Verified
iPad
A 9.7-inch tablet nobody knew they needed
Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad on 27 January 2010 and it went on sale in the US on 3 April, selling 300,000 on the first day and a million within a...
tabletipadapple
Section 9
Technology
Windows 7 laptops with spinning hard drives, the first iPad, netbooks, Flash Player 10.1, 3G data, USB sticks, point-and-shoot cameras and the everyday tech stack of 2010 compared with today.
2010 versus today
| Item | 2010 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Flagship phoneEditorial | iPhone 43.5-inch 960 x 640 screen, 512 MB RAM, 5 MP camera, 16 or 32 GB, 3G at up to 7.2 Mbps. | A 2026 flagship6-inch-plus OLED at 120 Hz, 8 to 16 GB RAM, 48 MP-class multi-camera systems, 256 GB to 1 TB, 5G. |
| Laptop storageSupported | 250 to 500 GB hard drive5400 rpm spinning disk; a 128 GB SSD cost $200 to $300 as an upgrade. | 512 GB to 1 TB SSDFlash storage standard in every laptop, many times faster. |
| Laptop memoryEditorial | 2 to 4 GBDDR3; netbooks shipped with 1 GB. | 16 GB typicalOften soldered, with 32 GB common on pro machines. |
| Home internetSupported | A few Mbps DSL or cableThe FCC's 2010 broadband target was 4 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up; two-thirds of US adults had home broadband and 5 percent still used dial-up. | Hundreds of MbpsThe FCC's benchmark rose to 100/20 Mbps in 2024; gigabit fibre is common in cities. |
| Mobile networkSupported | 3G, about 1 to 2 Mbps in practiceAT&T ended unlimited data in June 2010: 2 GB for $25. Verizon's LTE launched in December for laptop cards only. | 5GHundreds of Mbps on a good day; unlimited plans are common again. |
| ScreensSupported | 1366 x 768 laptop, 1024 x 768 iPadThe iPhone 4's 326 ppi Retina display was the sharpest screen most people had seen. | 4K monitors, high-density everythingRetina-class density is the default on phones, tablets and laptops. |
| Social networksEditorial | Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, TumblrFacebook hit 500 million users; Twitter had about 105 million registered; Instagram launched in October with no Android app. | TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Discord, X, Threads, BlueskyVideo feeds ranked by algorithms rather than friends' updates in reverse-chronological order. |
| Online videoSupported | YouTube at 360p in a Flash playerTwo billion views a day; 720p and 1080p were options few connections could sustain. | 4K HDR HTML5 video, short-form vertical feedsFlash Player was retired at the end of 2020. |
| MusicSupported | iTunes downloads at 99 cents, MP3 folders, LimeWireSpotify was Europe-only; Pandora was US-only; LimeWire was shut down in October 2010. | Streaming by defaultSpotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music hold catalogues of over 100 million tracks. |
| PhotosEditorial | 12 MP point-and-shoot camera, uploaded to Facebook and FlickrThe iPhone 4's 5 MP camera was the first phone camera good enough to replace a compact for many. | Phone cameras with computational photographyMulti-lens systems, night modes and instant sharing; compact cameras are a niche. |
| Building websitesSupported | Flash, jQuery, IE6 hacks, fixed 960-pixel layoutsResponsive web design was named in May 2010; HTML5 was a draft; Google Fonts had just launched. | HTML5, modern JavaScript frameworks, responsive by defaultThis site is built with Next.js and React; Flash has been gone since 2020. |
| BrowsersSupported | Internet Explorer, roughly half of all usageFirefox about 30 percent, Chrome about 15 percent by December 2010 (StatCounter). | Chrome, roughly two-thirds of all usageSafari second thanks to the iPhone; Internet Explorer was retired in 2022. |
| Moving filesEditorial | USB sticks, email attachments, Dropbox's 2 GB freeRapidShare and Megaupload for anything large. | Cloud sync everywhereTerabytes of cloud storage bundled with phones and subscriptions. |
| MessagingSupported | MSN, AIM, BBM, Facebook Chat, SMSWhatsApp existed but was tiny; iMessage and Snapchat did not exist yet. | WhatsApp, iMessage, Discord, Slack, TelegramSMS survives mainly for verification codes. |
| SearchEditorial | Ten blue links and Google InstantBing was one year old; Google had just stopped censoring results in China. | AI-generated answers and chatbotsSearch results pages open with generated summaries; assistants answer directly. |
| Turning on a computerEditorial | About a minute to a usable Windows 7 desktopSpinning hard drive, antivirus updates, and a messenger client starting up. | A few seconds from sleep, tens of seconds from coldSSDs and instant-on laptops made the boot sequence something you rarely see. |
2010 figures come from the sources on each linked exhibit; the present-day column describes typical mainstream products and is marked Editorial where it generalises. Sources for this table: Apple Presents iPhone 4; iPhone 4; Hard disk drive; Solid-state drive; MacBook Air; Netbook; Windows 7; Home Broadband 2010; National Broadband Plan (United States); 3G (mobile network); LTE (telecommunication); AT&T Mobility.
Computers and gadgets
- Editorial
A typical 2010 Windows laptop
Core 2 Duo, 4 GB of RAM, a 320 GB hard drive and a DVD burner
The mainstream laptop of 2010, from Dell, HP, Toshiba or Acer, ran Windows 7 Home Premium on an Intel Core 2 Duo or the new Core i3, with 3 or 4 GB...
laptopwindows 7hard drive
- Supported
Amazon Kindle (3rd generation)
$139 e-reader, the one that made Kindle mainstream
The third-generation Kindle, later called the Kindle Keyboard, shipped in August 2010 with a sharper E Ink screen, a smaller body and a $139...
e-readerkindleamazon
- Verified
Apple TV (2nd generation)
A $99 black puck for renting shows and streaming Netflix
The second-generation Apple TV, announced on 1 September 2010, shrank to a tiny black box with no storage, rented TV episodes for 99 cents and films...
tvapple tvstreaming
- Supported
Barnes & Noble Nook Color
A $249 colour reader that hackers turned into a tablet
Released in November 2010, the Nook Color was a 7-inch LCD e-reader running a locked-down Android. Because it cost $249, tinkerers immediately rooted...
e-readernookandroid
- Verified
Cr-48 Chrome OS notebook
Google's unbranded laptop that was only a browser
On 7 December 2010 Google unveiled Chrome OS and shipped the matte-black, logo-free Cr-48 to testers in a pilot programme. The laptop ran nothing but...
laptopchrome osgoogle
- Supported
Entry-level DSLRs: Canon EOS 60D and Nikon D3100
The year everyone's photographer friend shot video too
DSLRs became affordable and shot HD video in 2010. The Nikon D3100 (August) was the first Nikon DSLR with full 1080p video and cost $699 with a lens;...
cameradslrcanon
- Supported
Flip Video camcorder
Press the red button, flip out the USB plug
The Flip Video, owned by Cisco since 2009, was the pocket camcorder of 2010: a big red record button, a flip-out USB connector and one-click YouTube...
cameraflipcamcorder
- Supported
Hard drives and the first SSDs
A terabyte for under $100, or 80 GB of flash for twice that
In 2010 a 1 TB desktop hard drive cost under $100, but solid-state drives were still exotic: an 80 to 128 GB SSD cost $200 to $300. Enthusiasts...
storagehard drivessd
- Supported
Logitech Revue with Google TV
Google puts Chrome on your television
Google TV launched in October 2010 on the $299 Logitech Revue set-top box and Sony televisions, promising web search and Chrome on the big screen...
tvgoogle tvlogitech
- Verified
MacBook Air (late 2010)
Flash storage only, and an 11-inch model for $999
On 20 October 2010 Apple reintroduced the MacBook Air in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes with flash storage instead of a hard drive, instant wake and no...
laptopmacbook airapple
- Supported
MiFi mobile hotspots
3G Wi-Fi in your pocket, with a 5 GB cap
The Novatel MiFi and its rivals turned a 3G connection into a small Wi-Fi network for a laptop and an iPad, typically for $60 a month with a 5 GB...
networkmifi3g
- Supported
Netbooks
Tiny, cheap Atom laptops at their peak, then killed by the iPad
Netbooks, the 10-inch, $300 laptops with Intel Atom chips that had exploded in 2008 and 2009, peaked in 2010. They ran Windows 7 Starter or XP...
laptopnetbookatom
- Supported
Roku (2010 models)
The little box that made Netflix streaming a habit
Roku's 2010 line, the HD, XD and XDS at $59.99 to $99.99, were the cheapest way to get Netflix Watch Instantly, Hulu Plus, Pandora and Amazon on a...
tvrokustreaming
- Supported
Samsung Galaxy Tab
The first serious Android tablet
The 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab, released in November 2010, was the first major Android answer to the iPad. It ran the phone version of Android (2.2...
tabletandroidsamsung
- Editorial
The point-and-shoot camera
12 megapixels, a 3-inch screen, and an SD card full of party photos
Most 2010 photos were still taken with compact digital cameras like the Canon PowerShot and Sony Cyber-shot lines: around 12 megapixels, a 3 or 4x...
camerapoint and shootcanon
- Editorial
USB flash drives
Sneakernet in your pocket
In 2010 a 4 or 8 GB USB stick was how files moved between school, home and the print shop, before cloud sync was universal. Drives came free on...
storageusbflash drive
Operating systems
- Supported
Windows 7
The Windows people actually liked, one year old
Windows 7 shipped in October 2009 and by the end of 2010 ran roughly a quarter of the world's desktop web traffic, while Windows XP still ran about...
oswindowsmicrosoft
- Verified
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
The $29 upgrade with no new features, and the Mac App Store on the way
Snow Leopard, released in August 2009 for $29, was the Mac OS of 2010: brushed-metal was gone, the Dock was a 3D shelf, Exposé and Spaces managed...
osmacapple
- Verified
Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx)
Linux for people, with a new purple theme
Ubuntu 10.04, released in April 2010, was the Linux distribution most likely to be found on a netbook or a curious student's dual-boot laptop. It...
oslinuxubuntu
- Supported
Windows Vista
The one everyone skipped
Windows Vista, released to consumers in 2007, was widely disliked for its User Account Control prompts, driver problems and heavy hardware needs. By...
oswindowsmicrosoft
- Supported
Windows XP
Nine years old and still the most-used OS on Earth
Windows XP, released in 2001, was still the most common desktop operating system in 2010, running about half of the world's desktop web traffic. Its...
oswindowsmicrosoft
Software and the web stack
- Supported
Adobe Flash Player 10.1
The plugin that ran YouTube, FarmVille and every banner ad
Flash Player 10.1, released in June 2010, ran the YouTube player, Hulu, Pandora, FarmVille, every browser game and most animated adverts; Adobe said...
webflashadobe
- Supported
Home broadband in 2010
DSL or cable, a few megabits, and a router with WEP
About two-thirds of American adults had home broadband in 2010, according to Pew, mostly DSL or cable at speeds of a few megabits per second; the...
networkbroadbanddsl
- Supported
Adobe Creative Suite 5
Content-Aware Fill, and Flash CS5's blocked iPhone exporter
Adobe CS5, released in April 2010, brought Photoshop's Content-Aware Fill (the demo video went viral), 64-bit Photoshop on the Mac, and Dreamweaver's...
softwareadobephotoshop
- Verified
Bitcoin in 2010
Ten thousand coins for two pizzas
Bitcoin was a year old and worth almost nothing in 2010. On 22 May, Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 BTC for two pizzas, the first recorded purchase with...
bitcoincryptocurrencypizza
- Verified
Firesheep
The Firefox extension that hijacked Facebook sessions on café Wi-Fi
Released on 24 October 2010, Firesheep let anyone on the same open Wi-Fi network click into other people's Facebook, Twitter and Amazon sessions,...
securityfiresheephttps
- Supported
Google Font API (Google Fonts)
Free web fonts for everyone, launched at Google I/O
Google launched its Font API and directory in May 2010 with 18 open-source typefaces, including Lobster, Droid Sans, Yanone Kaffeesatz and...
webfontsgoogle fonts
- Supported
HTML5
Native video, canvas and the end of plugins, still a draft
HTML5 was a working draft in 2010, but the fight over Flash made it a household word. YouTube launched an HTML5 player beta in January, Apple...
webhtml5standards
- Supported
jQuery 1.4
Write less, do more: the JavaScript library on most of the web
jQuery 1.4, released in January 2010, was the JavaScript library almost every site used to animate menus, load content with Ajax and paper over...
webjavascriptjquery
- Verified
Microsoft Office 2010
The Ribbon everywhere, and Office Web Apps in the browser
Office 2010, released to consumers on 15 June 2010, put the Ribbon interface in every application, added the Backstage file view, and launched free...
softwareofficemicrosoft
- Supported
Node.js and npm
JavaScript on the server, one year old
Node.js, presented by Ryan Dahl in 2009, reached version 0.2 in 2010 and npm, its package manager, was first published in January 2010. Backbone.js,...
webjavascriptnode.js
- Verified
Responsive web design
Ethan Marcotte names the idea, May 2010
On 25 May 2010, Ethan Marcotte published "Responsive Web Design" in A List Apart, combining fluid grids, flexible images and CSS media queries into...
webresponsivecss
- Editorial
Webcams
Grainy 640-by-480 video for Skype, Chatroulette and vlogs
Most 2010 laptops had a built-in low-resolution webcam, and desktops used a Logitech clip-on, which made Skype calls, MSN video chat, Chatroulette...
webcamvideo chatskype
- Supported
µTorrent
The tiny BitTorrent client on every second PC
µTorrent was the lightweight BitTorrent client most people used in 2010 to download Linux ISOs, and everything else. Its green-and-white window of...
softwareutorrentbittorrent
Technology events of 2010
- TechVerified
Steve Jobs unveils the iPad
At a San Francisco event, Apple introduced a 9.7-inch tablet starting at $499, mocked for its name and praised for its screen. It went on sale in April and sold almost 15 million...
- TechVerified
The iPad goes on sale
The Wi-Fi iPad reached US stores on 3 April and sold more than 300,000 units on its first day; the 3G model followed at the end of the month and international sales in May.
- TechVerified
Steve Jobs publishes "Thoughts on Flash"
In an open letter Jobs explained why the iPhone and iPad would never run Adobe Flash, citing reliability, battery life and touch, and declared HTML5 the future of the mobile web.
- TechVerified
Google admits Street View cars collected Wi-Fi data
Google disclosed that its Street View cars had been recording payload data from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks, triggering investigations in a dozen countries.
- TechVerified
Google I/O: Android 2.2, Google TV, WebM and the Font API
At its developer conference Google announced Android 2.2 Froyo with Flash support, open-sourced the VP8 codec as WebM, previewed Google TV, and launched the Google Font API.
- TechVerified
Bitcoin Pizza Day: 10,000 BTC for two pizzas
Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 bitcoins, then worth about $41, for two Papa John's pizzas, the first documented purchase of real goods with bitcoin.
- TechVerified
"Responsive Web Design" is published
Ethan Marcotte's A List Apart article combined fluid grids, flexible images and media queries into a single approach and gave it a name that stuck.
- TechSupported
Adobe releases Flash Player 10.1
Adobe shipped Flash Player 10.1 for desktops and, within weeks, Android 2.2 phones, with hardware video acceleration and touch support, while Apple's devices remained Flash-free.
- TechVerified
Microsoft Office 2010 goes on sale
Office 2010 arrived with the Ribbon in every app and free Office Web Apps in the browser, Microsoft's answer to Google Docs.
- TechSupported
The $139 Kindle ships
Amazon's third-generation Kindle, with a sharper E Ink screen and a Wi-Fi-only price of $139, became the company's fastest-selling Kindle.
- TechVerified
Google reveals its self-driving car project
Google disclosed that its modified Toyota Priuses had driven 140,000 miles on public roads with minimal human intervention, the first public word of the project that became Waymo.
- TechVerified
Apple's "Back to the Mac": new MacBook Air and the Mac App Store
Apple introduced 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Airs with flash storage from $999, previewed Mac OS X Lion, and announced a Mac App Store that opened in January 2011.
- TechVerified
Firesheep exposes session hijacking on open Wi-Fi
A free Firefox extension let anyone on a shared network take over other users' Facebook and Twitter sessions with one click, pushing major sites toward HTTPS.
- TechVerified
The FCC adopts its Open Internet Order
The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 for net-neutrality rules against blocking and unreasonable discrimination by fixed broadband providers, rules later struck down in...
