Ten years ago, Nokia was the world’s largest phone maker. Microsoft was gearing up to launch Windows Vista. And the best new products at CES included a wireless TV and an MP3 player that streamed internet radio.

Then, on Jan. 9, 2007, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled a device that went on to change the world — a $499 iPhone that came with 4GB of storage. It was a mobile phone, a music player and an Internet device… More at c|net.

I am fairly convinced that I was using the Tree 650 as my daily phone/PDA and that it was considered by many to be the best available at the time alongside a raft of Windows Mobile devices. We were in a niche and most people looked at us as if we were complete geeks who played with electronic toys just for the sake of it.

And then the iPhone came along and everything changed (the history prior to the iPhone and beyond is detailed here) because people at work were asking me about it, were saying that it looked amazing and perhaps most importantly, they showed an interest in it. No one was really interested in the Treos and other PDA phones of the time, but the iPhone flicked a switch and it really did change everything.

Android became like iOS, Nokia eventually made changes too late to save themselves and BlackBerry bombed.

So, what were you using before the iPhone and do you agree that it changed the mobile industry forever?

Categories: Apple, iPhone