In Pictures: Pocket marvels - 40 years of handheld computers

From the first pocket scientific calculator through '80s organisers to today's tablets, check out 15 ingenious devices that have driven the handheld computing revolution.

2008: HTC Dream / T-Mobile G1

The world loves an underdog, and despite being backed by Google, the Android platform came across as a scrappy David next to the smartphone Goliath, iPhone. The first Android phone out of the gate was the HTC Dream (a.k.a. the T-Mobile G1), a steal at $150 (with two-year cellular contract).

Clearly taking on the iPhone, the Dream offered better battery life, lower cost and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, but the Android platform trailed in available media and apps. Yet less than four years later, Google's OS commands almost half the U.S. smartphone market, compared to Apple's less-than-a-third. Poor RIM slid to 12%: How are the mighty fallen.

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