Top 10 Gadgets of the Decade

We continue our look back at what characterized the past decade. This list is a compilation adopted from several sources, and most of us will agree that these are the high-tech gadgets that shaped our lives in recent years.

iPod: It wasn’t the first digital music player when introduced in 2001, but it is now the ‘industry standard’. Along with iTunes store, the iPod popularized the mp3 player and changed the music and applications industry forever.

GPS Devices: Completely replacing folding printed maps. Starting in 2000, GPS evolved, led by Garmin and now voice-enabled devices sit on dashboards of cars all over the world, and GPS is available on mobile phones too.

The BlackBerry: Research in Motion's highly popular BlackBerry mobile device was first introduced as a two-way pager in 1999, but the now-common BlackBerry smart phone was introduced in 2002. It is considered the most efficient phone to send and receive e-mail and access the Internet.

Digital cameras: In the nineties, it took days to see photos you’ve taken with a camera. Nowadays, you can see them on a little screen and edit them on your digital camera seconds after taking them, within minutes the world sees them uploaded online.

Digital Video Recorder (Tivo): TiVo introduced the device in 1997, but it was in the 2000s that the ad-skipping DVR really took off. Now, other manufacturers offer a DVR-integrated television.

Nintendo Wii: The Wii pulled gamers off the couch and into the action, revolutionizing video game play with its wireless, motion-sensing controllers.

USB Flash Drive: More durable than discs, tiny and capable of storing mountains of information, USB sticks are now part of life.

iPhone: There are 40 million units in use of this impressive touch-screen device. Along with BlackBerry, the most successful smart phone of the decade.

E-Book Readers: Wave goodbye to printed books as Amazon’s Kindle and Sony’s Reader are adopted by consumers. Sales of digital books tripled this year too.

Netbooks: Smaller and cheaper than typical laptops. These fully-functional mini-notebooks have boosted sales of PCs since their launch in 2008. Blurring the lines between bigger PCs and small portable digital devices, netbooks will be popular in the next decade.

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