Was the iPhone the Gadget of the Decade?

By Rene Ritchie
last updated

It wouldn't be polite for TiPb to proclaim our signature device, Apple's iPhone, the gadget of the decade -- but luckily we don't have to as it's one of the more common memes circulating the 'net as we pass from the 00's to the 10's.

Sure, the Treo smartphone came first, as did Apple's original iPod, but arguably no device converged so many technologies of the last decade so elegantly, or coalesced more of Apple's own strategies, as the iPhone. If the 2000s were about going from portable to mobile, then the iPhone certainly made the mobile mainstream.

From phone to internet to media to computing, from OS X to iPod to iTunes to iTunes store to Apple Retail to Apple Online to MobileMe to iLife and back again, the iPhone brought so much together so simply that it certainly makes and obvious candidate.

What do you think? Is the iPhone the gadget of the last decade? And if not, what was?

Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.