Source: Matt Buchanan via Flickr.
Whether you believe tablets are here to stay or will only be a stepping stone on the path to a newer, nimbler computing paradigm, it’s hard to argue that the new form factor has caused tremendous disruption in the once-sturdy PC industry. That disruption, however, was surely accelerated by the next breakthrough on our list.
2. Android (2008)
When Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)‘s open-source mobile operating system started showing up in smartphones until 2008, it rapidly became the only serious challenger to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s mobile hegemony, and eventually it became the dominant mobile platform, thanks to Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s openness to modifications and commitment to support and upgrades. The most recent numbers highlight just how fast it’s taken over: Android controls 75% of the global smartphone market and nearly 60% of the tablet market. Last month, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) reported that its cumulative Android activations passed 900 million, which means we’re likely to see the first billion-user mobile OS by the end of the year.
Source: Johan Carlstrom via Flickr.
Android benefits enormously from Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s dedicated support, which includes integrated support for maps, voice commands, email and chat functions, and other optimized features. However, users don’t have to use these default features if they don’t want to, because the biggest breakthrough of the past five years offers them a wealth of other choices — which brings us to the final item on our list.
1. The app economy (2008)
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) didn’t release the App Store until the iPhone had already been on the market for a year. First-year iPhone sales weren’t bad at all, but once users were free to choose from thousands of different independently developed mobile-optimized programs, sales exploded. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) sold 3.3 million iPhones in 2007. It sold 11.4 million iPhones in 2008, including 4.1 million in the fourth quarter alone. Sales doubled in 2009, and the phone just kept going from there, even with massive competition from a variety of Android devices.
Source: Cristiano Betta via Flickr.
Five years later, Apple devices have downloaded nearly 50 billion apps, resulting in more than $9 billion in payments to app developers. Those 900 million Android devices will outpace Apple any day now, with 48 billion cumulative app downloads that are increasing at a rate of 2.5 billion downloads per month. The diversity and depth of app development is as robust as anything ever seen on PCs, and the “app economy” is credited with creating more than 460,000 high-paying jobs. You can consider Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) a leading proponent of the app economy as well, since 20 million apps are installed on Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) profiles every day, leading to the sale of at least $1.7 billion in virtual goods every year.
The article The 5 Most Important Tech Breakthroughs of the Past 5 Years originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Alex Planes.
Fool contributor Alex Planes has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Apple, Facebook, Ford, Google, Nintendo, and Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) and owns shares of Apple, Facebook, Ford, Google, Microsoft, and Tesla Motors.
Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
