Frank J. Canova | |
|---|---|
 Frank J. Canova Jr., inventor of the firstsmartphone | |
| Born | (1956-12-23)December 23, 1956 (age 68) Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. |
| Occupation | Electronics designer |
| Known for | Originated the idea for the IBM Simon |
Francis James Canova Jr. (born 23 December 1956) is an American electronics designer who originated the idea for theIBM Simon and has thus been described as the inventor of thesmartphone.
Frank Canova was born inWilmington, Delaware, raised inGreen Cove Springs, Florida, and attendedClay High School, graduating in 1974. He received his advanced education at theFlorida Institute of Technology, graduating with a BSc inelectrical engineering in 1978.[1]
Canova was working atIBM when he realized that chip-and-wireless technology was small enough to use in a handheld device. His boss,Jerry Merckel, was working on the development ofPCMCIA 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 byPaul 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 1992COMDEX 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 ofUSA 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 thesmartphone.[4][5]
Canova joinedPalm in January 1997 where he was head of engineering for thePalmPilot, Palm III, V, and VII series ofPDAs and successor devices.[1]
Canova has also held senior engineering positions atAmazon Web Services,Coherent, Inc.,Plastic Logic,Neato Robotics,Livescribe,Reactrix Systems,Wheels of Zeus andCirrus Logic.[1]