20 gadgets that changed the world

Game-changing tech 



Judging by Apple's recent job postings and trademark filings, it seems inevitable that the company is planning to launch an iWatch in the near future. When it does arrive, it'll join a host of new and exciting technology, including 4K television sets, bendable mobile phone screens and more - but will it have the same dramatic impact as the iPod, iPhone and iPad did? We've gathered together a gallery of some of the very best gadgets that really did change the world. Each one of these technological innovations has ensured its place in history by transforming the way we live our lives and communicate with each other - from the Morse code-powered telegraph machine to the smartphone, there's a lot of pioneering technology to explore. 

The Personal Computer 

The Game Boy, with a little help from an obscure game called Tetris, proved that hand-held gaming could work. Up until the Game Boy's release in 1989, companies had been frustrated in their attempts to get us all gaming on the move. Despite stiff contemporary competition from the likes of the Atari Lynx and Sega Game Gear (both boasting colour screens, no less), the Game Boy came to dominate the market. Together with its successor, the Game Boy Colour, it went on to sell over 188 million units worldwide. Hand-held gaming is enjoying something of a renaissance, thanks to the capabilities of the mobile smartphones we all carry around with us now and titles such as Angry Birds, but the Game Boy was the true pioneer, and is one of Nintendo's biggest ever successes. It also proved that long battery life, ease of use and gameplay can win out against a straight head-to-head specifications comparison

Topics: gadgets that changed the world:trademark filings, technology, television sets