BlackBerry 850 Wireless Handheld (1998) 

Canadian firm Research in Motion didn't invent e-mail, wireless data networks, the handheld, or the QWERTY keyboard. But with the little BlackBerry, along with server software that made e-mail appear on it without any effort from the recipient, RIM put it all together in a way that even nontechie executives could appreciate--and thereby opened the eyes of corporate America to the potential of wireless communications. So addictive that some call them CrackBerries, RIM's ubiquitous e-mail communicators--especially their high-res displays and small yet serviceable thumb keyboards--have forever changed the design aesthetic for personal digital assistants, while their approach to e-mail has become the standard by which all connected handhelds are measured.