Ten years ago last Thursday Apple co-founder Steve Jobs stood on a San Francisco stage and shared with his thrilled audience the most famous of his "one more thing" lines. It was the introduction of the iPhone. And it changed everything. The world was never the same again. The Internet moved from our desktops to our pockets. It took on a centrality in our lives we could never have imagined. In 2007 the average cellphone was distinguished by how small it was. Nokia was king of the voice-calling 2G era, selling two out of three phones. Its 2inch-screen phones were the epitome of cool, and the handset of choice for Neo (Keanu Reeves) to escape from The Matrix, in the groundbreaking film about the possibilities of virtual reality.Back then the only reliable and convenient way to get your e-mail on your cellphone was on a BlackBerry. The rudimentary wireless broadband was expensive and slow. Getting the Internet on these tiny screens was cumbersome and infuriating. But the iPhone ditched...

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.