The iPhone may have helped kill the BlackBerry, but it gave birth to a new beefed-up genre of mobile devices. Google went on to release its own more developer-friendly mobile operating system, Android. Microsoft threw its hat into the ring with Windows Phone OS. Most major mobile phone companies now produce touchscreen smartphones.

Some might say the iPhone and its cousin, the iPod Touch, helped spawn the larger iPad, with its identical touchscreen interface. That hit device was birthed in 2010 and quickly created a new gadget market, leaving rivals scrambling to catch up. Now Amazon, Google and Microsoft all have new or forthcoming tablets.

The iPhone's popularity as a portable gaming device -- oh, how we love flinging virtual birds at virtual pigs! -- also helped usher in a new era of mobile gaming.

Five years after the iPhone hit the market -- and the culture -- the tech industry as a whole is thriving and innovating. It probably won't be another five years before the next big thing shakes up technology again.