The Best Gadgets Of The Year (So Far)

Technology’s about a lot more than buying stuff – but let’s be honest, we all love our gadgets. So we’re here to help you find the best of the best – laptops, cameras, phones and a lot more.

AU: Please be mindful some of these are US-only products. _-EH

We know you don’t want to blow your pay cheque on merely the shiniest or the newest. So we’ve considered a balance of price, features, reliability – and above all, quality – to make sure you’re choosing a gadget that isn’t just great, but one that’s sensible. We’ve updated our roster of Giz-approved gadgets, and below, you’ll find these picks – the best tech tools 2010 has to offer.

Smartphones

We can geek out all we want, but the best way to choose is a phone is not just by the hardware or the OS, but the phone and the carrier. Here are the smartphones to pick on for now.

• Apple iPhone 4
• HTC Evo
• G2 (HTC Desire Z)
• HTC Incredible

Computers

• Laptop: 15-inch i7 MacBook Pro, high-rez matte screen, or if you go PC, the Toshiba Portégé R700 …a 1.4kg Core i5

• Netbook: This market is commoditised, just buy something on this list or an iPad.

• Ultraportable: MacBook Air 11-inch

• 3D Laptop: Asus’ G51Jx 3DE beat out the competition and has a built-in IR emitter.

• Processors: Decide your budget, THEN pick a processor from this list.

• Desktop Graphics Cards: Anything based on the ATI HD 5970 chipset will be FAAAST, otherwise, decide your budget, THEN pick the card from this list.

• Mobile Graphics: Anything with Nvidia’s GeForce 400M series will have serious gaming muscle

• Router: The Netgear RangeMax V1 emerged victorious from the Ultimate Router Battle

• SSD: Kingston’s SNV425-S2 64GB drive stands out by delivering blazing performance on the (relative) cheap.

Tablets

• Tablet: Apple iPad

• eReader: Amazon Kindle DX

• Android Tablet: Barnes & Noble Nook Color

Cameras

• Budget dSLR: Canon T2i (EOS 550D)

• Midrange dSLR: Canon 7D

• ‘Spensive dSLR: Nikon D3s

• Point and Shoot: Canon S95 or Canon SD4000… check prices.

• Pocket Camcorder: Flip Ultra HD, but only if you don’t already have an iPhone 4. Otherwise, your smartphone’s capturing better video than Flip’s dedicated device – give your pockets some extra space.

• Phone Camera: iPhone 4

Home Theatre

• 3D TV: Panasonic’sTC-P50VT20 topped the pile in our three-way shootout.

• Blu-ray Player: LG BD570 or PS3

• Receiver: Pioneer VSX-1020-K

• Game Console/Media Extender: Xbox 360

• Speakers: High-quality sound doesn’t need to cost a fortune – turns out there’s a lot of great audio gear out there for less than $US2000. Audioengine’s A5 speakers are $US350 each but pack serious sonic punch – and they’re self-powered. Check out the rest of the roundup if you’re looking to splurge a little more.