First look: Galaxy S21 and everything else announced at Samsung Unpacked [in pictures]
Browse all the products and highlights from Samsung's January 2021 Unpacked event.
Given how far it's come, mobile technology is not very old. In the early days, some outstanding gadgets set the stage for the mobile tech of today. These are six of them that had a big impact.
The original Palm Pilot revolutionized the mobile space. The handheld personal digital assistant (PDA) kept track of the owner's contacts, to-dos, and calendar.
Owners had to learn a special text input method known as Graffiti to get proficient, but millions took the time to learn it.
The Palm Pilot kept the owner's information synced with desktop computers via HotSync, a technology that made it all work well. The handheld was connected to a desktop computer via a cable, which kept all information up-to-date on both sides.
The biggest impact on mobile by the Palm Pilot was the introduction of apps, although they weren't called that back then. These little programs opened up the Palm Pilot to a lot of applications, and specialized apps appeared for most industries.
Both the company and the handheld are gone, but the impact on the mobile space is clear.
Caption by: James Kendrick
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