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THE MOST IMPORTANT TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES IN THE 21st CENTURY
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Apple iPod
Portable MP3 players had been around for many years before Apple launched its version in 2001, but the iPod – together with Apple's iTunes software – was the technology that really transformed the way people listened to music -
Mozilla Firefox
Firefox was the first web browser to challenge the dominance of Microsoft's Internet Explorer. -
Skype
Skype has transformed the way people in different countries communicate. It made it possible to speak to family and friends abroad – and even video chat – for free over WiFi. -
Facebook
Facebook was not the first social network – it built on the success of earlier sites like MySpace and Bebo. However, it quickly overtook its predecessors thanks to its simplicity. Today the website connects over 1.3 billion people worldwide, with users from a vast array of backgrounds, nationalities and ages. -
YouTube
Created by three former PayPal employees in 2005, YouTube has grown to become the world's most popular video-sharing website. Key to its success is the ability for anyone from anywhere in the world to broadcast themselves for free. -
Nintendo Wii
Nintendo created a console that allowed gamers to get physically involved in the virtual games they were playing. The Wii controller detects movement in three dimensions, and can be used as a fitness device. -
Apple iPhone
Apple's iPhone was the first touchscreen smartphone to gain mass-market adoption. Part of the reason for its appeal was the fact that it could be controlled using a finger rather than requiring a stylus. -
Amazon Kindle
The Kindle was not the first e-reader on the market, nor the most elegant when it launched in 2007, but Amazon ended up stomping all over its main rival Sony by offering the device cheaply, and providing seamless integration with its online ebook store. -
Google Android
Following the ecstatic response to Apple's iPhone in 2007, other mobile phone manufacturers were desperate to get in on the action, but they needed an operating system that could compete with iOS. Android was originally created as an open source OS for cameras, but was bought by Google in 2005 and launched as a mobile OS in 2008. It is now the primary operating system for Samsung, Sony, LG and HTC phones, among others -
Spotify
Music streaming service Spotify arrived at a time when music piracy was at its height, offering a free and legal alternative. Users could choose whether to stream music for free with intermittent adverts, or pay a subscription for ad-free music streaming. -
Apple iPad
Apple did it again in 2010 with the launch of its tablet PC, the iPad. It was by no means the first device of its kind, but it succeeded in capturing the public's imagination, and kickstarted a new trend. -
IBM Watson
IBM Watson is an artificially intelligent computer system capable of answering questions posed in natural language. In 2011, it competed on the American quiz show Jeopardy and beat the two all-time greatest champions at their own game. It represented an important milestone in the development of artificial intelligence – a field that has been progressing rapidly with innovations like Microsoft Kinect and Apple Siri. -
Google driverless car
Google is yet to launch its driverless cars but it bagan testing the vehicles in California earlier this year, and has indicated that it wants to roll them out broadly by 2017. The cars have a top speed of 25mph and are designed to be perpetually in motion, powered by Google’s detailed knowledge of traffic flow. If the concept takes off, it is thought that driverless cars could transform the way we move around cities in the future. -
Apple Watch
The Apple Watch is a smartwatch developed by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking and health-oriented capabilities as well as integration with iOS and other Apple products and services. -
WhatsApp Calling
The popular mobile messaging service owned by Facebook released the WhatsApp Calling feature that is comparable to Skype and the FaceTime Audio service on iOS.
