The 2000s was truly a groundbreaking period in technology since it was the era where certain inventions have truly revolutionize the different sectors of the said field, including gaming, web browsing, and mobile communications. Let us take a look at a short timeline of the biggest events in technology during the 2000s to see how the period is influential.
2000
Before the year 2000, many people were in a state of panic over the Y2K Problem, which is a proposed event wherein computers may not be able to handle the change from 1999 to 2000 due to an error in the algorithm. It is said that the Y2K would cause a collapse in the economy, as most of the private companies and agencies in the government rely on computers to gather and store data. Fortunately, many organizations started upgrading their computer system before 2000, and the threat of a massive technology collapse was eliminated.
On March 4, 2000, Sony Computer Entertainment (SIE), a company founded in 1993, released the PlayStation 2, a new video game console that serves as the successor to Sony’s best-selling PlayStation, in Japan on March 4, 2000. The PlayStation 2 would then be released in the United States on October 26, 2000.
The Sony PlayStation 2 would go on to be the best-selling video game console of all time, as Sony sold over 155 million units of the said product. Besides being the best-selling console, the PlayStation 2 also had one of the longest life spans for any game console, as Sony only ended the production of the PS2 in 2013, which was also the year that the PlayStation 4 was released. For more information on Sony’s iconic gaming brand, you can read The Interesting History of the Sony PlayStation.
It was also in 2000 when the infamous Nokia 3310 was released. Released in September 1, 2000, the Nokia 3310 would go on to be one of Nokia’s best-selling mobile phones, as the company was able to sell more than 125 million units of the 3310. For more information about this iconic phone, you can check out The Story of the Nokia 3310, A Cult-Classic Gadget of the 2000s.
2001
Apple Inc. successfully launched iTunes, a media player and library, on January 9, 2001. The iTunes player was one of the most well-received media players during its early years, but it will soon receive criticism over its complicated user interface and its overwhelming features that are deemed to be unnecessary. A few months after the launch of the iTunes software, Apple would then release the first generation iPod on October 23, 2001.
Microsoft launched the Xbox on November 15, 2001, as a competitor to Sony’s PlayStation 2. Although it sold 24 million units by 2006, it was unable to beat Sony’s console in the number one spot in sales.
2002
In 2002, the Internet Explorer, Microsoft’s web browser, was considered as the best out of all browsers that were available back then. Its rival, Netscape, was losing money due to poor management. One year later, Netscape was disbanded by Time Warner, the company that owns the brand during the 2000s.
On the other hand, Apple is steadily rising, and its popularity would be boosted by the release of the iMac G4 on January 7, 2002.
2003
By 2003, DVD sales were soaring over VCD and VHS at 70%, and it was the first time in the year where DVD rental sales overtook VHS rental sales. Google was also becoming a tech giant in 2003, as they saw a $100 million profit in the year.
In terms of the music industry, the compact disc, which has dominated the market since the 1990s, was experiencing a decline in sales, mainly due to the fact that online music stores were becoming more popular in 2003.
2004
Even though Google was becoming a big company in the 2000s, it was still Yahoo who was at the top as the number one search engine in the world. Along with Google, the media services provider Netflix was also experiencing a rise in profits due to its new feature that allows subscribers to download movies on the internet.
2005
In 2005, in order to expand its business, Google introduced an online map service that allows computer users to search addresses and business listings on the internet.
It was also in 2005 when YouTube, an online video-sharing platform, was established by three former PayPal employees named Steve Chen, Jawed Karim, and Chad Hurley. The first video upload on the website was titled “Me at the zoo,” and features co-founder Jawed Karim visiting the San Diego zoo. That video was uploaded on YouTube on April 23, 2005, and surprisingly, it is still uploaded on the platform.
2006
On May 22, 2006, Nokia released the N73, a successor to its popular N70 phone, and features a variety of multimedia features that are ahead of its time. There were three versions of the N73 that was released, and these versions are the Music Edition (with a multimedia button for easier access to the music library), the Internet Edition (basically has the same features like the Music Edition, although it was only available in select countries, and the Special Edition (released in the Middle East and North Africa, and features several Islamic apps).
Another great machine introduced in 2006 in most countries was the Microsoft Xbox 360, which is the successor to the original Xbox. Because it was released one year before the PlayStation 3, it was able to get more sales than the latter, thus allowing Microsoft to win the seventh generation video game console war.
2007
There was not much news in the world of technology in 2007, but there are a few big happenings that occurred in the year. Microsoft’s new operating system called Windows Vista was really, but it was met with negative reviews from both critics and users.
Apple’s first-generation iPhone was released on June 29, 2007, and it revolutionized how smartphones should feel and look, thus making it the “prototype” for modern phones that are manufactured not just by Apple but by other companies as well.
Although Netscape was disbanded in 2003, their services were still being offered beyond the said year. However, the services were stopped in 2007 after not having enough users to push Time Warner to continue the updates.
2008
On January 8, 2008, SanDisk Corporation began experimenting on 12-gigabyte microSD cards, which were deemed to be impossible to make during the 90s. In the microprocessor market, Intel successfully launches the quad-core chip that is said to be much faster than existing microprocessors in the 2000s. Also, it was in 2008 when Google has finally overtaken Yahoo as the most used search engine in the United States.
2009
By 2009, YouTube has already garnered 100 million views thanks to the steady rise in the number of active users and uploaders on the website. Just two years after the release of the Windows Vista, Microsoft launched the Windows 7 operating system on July 22, 2009, and it had better reviews than its predecessor. Before the release of Windows 7, Google competed in the operating system market by announcing the Chrome OS for Linux kernel-based computers on July 7, 2009, although it took two years before the operating system could be released.