10 Inventions that are 10 Years Old This Year
The older we get, the faster tech seems to move on. Scary right? But it’s even scarier to think of all the things we used to happily live without and wonder just how did we fill our time back then? Maybe we weren’t that happy after all! Here are our top ten tech inventions that are ten years old this year…
1. The Original iPhone
It’s crazy to think that the iPhone is just 10 years old. To call it a game changer would be a massive understatement, and with the new iPhone X announced recently, it’s fair to say that Apple haven’t sat on their success, but have continued to move the technology on at lightening speed. Does anyone even remember the iPhone 2?*
2. Android
Google weren’t far behind Apple, although it took them another NINE YEARS to launch their own smartphone, the Pixel. Although the first Android phone (the HTC Dream) wasn’t released until 2008, the operating system was initially unveiled in 2007. Mad eh?
3. Kindle
Who would have thought that the Kindle has actually been around 10 years? It seems like a natural evolution from the smart phone, but actually it’s been around just as long.
4. WildCharger Charging Pad
Unbelievably, the first wireless charging pad was launched in 2007. Well before we really had that many things to charge. It’s a great theory, but in practice, do you actually know anyone who owns one? They may be the future, but the future still hasn’t quite arrived yet.
5. Tumblr
If you’ve ever watched a gif, chances are it started life on Tumblr. A blog platform that isn’t overly “bloggy”, Tumblr became a sort of cross between a proper blogging platform and Myspace for angsty teens. But many a great blog is still hosted there – have you seen terrible real estate photographs? You’ll lose hours of your life (but it's worth it).
6. Netflix
Unbelievably, Netflix actually launched in 1998, but only as a DVD rental service. Business declined due to stiff competition (remember LoveFilm??) and they launched the first archaic dinosaur predecessor to a modern streaming service in 2007. The deal? The standard $5.99 disc plan offered the extra perk of six hours low quality streaming per month, with a choice of around 1,000 titles. Let's just say we're glad it's not 2007 anymore!
7. Soundcloud
Before YouTube (read: pre-2005), the easiest way to check out new music was to head to Myspace. Myspace is still going (who knew?), but Soundcloud is now the place to hear the latest up and coming artists.
8. Wii fit
Ah the wii fit board. Only a very particular type of video game geek could think that exercising via a video game is better than, you know, just exercising. But it provided some good family fun on a rainy winter’s day.
9. Windows Vista
Probably the less said about this the better, but it did launch in 2007.
10. Spotify
This is a bit of a stretch because Spotify wasn’t actually released to the public until 2008, but a beta invite-only version launched in 2007, so it just makes our list. Spotify was in many ways a dream come true – a free (or almost free) way to listen to unlimited music totally legally (if a little morally dubiously). As soon as smart phones took off, Spotify became the default way to listen to music on the go. Take that, iPod nano.
*There was no iPhone 2! We went straight from the original iPhone to the iPhone 3G. That’s right – the original iPhone was wifi only.