15 things you couldn't do 15 years ago

A lot has changed since Engadget was born, both in the gadgets we use and what we do with them on a regular basis. When the site started in 2004, fitness trackers, voice assistants and electric cars were the stuff of fiction. Now most of these are commonplace, so much so that we put our trust in them on a daily basis. To celebrate Engadget's 15th birthday, here are 15 things that didn't exist 15 years ago. In the past, mobile phones could do mostly two things: Make calls and send (and receive) text messages. If you had a fancier model, you could also play a little game. Features were added over the years, including music playback and photography. Smartphones like the BlackBerry and the Palm Treo that combined the functionality of PDAs and phones eventually came about, but were mostly designed for business users.