Although the iPhone 2G radically changed the idea of a smartphone, those from Apple did not always have in mind the launch of a mobile phone without a physical keyboard. Although Steve Jobs ridiculed smartphones in 2007, the reality is that Apple had prototypes of an iPhone that would have a physical keyboard. The information comes from Tony Fadell, a former Apple employee who worked on all iPod/iPhones developed up to the iPhone 3GS, so he knows very well how Apple worked to design and manufacture these devices.
He said there were three different versions: an "iPod + Phone," a different iteration that was called the "iPhone," and finally, the device that was ultimately introduced back in January of 2007. As for Fadell's own take on a hardware keyboard ? He told the audience tonight that he himself knew the potential of virtual keyboards, and personally wanted to wait to implement one before going with the hardware option. Fadell worked on the iPhone up until the 3GS — and was involved with a whopping 18 generations of the iPod line.
Three models of the iPhone/iPod Touch were tested by Apple, and Tony would have launched a first iPhone with a physical keyboard and only then would he have switched to one with a touch screen. Of course, Steve Jobs did as he wanted, but Tony Fadell also worked on the development of the iPhone 3G/3GS, after which he left Apple, but kept a position as Steve Jobs' consultant. If the iPhone had been launched with a physical keyboard and Apple had not considered the implementation of touch screens, then I think today's smartphones would have looked completely different.
