20 Biggest Tech Advancements of the Past 20 Years
Smartphones
Smartphones have been on the market for about ten years, but their development is only beginning. The first mass-produced mobile phone, the Motorola Dynatac 800X, cost PS3,000. It was the first device to use the GSM digital standard, which was the first to offer an extendable antenna, a color screen, and memory for 99 phone numbers. Smartphones have made these products far more useful to users than they were even 20 years ago.
While Apple did not create the smartphone, it was one of the most important developments in recent years. The mobile phone has become the ultimate catch-all device. It’s so revolutionary that in 2012, Popular Mechanics editors ranked it the number one gadget of the year, surpassing the television, personal computer, telephone, and light bulb. According to a Nielsen group survey, four out of every five phones purchased in the U.S. are smartphones, and two-thirds of American adults carry a smartphone at all times.