PC World Magazine has established a panel of highly reputable experts to rank the 50 most influential electronic devices that have impacted human life over the past half-century.
The experts at PC World utilized criteria such as utility, revolutionary design breakthroughs, and widespread influence among the public to create this list. Through it, we gain a comprehensive view of the highs and lows of the consumer electronics and telecommunications industry over the last 50 years.
Here are the Top 50 electronic devices of the last half-century: 
1. Sony Walkman TPS-L2 (1979): The world’s first portable music player, the precursor to hundreds of millions of digital music devices today. Priced at $200 in 1979.
2. Apple iPod (2001): The most famous digital music player in the world today. Priced at $399 in 2001.
3. (Tie) ReplayTV RTV2001 and TiVo HDR110 (1999): Automatic television program recorders.
4. PalmPilot 1000 (1996): The world’s first handheld personal digital assistant.
5. Sony CDP-101 (1982): The first CD player in the world, priced at $900 in 1982.
6. Motorola StarTAC (1996): The world’s first slim flip mobile phone.
7. Atari Video Computer System (1977): The first video game console, a precursor to today’s highly advanced gaming systems.
8. Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera (1972): The first instant camera.
9. M-Systems DiskOnKey (2000): The world’s first USB flash drive, with a maximum capacity of 32 MB at the time. This is considered the death knell for floppy disks.
10. Regency TR-1 (1954): The world’s first mini portable radio, small enough to fit in a handbag.
11. Sony PlayStation 2 (2000): The most famous professional gaming console to date.
12. Motorola Razr V3 (2004): The world’s most attractive ultra-thin flip mobile phone.
13. Motorola PageWriter (1996): A hybrid mobile device that combined a laptop, PDA, and Pocket PC with a monochrome LCD screen and full keyboard, capable of sending text messages to mobile phones as early as 1996.
14. BlackBerry 850 Wireless Handheld (1998): Another hybrid mobile device, the first in the world to send and receive wireless emails.
15. Phonemate Model 400 (1971): The world’s first landline phone with the ability to automatically answer incoming calls, priced at $300 in 1971.
16. Texas Instruments Speak & Spell (1978): The first mobile device considered a children’s toy, capable of pronouncing around 200 simple words when users typed on the keyboard.
17. Texas Instruments SR-10 (1973): The world’s first calculator.
18. Diamond Multimedia Rio PMP300 (1998): The first portable MP3 music player with a capacity of 32 MB, powered by a single AA battery.
19. Sony Handycam DCR-VX1000 (1995): The world’s first handheld digital camcorder capable of connecting to a computer for video editing, priced at $4000 in 1995.
20. Handspring Treo 600 (2003): The first Treo PDA model with a full keyboard.
21. Zenith Space Command (1956): The world’s first remote control for TVs, with just four buttons: on, off, and two channel-changing buttons.
22. Hamilton Pulsar (1972): The world’s first digital watch.
23. Kodak Instamatic 100 (1963): The first “off-the-shelf” camera with preloaded film for amateur photographers, extremely easy to use—just aim and press the button. Priced at $15.95 in 1963.
24. MITS Altair 8800 (1975): Often regarded as the first desktop computer to enter homes.
25. Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 100 (1983): Regarded as the first laptop computer, priced at $799 in 1983.
26. Nintendo Game Boy (1989): Often considered the first professional handheld gaming device.
27. Commodore 64 (1982): Considered the first widely commercialized desktop computer, which was phased out by the end of the 1980s, coinciding with the introduction of the first x86 microprocessors. Priced at $595 in 1982.
28. Apple Newton MessagePad (1994): One of the first personal digital assistants, weighing nearly half a kilogram and priced at $700 in 1994.
29. Sony Betamax (1975): The first magnetic tape video format, but phased out by the VHS standard by the late 1970s.
30. Sanyo SCP-5300 (2002): The first mobile phone in the world equipped with a proper camera.
31. iRobot Roomba Intelligent Floorvac (2002): The most popular vacuum and mop robot today.
32. Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer (1999): The world’s first optical mouse.
33. Franklin Rolodex Electronics REX PC Companion (1997): One of the sleekest and thinnest electronic devices at the time, capable of displaying calendars, clocks, notes, addresses, etc., designed to fit snugly with a laptop card for information transfer.
34. Lego Mindstorms Robotics Invention System 10 (1998): A highly engaging robot modeling kit.
35. Motorola DynaTAC 8000X (1983): Considered the first “brick” mobile phone, designed large like old walkie-talkies.
36. Iomega Zip Drive (1995): Considered the first portable storage drive in the world.
37. Magnavox Magnavision Model 8000 DiscoVision Videodisc Player (1978): The first optical disc player in the world, a precursor to all current CD or DVD players.
38. Milton Bradley Simon (1978): A peculiar handheld gaming device that is hard to describe.
39. Play, Inc Snappy Video Snapshot (1996): A device connected to the parallel port of a computer, designed to capture all images or analog videos on the computer screen.
40. Connectix QuickCam (1994): The predecessor to all current webcams.
41. BellSouth/IBM Simon Personal Communicator (1993): Considered the first mobile phone integrated with a PDA.
42. Motorola Handie Talkie HT-220 Slimline (1969): Regarded as the first handheld walkie-talkie, developed from the “shoulder-carried” radios used during World War II.
43. Polaroid Swinger (1965): Considered the first compact and easy-to-use camera in the world.
44. Sony Aibo ERS-110 (1999): The first robot dog in the world, also regarded as the first robotic pet, priced at $1500 in 1999.
45. Sony Mavica MVC-FD5 (1997): The world’s first digital camera capable of recording directly onto a disk… but this was a 3.5-inch floppy disk.
46. Learjet Stereo-8 (1965): The first stereo cassette player small enough to be installed in a car.
47. Timex/Sinclair 1000 (1982): The first low-cost mini desktop computer, priced at around $100 in 1982.
48. Sharp Wizard OZ-7000 (1989): Considered a precursor to Palm devices, it was essentially a fairly modern digital assistant, equipped with an address book, calendar, and clock.
49. Jakks Pacific TV Games (2002): A modern joystick device that can play games and control a TV simultaneously.
50. Poqet PC Model PQ-0164 (1990): Regarded as the first Pocket PC in the world, the size of a VHS tape and priced at $2000 in 1990.
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