We are only just fourteen years into the 21st century and already we have seen some of the most amazing technological devices come out. From consumers goods such as cell phones to professional devices like robots that can perform surgey, technology has already been deeply ingrained within our society. We live in a time where access to information comes as fast as you can click a mouse and where we are all connected in ways that have never been imagined before. We still have eighty-five years left of the 21st century and there’s no telling what will come in that time. If you can imagine life 85 years ago, it was drastically different from today. Still while we aren’t that far along in this century, many amazing gadgets have come out to be “game changers”. We are going to take a look at a list containing some of the biggest, ground-breaking gadgets that we have seen so far.
GoPro Cameras
While seeming like a novelty personal video camera at first, GoPro’s have quickly evolved and are used by many different people all over the world. These little cameras can handle nearly all weather conditions, can be strapped to anything, and the newer models even shoot 4K videos. These game changing cameras allowed us to see what it would be like to snowboard down a mountain during an avalanche or what it looks like when you jump out from a ballon 24 miles in the air. The cameras are already so small and portable today that they can be used for a variety of different things.
Wearable Technology
While this isn’t one specific gadget, wearable technology is definitely a game changer. Okay it might not be a game changer right now, but I bet within the next ten years nearly most peopl will have some form of a smartwatch or smartglasses. These devices have already caught on enough that nearly all major technology companies are producing some sort of wearable device, and they will only get better with time. One of the more promising types of wearable technology would be the virtual reality goggles that we are seeing being introduced. These devices will (and are) changing how we interact with our environments.
The iPod
While people don’t really use iPod’s anymore, these devices certainly played a big impact in shaping how we listen to and purchase music. Yes there are other MP3 devices that were released before the iPod, however iPod’s easily popularized digital music. With the rise of iTunes we saw a new medium for how music was distributed and delivered. Before people would have to change a CD in their device, but iPod’s allowed us to bring all of our music with us.
The Android Operating System
While not a gadget, per se, the Android operating system is a pretty big deal. Given the open-source nature of the operating system, Android has given us many great products that people probably aren’t even aware of. Sure there are great cellphones and tablets running Android, but there are also computers using Android, cars running Android, watches using Android, there are even vending machines that use Android as their operating system. Google has already shown us that their operating system can actually be applied to many different types of devices, which is why we consider it to be a major game changer.
Fully Electric Automobiles
While electric vehicles have always been around, they were never efficient or reliable really until the 21st century. Today there are many major automobile manufacturers putting out quality, all-electric cars and these are big game changers. Electric cars can accelerate faster that gas cars, they are more reliable, they are much quieter, and most importantly they don’t harm the environment. It’s only a matter of time before we see electric cars making up the vast majority of vehicles on the roads.
The iPhone
Before I’m outed for being an “Apple shill”, I just want to preface this next part saying that I am an avid Android user with an Android phone and an Android smartwatch. Okay now that that’s out of the way, I would easily make the argument that the iPhone was one of the most important, game changing gadgets in a long time. Yes, there were other phones with a touchscreen, capable of performing a variety of tasks, but the original iPhone really changed how we perceived smartphones. There really weren’t that many touchscreen devices at the time, but after the iPhone, that’s all changed. I would make the argument that it easily changed the cellphone industry, for reasons that you don’t see any non-touchscreen cellphones anymore. But it was more than that, the original iPhone was the first modern, hand-held computer that was useable. The mobile devices we use since the original iPhone aren’t even phones anymore. Sure you can make calls, but the modern smartphones of today are capable of so much and are truly microcomputers. Apple is really good at marketing and delivering a polished, easy-to-use product. They were able to popularize touchscreen smartphones, and now nearly everyone has one. Early Android designs were similar to Blackberry’s, but when the iPhone was announced Android completely changed it as they even recognized how amazing the iPhone was. When you look back to 2007 (when the iPhone came out) there really weren’t any other devices like it, now nearly all devices try to copy it. While more people own Android cellphones today, at the time the early iPhones were easily king.
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