when were touchscreen interactive kiosks first introduced to commercial and retail settings
Interactive kiosk The first self-service, interactive kiosk was developed in 1977 at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign by a pre-med student, Murray Lappe. The content was created on the PLATO computer system and accessible by plasma touch screen interface. The plasma display panel was invented at the University of Illinois by Donald L. Bitzer. Lappe's kiosk, called The Plato Hotline allowed students and visitors to find movies, maps, directories, bus schedules, extracurricular activities and courses. When it debuted in the U of Illinois Student Union in April 1977, more than 30,000 students, teachers and visitors stood in line during its first 6 weeks, to try their hand at a "personal computer" for the first time.
Smartphone In 1999 the Japanese firm NTT DoCoMo released the first smartphones to achieve mass adoption within a country.[1] Smartphones became widespread in the late 2000s, following the release of the iPhone. In the third quarter of 2012, one billion smartphones were in use worldwide.[2] Global smartphone sales surpassed the sales figures for feature phones in early 2013.[3]