2. 1991 – Nintendo SNES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System (officially
abbreviated as Super NES and SNES), commonly
known as Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit video game
console developed by Nintendo. It is the second
video game home console released by Nintendo
internationally. The successor to the Nintendo
Entertainment System, the Super Nintendo
Entertainment System featured enhanced
graphics, a brand new controller with additional
buttons, superior sound and more features.
While notas successful asthe NintendoEntertainmentSystembeforeit,the SNESstill proveda
formidable competitorinthe 16-bitera, eventuallyseizingfirstplace forthe generation.The system
initiallyhada slowstarttrailingbehindthe Sega Genesis(Mega Drive inEurope and Japan) thoughit
largelysurpassedNEC's TurboGrafx-16.
The SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystemwashosttonumerousclassicvideogames,includingtitles
such as Super Mario World,Super Metroid,Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger,Donkey Kong
Country, Street Fighter II, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Star Fox, F-Zero andSuper Mario
Kart. These titlessoldmillionsof copiesandwouldhelpcementthe SNESasthe leaderof the fourth
generation.Thirdpartiessuchas Square, Enix and Capcomwouldassistinthe huge successof the
console.
The SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystemwasfirstreleasedin Japan underthe name Super
Famicom on November21, 1990.In a little overhalf ayear,the systemwasreleasedinNorthAmericain
Augustof 1991 and inEurope and Australiain 1992.Nintendoalsoreleasedthe consoleinSouth
Americastartingin1993. Nintendowouldeventuallymanufacture SNESsystemswithdifferentcasings
and label themwithnewnamessuchasSuperFamicomJr. andSNS-101. The new systemsdidn'toffer
anythingnewtothe gamingexperience,thoughweremeanttosparkinterestinthe systemonce again
longafterthe initial shipment.InSouthKorea,the SuperNintendowasdistributedasthe SuperComboy
by Hyundai Electronics.Unlike the Hyundai Comboy,whichisarenamedAmericanNES,the Super
Comboy isa renamedJapanese/Europeanmodel.
3. 1992 – Palm pilot
Palm, Inc. was an American company that specialized in
manufacturing personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other electronics. It
was the designer of the PalmPilot,[1]
the first PDA successfully marketed
worldwide, as well as the Treo 600, one of the first smartphones. Palm
developed several versions of Palm OS for PDAs and smartphones. The
company was also responsible for the first versions of webOS, the first
multitasking operating system for smartphones,[2]
and enyo.js, a
framework for HTML5 apps.
In July 2010, Palm was purchased by Hewlett-Packard (HP) and in 2011
announced a new range of webOS products. However after poor sales, HP CEO Léo
Apothekerannounced in August 2011 that it would end production and support of Palm and webOS
devices, marking the end of the Palm brand after 19 years.
In October 2014, HP sold the Palm trademark to a shelf corporation tied to the Chinese electronics
firm TCL Corporation. Shortly afterward, TCL confirmed its plans to revive the Palm brand on
future, crowdsourced smartphones.[3]
1993 – Dyson Vacuum Cleaner
In 1974, James Dyson bought a Hoover Junior vacuum cleaner, which
became clogged quickly and lost suction over time. Frustrated, Dyson
emptied the bag to try to restore the suction but this had no effect. On
opening the bag to investigate, he noticed a layer of dust inside, clogging
the fine material mesh.[4][5]
Later on, Dyson was working on his ballbarrow at a previous company he
had founded (but no longer entirely owned) where a large vacuum system
was used to contain the fusion bonded epoxy coating that was sprayed on
the wheelbarrow arms as a powder coating. Dyson found the system
inefficient, and was told by equipment manufacturers that giant
cyclone systems were better.[6]
Centrifugal separators are a typical method
of collecting dirt, dust and debris in industrial settings. Such methods
usually were not applied on a smaller scale because of the higher cost.[7]
He knew sawmills used this
type of equipment, and investigated by visiting a local sawmill in dark of night and taking
measurements. He then built a 30-foot model for the ballbarrowfactory.[6]
While constructing this at
home, Dyson realized the function of the cyclone was to extract dust without clogging. Wondering if
this could be applied at a smaller scale to a home vacuum, he constructed a cardboard and Scotch
tape model, connected it to his Hoover with its bag removed, and found it worked satisfactorily.[6][7]
4. 1994 – Digital Cordless Telehone/Mega
Dive(SegaGenesis)
The Sega Genesis, known as the Mega Drive[b]
in regions
outside of North America, is a 16-bit home video game
console developed and sold by Sega. The Genesis was
Sega's third console and the successor to the Master
System. Sega released the console as the Mega Drive in
Japan in 1988, followed by North America as the Genesis in 1989. In 1990, the console was
distributed as the Mega Drive by Virgin Mastertronic in Europe, Ozisoft in Australasia, and Tec
Toy in Brazil. In South Korea, the systems were distributed by Samsung as the Super Gam*Boy and
later the Super Aladdin Boy.[c]
Designed by an R&D team supervised by Hideki Sato and Masami Ishikawa, the hardware was
adapted from Sega's System 16 arcade board, centered on a Motorola 68000 processor as
the CPU, a Zilog Z80 as a sound controller, and a video system supporting hardware sprites, tiles,
and scrolling. The system plays a library of more than 900 games created by Sega and a wide array
of third-party publishers and delivered on ROM-based cartridges. The Genesis has benefited from
several add-ons, including a Power Base Converter to play Master System games, as well as
multiple first and third party licensed variations of the console. Sega created two network services to
support the Genesis: Sega Meganet and Sega Channel.
1995 - Playstation
The PlayStation [note 1]
(officially abbreviated
to PS, and commonly known as the PS1or its
codename, PSX) is a home video game
console developed and marketed by Sony
Computer Entertainment. The console was
released on 3 December 1994 in Japan,[2]
9
September 1995 in North America, 29
September 1995 in Europe, and 15 November
1995 in Australia. The console was the first of
the PlayStation lineup of home video game consoles. It primarily competed with the Nintendo
64 and the Sega Saturn as part of the fifth generation of video game consoles.
The PlayStation is the first "computer entertainment platform" to ship 100 million units, which it
had reached 9 years and 6 months after its initial launch.[9]
In July 2000, a
redesigned, slim version called the PS one was released, replacing the original grey console
and named appropriately to avoid confusion with its successor, the PlayStation 2.
The PlayStation 2, which is backwards compatible with the PlayStation's DualShockcontroller
and games, was announced in 1999 and launched in 2000. The last PS one units were sold in
winter 2004 before it was officially discontinued in 2006, for a total of 102 million units shipped
since its launch 11 years earlier. Games for the PlayStation continued to sell until Sony ceased
5. production of both the PlayStation and PlayStation games on 23 March 2006 – over 11 years
after it had been released, and less than a year before the debut of the PlayStation 3.
1996 – Audio Highway(World’s first MP3 player
the world's first MP3 player was announced in 1996by Audio
Highway CEO Nathan Schulhof. The Listen Up didn't ship until
1997 — if it shipped at all. An eBay listing from October 2009
indicates that only 25 units were produced. The seller was asking
for $75,000 but failedto find any bidders. Very little is known
about the first-ever MP3 player.
1997 – Motorola StarLac
When Motorola launched the StarTAC in 1996, it was the smallest and
lightest mobile phone on the planet. Not only that, it redefined the
whole idea of what a mobile phone should look like. Its neat, clam shell
design was a taste of things to come. But at the time of its launch the
most staggering thing about the StarTAC was its price, an eye watering
£1400, making it by far the most expensive mobile phone of its day.
In Britain, Motorola's advertising put the StarTAC next to an American
Express Gold Card. Two of the most desirable objects of the era, side
by side. It was an old adman's trick to make you think of the two in the
same breath, as small as the Gold Card and just as desirable.
The StarTAC, probably like no other phone, had that indefinable feeling of quality that could set it
alongside some of the most desirable possessions money can buy.
In such a fast moving world though, the StarTAC's value could not last. Unlike such design classics as the
the Mont Blanc Pen or the American Express card, rival products from Sony and Ericsson pushed the
price down.
A year later a new slightly cheaper version of the original StarTAC, the StarTAC 70, was selling for a
mere £200 and you could get the original, the StarTAC 85, for £300. Although at these prices, it was still
one of the most expensive phones of its time.
6. A year later the StarTAC was available on Orange as the bargain basement MR501 for just £129.99.
Cellphone called the MR501 'the ideal phone for posers on a budget'. It looked like the StarTAC, but was
lacking in quality and features.
The StarTAC's final fling was the ultimate expression of StarTAC luxury, the StarTAC 130. With gold
lettering set against a matt black background, the StarTAC 130 looked every bit as expensive as it was. A
specially branded version of this phone was fitted to top of the range Jaguar cars.
1998 – Panasonic DVD Player
Portable DVD players were created in order to aid the
ability to watch DVDs away from home. They were
created in 1998, first introduced by Panasonic.[2]
They
are practical for on the go use, and many perform
secondary functions such as playing music from audio
CDs and displaying images from digital
cameras or camcorders. Many consumers use portable
DVD players while travelling, including on buses, trains and long international air flights.
1999 – DVR by TiVo
TiVo itself is actually considered a
Digital Video Recorder (DVR), but for
comparison sake we will use it as its
own name vs. several other cable
companies’ DVR units. Originally
introduced in 1999, TiVo is a device that connects to your television set with
the ability the record and watch shows whenever the user wants, rather than
having to watch shows when they are listed. While TiVo has grown to be
much more than this over the years, the original concept was to give users the
ability to watch and record their favorite television shows without having to use
a VCR.
What is DVR?
After TiVo’s initial success in the cable TV market, cable companies
scrambled to create their own video recording units that were available to
customers right on their own receiver. Cable companies worldwide followed
the TiVo model and most now give customers the ability to record and watch
shows at their own convenience.
7. 2000 - The Trek Tech/IBM – Flash
Drive
In 2000, Singapore companyTrek2000 International launched
the world’sfirstthumb-sizedUSBcompatibleandsmallest
external storage device forcomputers.By2008, the
ThumbDrive thatitinventedandfurtherdevelopedhad
replacedthe ubiquitousfloppydiskasthe commonportable
computerstorage device worldwide.Beyondthe ThumbDrive,
Trek’sresearchand development(R&D) teamhadinventedotherproductsthatwere helpingtoimprove
people’slivesaroundthe world –the Flucardsecure digital cardwithwirelesscapability (another
world’sfirst) andthe miniature Ai-Ballvideocamerawithwirelesscapability(world’ssmallest) launched
in2010 and numerousenhancedversionssince then,amongmanyotherinnovations.Like other
technologystart-ups,Trekhaditsfairshare of problemsandchallengeswithnew productdevelopment,
intellectual propertyprotection,productionandmarketdevelopment.Ithadovercome manyof them,
but some remainedinsurmountable.Since 1995,Trek had beenreinventingandre-organisingitselfasa
sustainable businessinitscontinuingeffortstoprotectandmonetise itsintellectual property,ride on
the wave of emergingtechnologiesanddifferentiate itself inanincreasinglycompetitive worldmarket.
Newproductsand extendedproductlineswere continuallybeingdevelopedbythisSingapore
enterprise.Tosupportitsinnovation,R&Dwascarriedout infive countries.Leadingthe technology-
basedcompanywasits founder,ChairmanandCEOHennTan. It all startedin 1992, whenHennrealised
that a corporate job mightnotsuithisentrepreneurial nature andthatthe onlywayhe couldavoid
beingretiredatage 55 was to workfor hisowncompany.
