When new innovative inventions come along that are clearly the way of the future, they are frequently built on innovations from the past. This was clearly evident with the invention of the smartphone. Devices that combined telephone and computerized communication were first conceptualized in 1973 and started being on the market for sale in 1993. One of the ways that early cordless and cell phones improved people’s autonomy was by having a Caller ID function, which identified who was calling before they even answered the phone, and a phone charger, which allowed people to charge up the phone battery themselves. Something else that was revolutionary for its time, but quickly became obsolete because of both the smartphone and tablets was the personal digital assistant (PDA). There also may have been talk about making regular cordless phones perform the same additional functions that smartphones do, such as to play music or have a calendar function on them. However, technology to do such things did not exist and had not been invented at the time. Time, simplicity, and their being able to perform additional functions besides just talking on the phone is how and why smartphones have improved people’s autonomy, which is why they have become a clear and solid method of communication for millions around the world.