What Android Handsets Looked Like Before and After the iPhone

Cody, Oct 27, 2011
  • 33 Comments

The ongoing Apple versus Google war can be traced back to Google’s entry into the smartphone market. Apple launched its iPhone in the Summer of 2007, and within two years Google answered back by releasing its mobile OS, Android.

This led to a series of events, and eventually an onslaught of litigation between the two companies over “copycatting.” The jury is still out on who copied who, but Daring Fireball points to some evidence that seemingly falls in Apple’s favor…

The site links to a post on random.andrewwarner.com that shows a photo of an early 2007 Android handset compared to an after-iPhone Android handset, and the difference is enormous. We’ve posted similar pictures to show the radical change.

Before iPhone (An early 2007 Android prototype handset):

After (late 2008 T-Mobile G1):

As you can see, the original Android OS looked more fit for a BlackBerry. But the version that actually shipped in 2008 looked a lot more like the iPhone. I’m not saying Google copied Apple, but you can’t deny that it got some “inspiration” from Apple.

 

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  • meh

    loved my G1. one of the best phones i ever had. so hackable it was awesome.

  • DebTym

    the early 2007 Android prototype handset looks like it was copied from Blackberry and some touch of Nokia E series.haha

  • iphone4s for shazam!!

    Can you please tell me what was the reason for this article? pointless by the looks of it? i think you guys keep doing these kinds of articles as you have nothing else to write about jeez. Apple was heavy influenced by other manufacturers i mean i have an iPhone 4S i don’t like android much but give it a rest man.

    • lxlim

      Excatly for people like you….

      You see this kind of sites gets their revenue from ads. To be able to sell ads, they must have high traffic. So the fact that you read the article and comment on it. It helps their bottom line

      I guess I’m now one as well by replying

    • iMarc

      If you don’t enjoy the ride Then get off.

      • Bltkor

        stop being such a dame kiss ass fanboy. i read all the articles so i have the right make negative comments as do everyone else. moderators respond to most of them so why are u kissing ass?

  • NERDGEEK

    Meh… Apple rules. Like always….

    • www.itsmyphone.co Aegides

      true that, true that

  • AppleBits

    That first one is totally hideous. The revamped one is better….but ginormous.
    I like the article, btw. Thanks.

  • anonisgay is gay

    Where is the article showing what phones looked like before and after the LG Prada? Clearly Apple copied LG.

    • Sean

      Apple clearly copied their own iPad

    • www.tipb.com Soto

      What. In the blue hell. Is an LG Prada? ..who cares! I believe the iPad was the original project for Apple. Which got push aside, and so the iPhone was born. Thanks for coming to our site embecile troll. If you had a top notch “smartphone” you would stay in your own lane and not care about other websites. Like us, who can careless about that garbage OS that Android has. Go do some productive and charge your battery faggot, and stay off Apple’s nuts. Have a nice day

      • r0cket1000

        “and charge your battery…”

        lol hilarious

      • Jessy

        reviews.cnet.com/sc/32316442-2-440-overview-1.gif

        thats the picture of the LG Prada handset released months before the iPhone made by Prada and Lg fully touch touch screen with 3 buttons if u look at it the design is almost identical to the iPhone 4….The point isn*t to bash Apple the thing is that Apple is going all Lawsuit happy basically claiming they are the original creators of candybar touch screen phones when LG Prada is what changed the market in Europe sadly it never made it to US

    • mohgui

      this is to reply to Jessy’s posting… if you are saying that Apple’s first touch-screen phone (the first generation iPhone) copied the LG Prada, then i’d say that Apple is simply marvelous because they can produce a totally brand new hardware within months!

  • twitter.com/MFCH MFCH

    This article really was a a nice reminder of how much iDB means to me. Without this place, I’d still feel like I was stuck with a device that “just works” (which I love btw), but I would still be missing my Blackjack II. Thanks for making clear walkthroughs for people to really get the full iExperience and being a great news source.

  • jo-macral

    The article is spot on. I also like some of these seemingly pointless articles, as it keeps the site interesting.

  • Joe

    It’s funny this whole notion of who copied who. Go read Job’s biography, he and Gates readily admit that Windows & Mac OS were both stolen from Xerox, they just did it better. “Good artists copy, great artist steal!” -Steve Jobs via Pablo Picasso

    www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW0DUg63lqU

    • www.tipb.com Soto

      Who gives a fuck, guy. Mark Zuckenburg had the MySpace idea and made it better.

      • Bltkor

        so if samsung copies apple and makes it better its ok???? calm your self your not a politician fighting for votes.

  • MrP

    All I can see in your post is bringing up the iPhone by pulling down the android.
    So, a larger screen without keyboard=iPhone?

    • Ionic

      Nope, a phone with a large touchscreen and just a few buttons is really iPhone like. Especially because since the iPhone everybody except RIM has those phones, before the iphone, no one had.

  • ron

    next well learn that car companies copy each others designs. amazing!

  • Jaime Monraz

    i at least expected 4-6 samples.. one is not enough evidence.

  • www.msiiui.weebly.com Raheel

    All are copy cats except Apple

  • Derek

    Fellow iFans have ave to get over this, Yes Google road the coat tails of Apple but competition is good. Apple did invest the R&D, Time and money and it does suck that Google shifted a year later to ride the coat tails but that always happens. Companies sit back let someone else do everything and just come in riding the coat tails. If you care so much don’t use Google services at all. I haven’t used anything from “Big Brother” Google since 05.

  • Finnian

    Apple – INgenious ideal, cohesive unit for Hardware & Software and open 3rd party applications.

    Others: Copy Apple, Hardware and Software conflict & compete, and 3rd party apps, conflict more.

    You can’t beat the quality and capability of Apple – unfortunately their price is also top of the line.
    Face it, you either have an apple product and pay for it, or your running with a wanna-be!

    Go Apple, Forever Jobs like.

    Steve didn’t die, he’s designing new gear for a more impressive boss.

  • Bout

    Well, google always do that : take ideas from others and make it free in order to sell your information.

    It’s always funny, to see all those droid fan come to on apple dedicated website just to spam their ideas …. And try to rewrite history. Also If there was that sure that android is not a ripoff of iOS they will not be here.

    But guess what, soon we will know if android and google do rip off ideas, not by our comments or opinions but by the international justice.

    So far it’s clear that android rip off oracle by stealing java, yelp position and review have been stolen too, Samsung tablet are banned from few country … Andthats just the beggining ! From the justice perspective it seems that this article is right.

    • anon

      “So far it’s clear that android rip off oracle by stealing java”

      Java is open source you clown. Oracle bought Sun with clear intentions of acquiring java and of going after Google. Thanks for supporting the non contributing money hungry corporation. Now go play outside your brain needs oxygen.

  • DarkReaper

    Perhaps Google was waiting for someone to lower the prices of larger-size screens and digitizers during that time..that’s where Apple came in! Lol.

  • Bill

    As usual this blog strives to create drama, tension, and biased opinions in our tech community. I don’t know why iDownload blog Enjoys and intends to start fights among all of us but I really think its in poor taste. No wonder this blog is still tiny after so long.

  • Taba

    This article is just simply saying that one has inspired the other. Wtf is wrong with you people. Relax, calm down, smoke a joint, take a hit, hold it in, blow it out. Lol

  • twitter.com/Absolute4Droid Absolute

    super late but ummm, any reason you have the app drawer up on the G1 and not the homescreen? is it because this suits your biased point better?

 
 
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