The iPhone
Almost anyone can admit that when they first heard of the iPhone, they thought it was a hoax.
Criticize it, love it, boycott it; it’s undeniably one of the most influential changes to the consumer electronics world in the last 10 years. It has revolutionized how we see and use cell phones and has inspired numerous alternatives. These days, devices that have nothing to do with cell phone technology adopt the most popular features of the iPhone. Touch screens, flick-style scrolling, app-based operating systems (complete with some rendition of an ‘Application Repository/Market’ system), device screens that almost completely cover the system, drawer-style interface elements and mobile internet browsing have all become commonplace since the iPhone, and for good reason. The iPhone did what everyone wanted, but no one had yet accomplished.
Suddenly having the full, non-WAP-based internet at your fingertips was demanded by the masses. Many other devices offering similar features (Google Android, WebOS/PalmPre, etc.) sprung up to offer competition, which is a common sign of extreme influence over an entire industry. And let us not forget the iPhone 4g which is now offering video calling between phones – a dream that many of us thought impossible some twenty or so years ago.
To sit down and describe the iPhone to someone back in 1999 would be the equivalent of describing the Holodeck to someone today.
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