Verge-ins, what is the most wowing piece of tech you ever saw?

Posted by Sonicjet on December 9, 2012 12:44 am 21

I must wonder, in it's day what bit of tech wowed you guys the most?

For me, I have three magic moments.


3: Archos 5 Android "The iPad mini before the iPad." (2009)

This strange device has the same screen size some smartphones but can't make phone calls. It has a mic but no cameras, and you could get one with a hard drive in it! However, did it have a few claims to fame: Android, 10mm thick, super light and metal back, and they called it a "tablet".

It came out 3 months before Steve Jobs stood on stage to announce Apple's tablet. I loved it, like LOVED it, the ultimate bragging weapon. Also it still is the best sounding media player that plays the most formats to this day.

2: HP Touchpad "The most successful failure of all time." (2011)

I was always intrigued by all things WebOS, particularly the people who owned the devices, they tended to be very strange. I remember waling into a Best Buy early august 2011; right after spilling a cup of water on my Macbook Pro and sending it out to apple. On it's own little display sat this strange tablet, I messed with it a bit, I found the interface weird and different, I then went to type on it's virtual keyboard...it was magic. Pure magic, Ten times the keyboard on anything else! I looked over the insanely impressive spec list and glanced at the price. $499. ouch. As a cheap college student I knew I could never own such a beautiful toy, I had just ruined my pride and joy and was just hoping they would repair it!

Two weeks and $99 later I owned my holy grail of technology.

1: Apple iPod Nano "Wall-E's 'Eve' in the real world." (4th generation- 2008)

Strange choice huh? An iPod? But alas it is my biggest wow. Since 2008 Apple has not successfully beat the matte finish iPod nano with a better model. They simply haven't. Try to buy one online, they fetch an arm and a leg, for good reason. It is thinner than any of today's phones, it is lighter than a ring of 4 keys, wraped in a matte aluminum with curved glass, and easier to use than anything. But the real art is in the software/hardware combo. It was the only apple device I have ever used that I will call magical. Somewhere between the click wheel, breakout and a track of the afters playing "Beautiful Love", it, like Steve Job's Pixar, transcended technology into magic.