The history of the tech industry is littered with debris from past gadget battles. Remember VHS versus Betamax?
If you think the current battle between iOS and Android is fierce, other tech rivalries have raged down through the years. Remember VHS against Betamax, anyone?
The battle between Sony’s Betamax and JVC’s VHS video cassette standards was sparked in the 1970s and raged through most of the 1980s. Rumour has it that the battle was won by VHS only because the influential porn industry at the time got behind VHS.
However, according to this infographic by Mint.com, entitled The Most Famous Tech and Gadget Battles of All Time, the battle was really won because VHS was cheaper and provided at least two hours of recording time over Betamax, which provided just one hour.
But even aside from video cassettes, there are so many battles that have shaped the tech industry as we know it.
For example, there was the Sega Genesis versus the Super Nintendo that raged in the early 1990s.
There was the battle between the laser disc and the DVD, with the DVD emerging victorious.
Let’s not forget that the war between Barnes & Noble’s Nook and Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader is still being contested.
There was a clear victory for Sony’s Blu-ray hi-def video standard over Toshiba’s HD DVD standard.
And the console wars during the 2000s between the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii lasted over five years.
Does anyone remember the Microsoft Zune? Well, it was Microsoft’s attempt at an MP3 player that was simply dispatched by the superior iPod from Apple.
This infographic shows who were the winners and losers and which battles have outcomes that have yet to be decided.
Video tape image via Shutterstock
