We started 2012 with the International CES show in Las Vegas this January. With a new year we saw exciting new products such as new 4G phones, phablets (tab-phones), wireless headphones for use in home theaters and for high quality audio up to 100 ft. away, wireless speakers connecting via Bluetooth, and a laptop with a swiveling screen that folds back & becomes a multitouch tablet. How did we get to this point of such innovation? It wasn’t that long ago we were still using dial up internet connections and marveling at mobile devices.
Twenty years ago computers were just making their way into schools and classrooms. Educational institutions began installing wireless networks to avoid the high cost of wiring buildings. The healthcare workforce began using portable computers to access patient information. In 1992 the number of cell phone users passed the 10 million mark. The first commercial text message was sent. The one millionth host was connected to the internet. To have a mobile device was increasingly popular but still not a “given” as it is today.
Even just ten years ago 3G phones were just being introduced. Palms were the impressive device that held information in our hand with limited internet access. Blackberry was a Product of the Year in 2002. Internet access in public places was spotty. There was a push towards faster wireless networks. Camera phones were first introduced in the U.S. market. And just a reminder that in 2002 there was no Facebook (2004); there was no Twitter (2006).
It’s important to look back and see how far we’ve come in the last 10 or 20 years and appreciate the devices we have now. No doubt we truly are on a path of new and incredible technology in 2012 and beyond.