugge. It was decided by IBM to show the device, code named "Angler", at the November 1992 COMDEX technology trade show in Las Vegas, necessitating a rush to complete the prototype by Canova and his team that saw them working 80-hour weeks in order to have it ready.[2]
The device was an immediate success at the show and Canova found himself on the front of the money section of USA Today, pictured holding the phone. It was released under the name Simon in August 1994[2] and patented by Canova and other team members in 1995 with a priority date of 13 November 1992.[3] As the originator of the idea for the IBM Simon, Canova has been described as the inventor of the smartphone.[4][5]
Palmedit
Canova joined Palm in January 1997 where he was head of engineering for the PalmPilot, Palm III, V, and VII series of PDAs and successor devices.[1]
^ abcFrank Canova. "Canova Family Tree – Francis James Canova, Jr". Canova3.com. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
^ abcBefore IPhone and Android Came Simon, the First Smartphone. Ira Sager, Bloomberg, 29 June 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
^"US Patent 5537608". Google. USPTO. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
^Merchant, Brian. (2017). The One Device: The secret history of the iPhone. Transworld. p. 29. ISBN978-1-4735-4254-9.
^Woyke, Elizabeth. (2014). The Smartphone. Anatomy of an industry. New York: The New Press. pp. 3–9. ISBN978-1-59558-963-7.
External linksedit
Francis J. Canova, Jr. Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications - Justia Patents Search
December 15, 2023
frank, canova, francis, james, canova, born, december, 1956, american, electronics, designer, originated, idea, simon, thus, been, described, inventor, smartphone, inventor, first, smartphoneborn, 1956, december, 1956, wilmington, delaware, nationalityamerican. Francis James Canova Jr born 23 December 1956 is an American electronics designer who originated the idea for the IBM Simon and has thus been described as the inventor of the smartphone Frank J CanovaFrank J Canova Jr inventor of the first smartphoneBorn 1956 12 23 December 23 1956 age 66 Wilmington Delaware U S NationalityAmericanOccupationElectronics designerKnown forOriginated the idea for the IBM SimonIBM Simon Personal Communicator Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2 1 IBM 2 2 Palm 2 3 Other appointments 3 References 4 External linksEarly life editFrank Canova was born in Wilmington Delaware raised in Green Cove Springs Florida and attended Clay High School graduating in 1974 He received his advanced education at the Florida Institute of Technology graduating with a BSc in electrical engineering in 1978 1 Career editIBM edit Canova was working at IBM when he realized that chip and wireless technology was small enough to use in a hand held device His boss Jerry Merckel was working on the development of PCMCIA cards that could be used to expand the memory of laptop computers and realized that they could also be used in the sort of device that Canova was thinking of Both were working in a team that had been put together by Paul C Mugge to enliven IBM s product range by developing smaller lighter products 2 Merckel pitched the idea to Mugge of the phone of the future that would use cards inserted into the phone to run services and the development of a prototype was approved by Mugge It was decided by IBM to show the device code named Angler at the November 1992 COMDEX technology trade show in Las Vegas necessitating a rush to complete the prototype by Canova and his team that saw them working 80 hour weeks in order to have it ready 2 The device was an immediate success at the show and Canova found himself on the front of the money section of USA Today pictured holding the phone It was released under the name Simon in August 1994 2 and patented by Canova and other team members in 1995 with a priority date of 13 November 1992 3 As the originator of the idea for the IBM Simon Canova has been described as the inventor of the smartphone 4 5 Palm edit Canova joined Palm in January 1997 where he was head of engineering for the PalmPilot Palm III V and VII series of PDAs and successor devices 1 Other appointments edit Canova has also held senior engineering positions at Amazon Web Services Coherent Inc Plastic Logic Neato Robotics Livescribe Reactrix Systems Wheels of Zeus and Cirrus Logic 1 References edit a b c Frank Canova Canova Family Tree Francis James Canova Jr Canova3 com Retrieved 2 July 2017 a b c Before IPhone and Android Came Simon the First Smartphone Ira Sager Bloomberg 29 June 2012 Retrieved 8 July 2017 US Patent 5537608 Google USPTO Retrieved 8 July 2017 Merchant Brian 2017 The One Device The secret history of the iPhone Transworld p 29 ISBN 978 1 4735 4254 9 Woyke Elizabeth 2014 The Smartphone Anatomy of an industry New York The New Press pp 3 9 ISBN 978 1 59558 963 7 External links editFrancis J Canova Jr Inventions Patents and Patent Applications Justia Patents Search Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Frank J Canova amp oldid 1145970888, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,