Sci-fi suggests a one-device future — and Microsoft (and Apple) should pay attention

Science fiction often becomes science fact.

Clamshell-style flip phones, reminiscent of the communicators from the 1960s cult classic Star Trek, were once the dominant mobile device among consumers.

Flip phones untethered us from our homes, allowing us to communicate on-the-go. They also introduced a shift in telephony where phones became associated with "our person" rather than "our place of residence." Bulky enterprise-focused smartphones existed in the shadow of these consumer-focused feature phones.

Early mobile phones had hardware keyboards and tiny screens. Despite rudimentary internet access and basic apps, they, like the phones that preceded them, were used primarily for phone calls.

Apple changed everything in 2007 when it introduced the iPhone, a slate-shaped, touch-centric, keyboard-less mobile device that's not used primarily for phone calls. Given the benefit of hindsight, history may define the advent of the iPhone as the dawn of the ubiquitous "mini-tablet" personal computer.

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