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USB flash drives replaced floppy drives and optical discs. Dov Moran invented the USB flash drive. Today, the sturdy drives support up to 256 GB. But more importantly, they inspired consumers with the idea of portable, personal storage that goes anywhere—an idea that cloud-based storage services like Dropbox are taking to the next level. -
Invented by Steve Jobs and Tony Fadell. 5GB of storage that held 1,000 128kbps MP3s, a two-inch black-and-white screen, and a mechanical scroll wheel surrounded by four buttons, -
The devices defined the entire smartphone genre. Where else could you receive email, manage your calendar, and stay on top of all your other business in one place? Invented by Mike Lazaridis. -
Blu-ray set out to redefine the video-disc market—but not in the way its creators expected. By waging a protracted war with a competing standard, HD-DVD, Blu-ray's backers ended up making both technologies irrelevant. -
Shigeru Miyamoto invented the Nintendo Wii. The Nintendo Wii popularized movement-based controllers for games. By appealing to women, young children, and older adults, the Wii proved there was a market for digital play beyond the young men who typically bought consoles and video-game titles.