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Throughout human history there has been a long string of new inventions that literally changed the ways in which we live, work and play.
For example, the inventions of both the electric light bulb and the refrigerator made life on Earth so much safer and a lot more convenient than it had ever been before.
The blazing speed at which technology is now evolving ensures that there will be plenty more great inventions (or innovations) to come in the future, but if I had to choose one device that changed how we live our daily lives more than any other to date it would have to be the smartphone.
I spent some time last night thinking about all the other gadgets and things the smartphone has replaced and this is what I came up with in just a few minutes (perhaps you can think of more):
Note: When I use the term “replaced” I don’t mean that item is never used at all anymore. It simply means that the smartphone has replaced it for the vast majority of people and circumstances.
1 – Landline Telephones
Yes, there are still plenty of landline phones in use, primarily by businesses and the relatively few among who have never gotten around to switching to a cell phone.
The number of landline phones still in use is declining by the day and I predict there will come a time when the phone companies will stop providing that service at all because it will no longer be profitable to do so.
2 – Pay Telephones
I can remember a time when there was a pay phone on virtually every street corner and outside most retail stores. Today they are all but extinct.
3 – Point & Shoot Cameras
I literally can’t remember the last time I saw someone pull out an inexpensive point & shoot camera to take a photo of something that caught their attention. They are definitely still around, but I really can’t remember the last time I saw someone using one.
Of course most professional photographers (and even plenty of amateurs) still use DSLR cameras or their equivalent. In fact, I still use my trusty Nikon myself. But I look for that to change in the not so distant future as smartphone cameras become ever more advanced.
4 – Calculators
While it’s true that stand-alone calculators are still used in many businesses and industries, they are rarely ever used in homes and everyday situations. It’s too easy to simply pull out your phone and use the Calculator app. You can even use Google or another search engine to perform your mathematical calculations for you.
5 – Traditional Wristwatches
Do you wear a watch these days? Chances are the answer is no. If it’s yes it’s probably a specialty device like a fitness watch or GPS sports watch.
Of course there are a variety of smartwatches on the market today and they are indeed fairly popular, but in terms of overall numbers there are fewer people wearing watches on their wrists than the ones who don’t. The traditional watch that only gives the current time and date are now quite rare.
6 – Portable Radios
Back in the stone age of technology (AKA when I was a youngster) virtually every home had at least one portable AM/FM radio and many homes has several – and they were used on a regular basis.
Nowadays you’d be hard-pressed to find a portable radio in any home, and even if you saw one sitting on a shelf somewhere chances are it hadn’t been used in years.
The above being said, there is one type of portable radio that I still recommend for every home. If a natural disaster or some other catastrophic event ever takes down the power grid along with your Internet and cellular service for an extended length of time, an emergency band radio will keep you in touch with the outside world.
7 – Alarm Clocks
I’ll admit that I still own an alarm clock. It sits quietly by my bed and I’ll occasionally glance at its giant digital display to see what time it is if I happen to wake up in the middle of the night for some reason. But I never set the alarm on it because it’s a lot more convenient to simply use the alarm feature that’s built into my phone. My guess is most people probably do the same.
8 – MP3 Players (and similar devices)
MP3 players really were the catalysts that brought digital music to the world, but they have long been replaced by the smartphone. Can you remember the last time you used one? I sure can’t.
9 – Printed Books, Magazines and Newspapers
I have always loved to read. I couldn’t begin to count the number of books I have read during my lifetime and I used to subscribe to (and read) a wide variety of magazines as well. But I can’t remember the last time I picked up an actual book or magazine and read it.
Yes, there are plenty of people who still prefer printed books and magazines over digital content, and I happen to be one of them. But I (and many others) now opt for online reading simply due to convenience and lack of time.
When it comes to newspapers, you might say they’re on life support. Many long-time newspaper publishers have ditched their printed editions altogether and switched to exclusively publishing online.
The publishers that are still producing printed newspapers are seeing steady declines in both subscriber numbers and overall readership. The proverbial writing is on the wall (or perhaps I should say the Internet).
10 – Paper Maps and Road Atlases
I’m old enough to remember when planning a long road trip meant heading to the nearest gas station to buy one or more paper road maps. Those things sure were handy while you were using them but good luck getting them neatly folded back up when you were done.
Serious travelers typically opted for road atlases instead of maps because they covered a much larger geographic area, and in much greater detail.
Nowadays most folks use a GPS app like Google Maps or Apple Maps to plan and follow their routes.
Well, there you have it. Those are just a few things that the smartphone has pretty much replaced. I’m sure there are lots more. Do you have something to add to the list?