Smartphones, tablets and Facebook are the best inventions of the 21st century
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For everyone, the smartphone is the stand-out invention of the century so far – but young people stress the importance of Wikipedia and YouTube.
By Will Dahlgreen
In only 15 years, technology has changed beyond recognition. In 2000 the most popular phone was the Nokia 3310; in 2004 a computer processor might have 170 million transistors, while in 2013 it had 4.3 billion; and with the rise of digital the US music market is worth almost three times less than in 2004. Some downplay the rate of change ushered in by the Internet – one argument is the telegraph reduced message transmission from three weeks to 30 minutes, while the Internet has reduced it from 30 seconds (with fax) to two. But it’s the breadth of change that’s truly revolutionary: by 2020 around 70% of the world’s population are forecast to have a smartphone in their pocket.
There’s no doubt among British people that the smartphone is this century’s best consumer invention so far – over twice as many choose it as any oth...
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