In the last few years...

....cellphones have become very popular.

So today, we will have a small lesson covering the difference between two grammatical structures:

in a few...

This structure is used to talk about the FUTURE.

I will be with you in a few minutes.
Please wait a little bit.

I am going to Thailand in a few weeks.
In 1-2 weeks I will go to Thailand.

In a few days, the weekend will be here again~!
Soon the weekend will arrive again.

in the last few...

This is used to talk about the recent PAST.

In the last few weeks, magazines have been talking about funemployment.
Recently, magazines have been talking about funemployment.

He left a few minutes ago.
He just left 1 or 2 minutes ago.

In the last few years, computers have become smaller, cheaper and more powerful.
In the last couple of years, computers have become smaller, cheaper and more powerful.

You can also use:

in a couple of (past)

in the last couple of (future)

in the same way. A couple of is usually pronounced "acupula" in North American English.

Alright, that is all for now. Have a good week,

Phil