The World’s First Modern Smartphone
In 2000, Rob Lowe — then Programme Director and Lead Engineer at Motorola/Psion — led the development of a device called Odin. Unlike anything the world had seen before, Odin was the first smartphone designed in the form we recognise today. It featured a full-colour portrait touchscreen, apps, internet access, MP3/MP4 playback, email — and even the first-ever Airplane Mode, invented and recorded in Rob Lowe’s original notes specifically for Odin. The device quietly set the blueprint for the mobile future.
Years Ahead of Its Time
At a time when most phones were still monochrome and limited to calls and texts, Odin introduced the very features that would define the iPhone and Android years later. Wireless syncing, cloud-style data, location services, and voice control were all written into Rob Lowe’s original design notes. These notes make it clear that Odin was the first modern smartphone — marking a pivotal moment in history and establishing the smartphone era.
The Notes That Corrected Smartphone History
The story of Odin has remained little-known since 2000, fully documented in 115 pages of Rob Lowe’s original handwritten notes plus blueprints and plans — now preserved at The National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park. This documentation proves Odin’s pioneering status and reveals how the world came close to holding a modern smartphone years before Apple or Google. Odin established the smartphone era by meeting today’s definition of a smartphone in the year 2000. This website brings Odin’s history to life, ensuring its rightful place as a landmark in technology history.
Odin vs iPhone and Android
Odin: Years Ahead of iPhone and Android – Proven by Comparison
Smartphone Comparison: Odin vs iPhone vs Android
| Feature | Odin (2000) | iPhone (2007) | Android (2008) |
| Full-colour portrait touchscreen | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Downloadable apps | ✓ | ✓ (App Store 2008) | ✓ |
| Mobile internet browsing | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Email & multimedia messaging | ✓ | ✓ (later MMS) | ✓ |
| MP3/MP4 music/video playback | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Wireless syncing (cloud-style) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Location-based services | ✓ | ✗ (until 2008) | ✓ |
| Voice control | ✓ | ✗ (added later) | ✗ (added later) |
| Airplane Mode | ✓ (first ever) | ✓ | ✓ |
Odin was years ahead. In 2000, it delivered the full template of the modern smartphone — features Apple and Google wouldn’t bring to the public until almost a decade later.
According to Encyclopaedia Britannica
The Odin Smartphone (year 2000) was the first device to meet the modern definition of a smartphone.
Innovation That Defined the Smartphone
The Odin project pioneered over 80% of the technologies still found in smartphones today. Its original development notes — 115 pages of detailed invention records plus blueprints and plans — have survived and are now preserved at The National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park. These archives provide direct evidence of how Odin became the first true smartphone years before Apple or Google entered the scene.
Seven Years Before the iPhone
In 2000/2001, Odin delivered:
- Full-colour portrait touchscreen
- Wireless internet via GPRS
- Cloud-style syncing with SyncML
- Downloadable apps
- Location-based services
- Bluetooth
- Airplane Mode™ (invented here for the first time)
- MP3/MP4 playback
- Opera web browser
- Office-style apps (Word, Sheet)
- 3D gaming
- Handwriting recognition
These weren’t concepts or prototypes — they were real, working features, integrated into a finished device. Odin anticipated how smartphones would look, work, and connect years before the industry caught up.
Meeting Today’s Smartphone Definition — in 2000
Encyclopaedia Britannica defines a smartphone as “a mobile telephone with an LCD display screen, built-in personal information management programs, and an operating system that allows software to be installed for web browsing, email, music, video, and other applications. A smartphone may be thought of as a handheld computer integrated within a mobile telephone.”
Odin matched that definition fully in 2000 — long before iPhone (2007) or Android (2008).
Civilisational Invention
The Odin Smartphone is classified as a civilisational invention — one of the rare breakthroughs that permanently changes how people live, work, and interact. It sits in the same category as the wheel, the printing press, and the internet. What makes Odin unique is that it is the only civilisational invention known to have survived with full development notes intact.
The Evidence Was Never Lost — Just Unseen
- 115 pages of handwritten development notes, verified and preserved
- Authored by Rob Lowe, Programme Director and Lead Engineer for Motorola/Psion
- Internal Motorola records and Psion sign-off confirm its provenance
- Core technologies licensed onwards to Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and more — appearing in over 500 million smartphones
This Is Not a Tribute. This Is a Correction.
The Odin Smartphone was real. It was operational. And it was ready in 2001. But due to corporate cost-cutting, it was never released.
The internet rarely credits Rob Lowe. From now on, it will.
Example of the 115 Pages of Handwritten Development Notes from 2000/2001, Plus 173 Pages of Annotated Commentary
Operational in 2001. Wireless. Full-colour Portrait Touchscreen. Cloud-connected.
Airplane Mode™. Bluetooth. GPRS. GPS. Custom Chip. Browsing. Plus much more.
Odin changed everything—before the world was ready.
Discover the groundbreaking first smartphone that forever transformed our world.
Here is Rob delivering the Odin Smartphone Notes to Bletchley Park
Rob Lowe delivering the original Odin Smartphone development notes to The National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park, March 2025.