Apple's iPhone changes mobile technology

5. Apple releases the iPhone and changes mobile technology

Apple has always been able to turn product releases into events, but nothing came close to the hysteria leading to Apple's June 2007 release of the iPhone. Customers camped out for days outside Apple stores across America as the (some would argue overly fawning) tech press heaped praise on Steve Jobs' landmark product.

For once, however, the hoopla was warranted. The iPhone was the first smartphone that captured the attention of the average consumer, and it was an enormous breakthrough in user-interface design on a small screen. It was, in effect, the Macintosh of the mobile market. The iPhone's release also forced rapid development from competitors ranging from Microsoft and Research In Motion to Nokia and, now, Google.

Most of the real innovation in today's tech industry is in mobile computing, and we have the iPhone to thank for that.

Caption by Tom Krazit and Jim Kerstetter