30 Years of Popular Tech Gifts: A Timeline

30 YEARS OF POPULAR TECH GIFTS: A TIMELINE Whilst Smartphones and Tablets have become the sought after tech gift, 30 years ago things were very different. Here at insurance2go, we wanted to take a trip down memory lane with our timeline of popular tech gifts - how times change. .. . . ... 1983 MOTOROLA DYNATAC 8000X 1984 SONY DISCMAN D-50 1985 COMMODORE AMIGA 1000 First commercially available handheld cellular phone a.k.a. 'the brick" Sony's first-ever portable CD player sparked huge public interest as the CD industry experienced huge growth The Amiga 1000 was the first in a line of personal computers released by Commodore International who went on to become a household name during the eighties and nineties. .... 1988 MOTOROLA DYNATAC 8500XL • The DynaTAC series grew increasingly • popular amongst wealthy businessmen • at least, and the 8500XL of 1988 became a sought after tech product 1987 SEGA MASTER SYSTEM Launched in Europe in September of 1987, the Sega Master System went on to sell approximately 13 million units worldwide 1986 NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM (NES) Selling 61.91 million consoles across the globe, the NES was launched in Europe in September of 1986 and formed the blueprint for successful Nintendo consoles of the future •. .. . ..... 1989 NINTENDO GAMEBOY First launched in America and Japan in 1989, Nintendo's first hand-held console clocked up over 118 million sales around the world 1990 SEGA MEGADRIVE The follow up to the Master System proved to be even more popular than the first, putting Sega firmly on the gaming map 1991 SUPER NINTENDO (SNES) Nintendo's second home console, the SNES, sold 49.10 million units worldwide making it the best-selling console of the 16-bit era (intel) •.... .. 1993 INTEL PENTIUM MICROPROCESSOR Okay, so it's not a consumer product per se, but it did pave the way for a wave of personal computers to be sold 1992 IBM THINKPAD 1994 SONY PLAYSTATION Sony's first attempt at creating a video Popular within large businesses and schools, the IBM ThinkPad was first released in 1992 and has gone on to be revered by technology enthusiasts all over game console was met with a bit of scepti- cism, but it became the first console to ever sell more than 100 million units .··· ··· ... . Windows 95 1995 WINDOWS 95 A huge step-up from its predecessor, Windows 95 became the must-have Operating System of its time 1996 MOTOROLA STARTAC The first ever clamshell/flip phone, the StarTAC got snapped up by 60 million users - making it one of the first mobile phones to gain widespread consumer adoption 1997 TAMAGOCHI Something of a fad, the Tamagotchi was a handheld digital pet which was hugely popular amongst children and adults alike .... ... 2000 SONY PLAYSTATION 2 1999 TIVO Released in the USA in 1999, TiVo was a revolutionary way to watch television featuring on-screen guides and programme recording functionality 1998 PANASONIC PORTABLE DVD PLAYER The first-ever portable DVD player from Panasonic proved to be a hit despite its large size and weight With over 155 units sold across the globe, the PlayStation 2 became even • more popular than its predecessor 2001 APPLE IPOD 2002 NOKIA 7650 2003 BLACKBERRY 6210 Offering email, phone SMS, web browser and messenger, the 6210 set the standard for BlackBerry With the 7650, Nokia became the first Even though MP3 players had existed before, Apple's iPod revolutionised the technology with its excellent design and easy-to-use operating system mobile phone provider to incorporate a colour display and fully-integrated camera .... 2006 PLAYSTATION 3 Competing with the Xbox 360, Sony released their PlayStation 3 a year later, also selling 70 million units globally 2005 хвох 360 2004 NINTENDO DS The must-have games console of 2005 broke barriers in terms of online gameplay and functionality, selling 70 million units worldwide and still selling in 2013 First released in 2004, the Nintendo DS was the successor to the Game Boy series, selling more than 152 million consoles worldwide .... . 2008 NINTENDO WII 2009 AMAZON KINDLE Whilst originally released two years prior, the Kindle became increasingly . popular as an e-book reader during 2009. 2007 IPHONE Marking the evolution from mere mobile phone to smartphone, Apple's iPhone went onto to sell 250 million units The first console to target a much broader demographic, the Wii featured wireless controllers that detect movement in three dimensions ... .···. 2012 IPAD MINI 2010 IPAD 2011 SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE Breaking the mould for being a smartphone/tablet hybrid (or a phablet), the Galaxy Note turned heads with its unique size – something of a game changer for the industry Starting what has become pure domination of tech products in the last 3 years, the iPad was the first tablet released by Apple Featuring a reduced screen size of7.9 inches, the Mini is another step-forward for Apple to dominate the tablet market ? 2013? WHAT WILL BE THE POPULAR TECH PRODUCT OF 2013? Some are predicting wearable technology– the iWatch or Google glasses perhaps? Let us know your predictions. ... Bio: Insurance2go are a leading UK based specialist insurer for mobile phones and smartphones. They also provide policies for iPads, laptops, glasses and bicycles. Insurance2Go is the trading name of Loyal Insurance who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. References: http://bitshare.tumblr.com/post/14872181167/the-most-popular-holiday-gifts-in-the-past-30-years http://www.techhive.com/article/2017801/popular-tech-gifts-of-holidays-past.html http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2012/09/18/what-will-the-top-tech-trends-be-in-2013/ http://www.pcworld.com/article/130207/article.html http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2023689 2023681_2023578,00.html 30 YEARS OF POPULAR TECH GIFTS: A TIMELINE Whilst Smartphones and Tablets have become the sought after tech gift, 30 years ago things were very different. Here at insurance2go, we wanted to take a trip down memory lane with our timeline of popular tech gifts - how times change. .. . . ... 1983 MOTOROLA DYNATAC 8000X 1984 SONY DISCMAN D-50 1985 COMMODORE AMIGA 1000 First commercially available handheld cellular phone a.k.a. 'the brick" Sony's first-ever portable CD player sparked huge public interest as the CD industry experienced huge growth The Amiga 1000 was the first in a line of personal computers released by Commodore International who went on to become a household name during the eighties and nineties. .... 1988 MOTOROLA DYNATAC 8500XL • The DynaTAC series grew increasingly • popular amongst wealthy businessmen • at least, and the 8500XL of 1988 became a sought after tech product 1987 SEGA MASTER SYSTEM Launched in Europe in September of 1987, the Sega Master System went on to sell approximately 13 million units worldwide 1986 NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM (NES) Selling 61.91 million consoles across the globe, the NES was launched in Europe in September of 1986 and formed the blueprint for successful Nintendo consoles of the future •. .. . ..... 1989 NINTENDO GAMEBOY First launched in America and Japan in 1989, Nintendo's first hand-held console clocked up over 118 million sales around the world 1990 SEGA MEGADRIVE The follow up to the Master System proved to be even more popular than the first, putting Sega firmly on the gaming map 1991 SUPER NINTENDO (SNES) Nintendo's second home console, the SNES, sold 49.10 million units worldwide making it the best-selling console of the 16-bit era (intel) •.... .. 1993 INTEL PENTIUM MICROPROCESSOR Okay, so it's not a consumer product per se, but it did pave the way for a wave of personal computers to be sold 1992 IBM THINKPAD 1994 SONY PLAYSTATION Sony's first attempt at creating a video Popular within large businesses and schools, the IBM ThinkPad was first released in 1992 and has gone on to be revered by technology enthusiasts all over game console was met with a bit of scepti- cism, but it became the first console to ever sell more than 100 million units .··· ··· ... . Windows 95 1995 WINDOWS 95 A huge step-up from its predecessor, Windows 95 became the must-have Operating System of its time 1996 MOTOROLA STARTAC The first ever clamshell/flip phone, the StarTAC got snapped up by 60 million users - making it one of the first mobile phones to gain widespread consumer adoption 1997 TAMAGOCHI Something of a fad, the Tamagotchi was a handheld digital pet which was hugely popular amongst children and adults alike .... ... 2000 SONY PLAYSTATION 2 1999 TIVO Released in the USA in 1999, TiVo was a revolutionary way to watch television featuring on-screen guides and programme recording functionality 1998 PANASONIC PORTABLE DVD PLAYER The first-ever portable DVD player from Panasonic proved to be a hit despite its large size and weight With over 155 units sold across the globe, the PlayStation 2 became even • more popular than its predecessor 2001 APPLE IPOD 2002 NOKIA 7650 2003 BLACKBERRY 6210 Offering email, phone SMS, web browser and messenger, the 6210 set the standard for BlackBerry With the 7650, Nokia became the first Even though MP3 players had existed before, Apple's iPod revolutionised the technology with its excellent design and easy-to-use operating system mobile phone provider to incorporate a colour display and fully-integrated camera .... 2006 PLAYSTATION 3 Competing with the Xbox 360, Sony released their PlayStation 3 a year later, also selling 70 million units globally 2005 хвох 360 2004 NINTENDO DS The must-have games console of 2005 broke barriers in terms of online gameplay and functionality, selling 70 million units worldwide and still selling in 2013 First released in 2004, the Nintendo DS was the successor to the Game Boy series, selling more than 152 million consoles worldwide .... . 2008 NINTENDO WII 2009 AMAZON KINDLE Whilst originally released two years prior, the Kindle became increasingly . popular as an e-book reader during 2009. 2007 IPHONE Marking the evolution from mere mobile phone to smartphone, Apple's iPhone went onto to sell 250 million units The first console to target a much broader demographic, the Wii featured wireless controllers that detect movement in three dimensions ... .···. 2012 IPAD MINI 2010 IPAD 2011 SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE Breaking the mould for being a smartphone/tablet hybrid (or a phablet), the Galaxy Note turned heads with its unique size – something of a game changer for the industry Starting what has become pure domination of tech products in the last 3 years, the iPad was the first tablet released by Apple Featuring a reduced screen size of7.9 inches, the Mini is another step-forward for Apple to dominate the tablet market ? 2013? WHAT WILL BE THE POPULAR TECH PRODUCT OF 2013? Some are predicting wearable technology– the iWatch or Google glasses perhaps? Let us know your predictions. ... Bio: Insurance2go are a leading UK based specialist insurer for mobile phones and smartphones. They also provide policies for iPads, laptops, glasses and bicycles. Insurance2Go is the trading name of Loyal Insurance who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. References: http://bitshare.tumblr.com/post/14872181167/the-most-popular-holiday-gifts-in-the-past-30-years http://www.techhive.com/article/2017801/popular-tech-gifts-of-holidays-past.html http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2012/09/18/what-will-the-top-tech-trends-be-in-2013/ http://www.pcworld.com/article/130207/article.html http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2023689 2023681_2023578,00.html