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St. Petersburg Unveils World's Biggest iPhone


The latest version of Apple's iconic iPhone, the iPhone 5, is 9 millimeters taller than its predecessor, but it doesn't hold a candle to an iPhone unveiled this week in St. Petersburg, Russia.

A giant 3-meter-tall black iPhone, with a working touch screen, was unveiled outside the St. Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics, and Optics on January 9. It's a memorial honoring the life and work of Apple founder Steve Jobs. The touch screen displays video, photos, and text documenting Jobs' remarkable career. It does everything but make phone calls.

The monument was the brainchild of St. Petersburg native Gleb Tarasov and was chosen from among some 200 entrants in a design competition.

It's titled "Sunny QR Code," in recognition of a QR (Quick Response) code on the back of the memorial that, once scanned, takes viewers to a website honoring Jobs. Not sure what the "Sunny" business is all about.

The website Fast Company amusingly likens the design of the Jobs obelisk to the over-the-top headstones adorning the graves of many Russian criminals.

The first iPhone was released in January 2007 and is widely credited with having revolutionized the smartphone industry and the role that mobile phones play in our everyday lives.

Jobs died on October 5, 2011, following complications from cancer.

St. Petersburg now joins Budapest and Odesa, Ukraine, as boasting monuments to Jobs.

-- Grant Podelco

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