The growth of the smartphone market is tapped by the Washington Post as the top tech story of the past year.
Considering the time and expense involved, the biggest story in technology this year could have been the largely successful transition to digital television that wrapped up in June. But 2009’s most significant tech developments took place on much smaller screens. Smartphones — will we someday call them simply “phones,” just as many people now assume a “phone” means a mobile device? — led the headlines throughout 2009. They earned that prominence with hardware and software upgrades that advanced their capabilities and gave mobile users fewer reasons to pack a laptop on their next trip. – From Washington Post