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Nintendo
Nintendo was originally founded in 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce playing cards. Eventually, they started to expand by working with bigger companies such as Disney, manufacturing toys, and creating video games like the 1981 arcade game "Donkey Kong" where Mario made his first appearance as "jump man". One of Nintendo's most successful devices the handheld or dock-able "Switch" just came out in 2017, with an updated OLED version in 2021. -
Microsoft Windows
Windows 1.0 was officially released in November of 1985, but was technically "in the works" starting in 1981 when it was known as a program called "Interface Manager". Though this is not the version a lot of us know today, support was offered for Windows 1.0 for 16 years, until December 31, 2001- making it the longest-running Windows software to date. Microsoft is still releasing new software today, the most recent being Windows 11, which came out on October 5, 2021. -
Motorola Phones
The first Motorola phone, the DynaTAC came out in 1983, it was bulky, had number push buttons and an antenna, but was extremely iconic at the time. I distinctly remember taking my dad's Motorola RAZR (2004) to call my friends in elementary school when someone else was using the home phone- and yes he had this phone for years before it broke. The first phone I ever got was a Moto G in 2013 on a family deal, which I was super stoked about because it was a smartphone and customizable. -
Amazon Kindle
The first Amazon Kindle was introduced in 2007 with the intention to get people to read more. The first Kindle was not touchscreen and had a keyboard, it was definitely not a cheap alternative to paper or hardback books either- it cost $399 at launch. The most recent model came out in 2022, and while it has advanced with the rest of technology, the Kindle has stayed pretty true to design and function- without breaking the bank it is listed at about $99 retail. -
Apple iPhone
The first iPhone was announced by Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, in January 2007. The first iPhone changed the smartphone game, as it was the first to really give users the option to download and utilize applications, as well as give functional access to the internet through Safari browser. Since then, Apple has released a new model of the iPhone annually- the newest being the iPhone 14, released in September 2022.