10 products that you can’t do without today that didn’t exist a decade ago
Text Credit: businessinsider.in Featured image source: tctechcrunch2011
Remember the time when we paid for special SMS offers the more friends you had the more free messages you required, not to mention having to count every character we type. Back then online cab hailing services at the tip of your fingers seemed like a rather bizarre idea, and if one were to tell you that a headset can make the virtual come to life and seem more real than reality itself, you would laugh at them. The world was a different place 10 years ago.
A decade ago, you couldn’t order an Uber on your phone. You couldn’t rent a place to stay on demand with Airbnb and WhatsApp had never been heard of.Several incredible products and services have been invented in the last 10 years -some, in the last five or eight.Let’s take a look at some of the cool, convenient things the tech world has invented since 2007.
The iPad
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When Steve Jobs introduced the iPad seven years ago, he described it as “the best browsing experience you will ever have“. Since then, the device has gone through several iterations and price points. Most recently, Apple unveiled a new $649, 10.5-inch iPad Pro and a $329, 9.7-inch iPad.
Google Chrome
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Google unveiled its Chrome browser in September 2008. “On the surface, we designed a browser window that is streamlined and simple,“ wrote Google CEO Sundar Pichai (who was vice-president of product management at the time) on the official blog. “Like the classic Google homepage, Google Chrome is clean and fast, “Pichai wrote.
Airbnb
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The idea for Airbnb formed in 2007 when co-founder Joe Gebbia sent an email to his roommate, Brian Chesky, suggesting they rent out their apartment to make some extra money. After a few attempts, Air Bed & Breakfast finally launched in 2008 as an online platform for renting out spare room at one’s place.
Spotify
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Spotify launched in October 2008 in Stockholm, Sweden. It launched a public beta in the spring of 2007, but it wasn’t until the company signed licensing deals with Sony, Universal, BMG, and more that Spotify officially launched.Nine years later, Spotify has 140 million active users worldwide.
Oculus
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Oculus VR began in a garage in Irvine, California in June 2012. Then-19-year-old Palmer Luckey launched the company on Kickstarter, raising nearly $2.5 million for his virtual reality headset. After raising an additional $16 million in funding, Luckey sold Oculus to Facebook in 2014 for $2 billion. Now, Luckey has left Oculus, but the VR company lives on at Facebook.
Stripe
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Stripe, a startup aimed at `disrupting’ online payments, officially launched in September 2011. Now, companies from Target to the NFL use Stripe’s technology to power payments in their websites and apps. Six years after launch, Stripe is worth $9 billion, making it the most valuable financial technology startup.
Kickstarter
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Kickstarter, the platform for launching and backing independent companies and products, started in April 2009 after co-founder Perry Chen wanted a way to crowdsource the cost of inviting musicians to a jazz fest in New Orleans. The first-ever product was a Grace Jones T-shirt created by Chen that didn’t meet its fundraising goal.
Uber
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Uber was founded in March 2009 as a black-car service called UberCab. Garrett Camp, Oscar Salazar, and Conrad Whelan built the first version, with Travis Kalanick serving as a `mega adviser’ and later, CEO. Over the years, Uber has expanded to offer peer-to-peer ridesharing, car-pooling, luxury rides, and more.
Android
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When Google founder Sergey Brin and engineering director Steve Horowitz debuted Google’s Android operating system in November 2007, they put to bed the rumours that Google was launching a `G Phone’ (although nine years later, Google did just that with the launch of the Pixel). These days, there are two billion active devices running Android software.
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Jan Koum incorporated WhatsApp in 2009 before the app had even been written. He and co-founder Brian Acton decided to make it a messaging app, building the company in a converted warehouse they shared with Evernote. The app grew organically, particularly in developing countries that relied on SMS texting.Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg bought the app for $19 billion in 2014.