It's been a banner year for tech—so much so that I've had a hard
time whittling down my list of favorite gadgets to a mere 10. From a
touch-screen phone that you've probably heard of to the latest stab at an e-book
reader, I present to you (in alphabetical order) the top 10 gadgets of the year.
Amazon
Kindle: It's pricey at $399, and with its so-so screen and
uninspiring design, the Kindle probably won't spell the end for your
garden-variety paper book anytime soon. That said, fellow blogger Christopher
Null called the light, easy-to-read, and 3G-equipped Kindle a potentially
"game-changing device" that gives the sleepy e-book market a swift, much-needed
kick in the pants.
Apple
iPhone: In his initial
review, Null dismissed the iPhone as a "nifty little gadget" that's "filled
with flaws," and I agree with many of his criticisms. (No 3G! No games! Can't
replace the battery!) That said, I'd be lying if I didn't call the iPhone—with
its intuitive (nay, fun!) touch-screen interface, top-of-the-heap mobile Web
browser, and unmatched integration of music and video in a handset—one of the
most exciting
gadgets I've ever seen.
Asus
Eee: Try this on for size: a two-pound, paperback-sized laptop that
runs Linux like a dream. The hard-to-please Null gave the Asus Eee (which comes
loaded with a 900MHz Celeron CPU, Wi-Fi, and a 4GB solid-state hard drive) a
test-drive last month and called it "downright exciting." Even more impressive?
The $499 price tag.
Ibiza
Rhapsody: There's been a lot of buzz about Wi-Fi MP3 players this
year, what with the new iPod Touch and the updated Zunes, but here's a no-name
player that beats both those heavyweights at the wireless game. The Ibiza
Rhapsody syncs with your Rhapsody music account over Wi-F, finds and updates
your podcasts, plays MPEG-4, WMV, and H.264 video files, and even surfs the
web—no PC syncing required.
Intel
Classmate PC: Love it or hate it, we live in a Windows world, and
Intel's Classmate PC is the only "One Laptop Per Child" device to run XP.
Writing for Wired, Christopher Null reports that the "ultra-small keyboard"
won't do for grown-ups, but the laptop's rugged case, cute looks, and snappy
performance will make the grade in classrooms. And at $300, the price is
right.
Nokia
N95: No, it doesn't have a touch screen, but the N95 is one of the
most feature-packed phones I've ever tested, including Wi-Fi, 3G support (new
for the United States), GPS, a 5-megapixel camera, quad-band GSM support for
world calling, a top-notch web browser (second only to the iPhone's), an Office
document reader, and a music player with support for subscription music services
such as Rhapsody. Unfortunately, at $750, the N95 won't be making any "Top 10
bargains" lists this year.
Pioneer
"Kuro" Plasma HDTVs: Grayish-looking black levels are the
collective Achilles' heel of flat-panel HDTVs, but here's a set that isn't
afraid of the dark. Available in 720p and 1080p versions (depending on the size
and model), Pioneer's line of Kuro sets blew me away with its deep, dark black
levels—now this is what "Blade Runner" is supposed to look like.
Shure
SE530 earphones: First things first: At $450, the SE530s are among
the priciest earbuds you'll ever find. But when I crammed these babies (which
come complete with a trio of "microspeakers" for each 'bud) into my ears... how
shall I put this? Aural nirvana. Now all you have to do is talk yourself out of
450 big ones.
TiVo
HD: The best of the set-top DVRs made the leap to HD in late 2006,
but the $800 price tag for the new Series3 box was a bitter pill. Luckily, the
$300 TiVo HD arrived in August. In the meantime, TiVo's been busy adding support
for Amazon Unbox video downloads, the Rhapsody music service, and Picasa photo
libraries.
Vudu:
It's not the perfect TV set-top box—it lacks a subscription model, it's too
expensive at $400, and video quality is shy of DVD levels (although it just
launched its first HD movies), But with its peer-to-peer method of delivering a
library of 5,000 movies (and now TV shows) instantly, Vudu is the closest thing
I've seen to Netflix-in-a-box.
And there you have it. Jumping out of your chair with cries of "But he forgot
the (fill in the blank)," or "How could you like the (insert hated
gadget here)?" Sure you are. Fire away!
Article written by Ben Patterson and Quoted from http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/patterson/9889
