The flip communicator

Ideas within the "Star Trek" series paved the way for numerous tech ideas, but one of the most notable is that of the handheld communicator.

Making its first appearance in a pilot episode of the original "Star Trek" series, the iconic flip communicator served as a way to make quick, walkie-talkie-style calls to others on the planet's surface, and to orbiting ships. More importantly, the flip-out style paved the way for clamshell phones, a design that would become predominant in flip phones, particularly Motorola's RAZR.

The concept came full circle with this 2009 replica that plugged into your computer through USB to let you use the communicator as a microphone for talking on Skype, Google Talk, and other VoIP services.