To be fair, the iPhone is not single handedly responsible for all of the victims listed but the iPhone does represent the culmination of smart phone technology and its inauguration into the main stream. Smart phones have come a long way but long before the apps, there was a time when people had multiple devices in their pockets to fulfuill their mobile needs. The list is as follows:

-Land Lines: This one is probably one of the earliest victims of the cell phone. There is an increasing triviality to the traditional land line. With people constantly on the go and cell phone plans being more affordable than ever, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense of have a home phone anymore.

-PDA: The PDA was a handheld organizer and very successful multi-tool with a huge market. It was only a matter of time before someone thought “hey why not build a phone around it!” In fact, it is hard to say whether the PDA killed the cell phone or the cell phone killed the PDA.

-Low End Cameras: Low end cameras provided for a niche market where people wanted to take pictures not for quality or art but for the simple task for recording an event or object for later view. The days of snapping polaroids are long over now that even the free cell phones (with plans) are equipped with a digital camera.

-MP3 players: Sure the iPod and iPod touch are growing strong but each generation of smart phones brings more room for MP3’s. The promise of a universal pocket gadget like the iPhone will ensure that even the iPod will eventually be killed off by its own children (the iPhone).

-UMPC: The UMPC never managed to take off as much as the PDA but part of that is its own fault. When you make something smaller, you must at least make it practical. Typing on a tiny keyboard is not practical.

*Laptops?- this one is more of a prediction but with the increasing power of smart phones, there may be no need for a portable computer within a few years. Especially if you couple a phone with some kind of portable projector and perhaps a projection keyboard, there will be no need for tnotebooks.

There you have it. Do you guys have any further suggestions for this list? Feel free to drop a line and explain your reason why your pick was also killed by the iphone.

-Derek

[Source:Wired]

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