20 pieces of 2000s technology you probably forgot about

When they were first released, iPod Nanos were everything. You could barely read what song you were hearing, and sometimes, it was hard to use the controls, but the Nano was small, and that’s all that mattered. 

If there was anything crazier than the iPod Nano, it was the iPod Shuffle. They were almost too small to keep track of, and you couldn’t read what song you were hearing because there was no screen. It was madness in the best way. 

HitClips were ridiculous. Only a handful of songs were available to play, and you could only listen to a minute of the song. But they were crazy popular. What was that about?

The 2000s were great because everybody had a different cell phone. Getting a new cell phone was exciting because everybody else wanted to see which one you got. That went away almost entirely with the iPhone, but it started going away with the Motorola Razr because the entire world was obsessed with it. 

So many Nintendo inventions are hallmarks of time, but the Nintendo DS was particularly great. It was like having an arcade right at your fingertips, except there weren’t nearly as many games available as in an arcade. Still fun, though. 

BlackBerrys in the ‘00s were like PalmPilots in the ‘90s. They made you feel far more important than you probably were, but that was part of the appeal. You didn’t need to check your one email per day on your BlackBerry, but you could. 

The T-Mobile Sidekick was another phone craze that had people in a tizzy. A phone with a hidden keyboard? It didn’t get much more exciting than that. There was a lot to be excited about in the ‘00s, but the Sidekick was near the top. 

3D TVs seemed like they would have staying power for a moment, but then everybody realized they didn’t want to wear special glasses inside their house just to watch the two movies with 3D features, and the appeal quickly dissipated. 

Was there anything more fun than the Nintendo Wii when it first came out? Absolutely not. It was so fun that people risked injury and shattered television screens just to play with it. The remotes came with wristbands, but only lame-os used them. 

Almost every cell phone in circulation today has a "QWERTY" keyboard, but anyone who had a cell phone in the '00s remembers the T9 keyboard. It required far more tapping to type what you wanted to say, which explains why text messaging used so many acronyms when it first started. 

Poor Blu-ray discs. They were supposed to take over DVDs but didn’t have enough time to shine before streaming services took over. Imagine a world where Blu-rays reign supreme and not Netflix. 

Officially released in 1999, Napster was the preeminent destination for music lovers in the early ‘00s. It didn’t last long, but if it weren’t for Napster, we might not have Spotify, and the social media landscape might look totally different. 

Along with the rise of Napster came the popularity of burning CDs. The technology existed beforehand — basically how CDs work — but in the early ‘00s, people could do it at home, and almost every song was available thanks to platforms like Napster. 

Flip Video cameras had everyone feeling like a director. They could fit in your pocket, and you could make fun little movies wherever you went. They were like GoPros, except GoPros were already available and weren’t discontinued in 2011. 

TiVo changed the game for television lovers. If you don’t remember TiVo specifically, you’re definitely familiar with the technology. Many watchers still record television, they just don’t have to use TiVo to do it. 

Many years ago, if we wanted to listen to our own music in our cars, we had to use our CDs. The iTrip changed that for many people, allowing anyone with an FM radio and an iPod to play DJ. Before AUX cords and CarPlay, this was a device sent from God.

Windows XP is the stuff of legends. Seriously, the photo called Bliss, which was used as the default background for Windows XP, is quite possibly the most-viewed photograph in history. Before we customized our backgrounds, we were all looking at that photo on Windows XP. 

Apple laptops are ubiquitous, but they’ve had a major glow-up. They used to be cumbersome and neon-colored. There was far more plastic involved and some even had handles so you could carry them. 

Having a MiFi was like having a hotspot on your phone; you just had a separate piece of technology for it. They’re still available for purchase and use, but most people opt for cellular hotspots. 

Who says technology can’t extend to your feet? Were people suddenly fed up with walking in the ‘00s? Were they looking for alternatives to skateboards? Why were the wheels only on the heels? There are so many questions that will likely never be answered.