Tech has come a long way over the years. The world ten years ago, was radically different from the world of today. Despite the best efforts of tech experts, they have failed to predict many of the innovations we take for granted today. Here are the biggest tech gadgets nobody predicted a decade ago.
The Smartphone Revolution
Tech experts knew that smartphones were going to be big. But what they never would have expected is for smartphones to take over conventional desktop computers and laptops. Smartphones were expected to be the natural evolution of the mobile phone, but nobody expected them to take over like they did.
These days a smartphone is so much more than a device for SMS messaging and making calls. Its used for practically everything. Most people couldnt live without a smartphone.
Virtual Reality
Its true that the idea of virtual reality has existed for decades, but a decade ago nobody expected it to become a reality. Today virtual reality is at the forefront of gaming, retail, and a variety of other industries. Its yet to hit the mainstream, but its advancing at an incredible rate. Virtual reality is set to disrupt multiple industries and nobody predicted it would have arrived so soon.
The 3D Printer
This may not be the type of gadget you can carry around with you, but its getting to that point. The general public can purchase a 3D printer for their home. It uses plastic to produce individual parts that can then be put together to create ordinary items at a fraction of the price of buying them in-store.
One of the biggest stories was the Liberator pistol. This was a firearm created via a 3D printer and was the first of its kind. For a short time, the schematics for the Liberator were able to be downloaded by anyone.
Touchscreen Tablets
Touchscreen was always considered to be something that comes from the world of sci-fi. That prediction has become a reality due to the rise of touchscreens. Tablets and smartphones have pioneered this technology, but by far the best example of touchscreen working perfectly is in the form of the tablet.
Tablets are relatively affordable and you control everything simply by brushing your fingers across a screen. A decade ago nobody could have predicted the death of buttons.
E-Cigarettes
Cigarettes were starting to go into decline a decade ago, but most predicted that people would simply stop smoking entirely. That changed with the coming of the e-cigarette. The way they work is that you drop vaping liquid into the device and this liquid is vaporized and is then emitted as safe water vapor into the air. They feel almost the same as smoking a conventional cigarette.
E-cigarettes have become one of the most effect aids for helping people to quit smoking. For those who dont want to quit theyve become a much safer alternative to tobacco consumption.
The eReader
Reading books has happened in the same manner for hundreds of years. You take the book, open a page, and flick the page when youre ready to move on. Nobody has attempted to change this until Amazon came along with their flagship product the Kindle. This turned a mere eCommerce site into the household name everyone knows today.
The eReader disrupted something that had existed untouched for centuries. Now you can carry hundreds of books in your pocket on a tiny device. It can connect to the Internet and you can automatically search a book by pressing your finger to the screen.
Last Word The Gadgets of Tomorrow
Its difficult to predict whats going to happen a decade from now. Technology is moving at a rate never seen in the entire human history. Its becoming increasingly problematic to accurately guess whats going to come next. But the inventions in existence today give us clues to what could lie ahead.
Inventors and entrepreneurs who make the correct guesses can make their fortunes by disrupting industries and knocking off existing technologies. But its easier said than done.
How do you think the world of technology is going to look a decade from now and what sort of gadgets do you think people will be using?
