"What gadget should I get?" is a timeless question. To answer it, here's our current leaderboard of favorite gadgets, including smartphones, laptops and cameras—updated with the latest and greatest of the whole year.
We know you don't want to blow that paycheck on merely the shiniest, or the the simply 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.
The Best 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's the smartphone to pick on each...for now.
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Best AT&T Phone:
Apple iPhone 4 (June 7th, 2010) And for those of you who want to venture into Windows Phone 7 turf,
we now recommend the Samsung Focus. (Oct 20, 2010)
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Best Sprint Phone:
HTC Evo (June 3, 2010)
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Best T-Mobile Phone:
The Nexus S (unless you still want a keyboard, then it's still the T-Mobile G2). (Dec 10, 2010)
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Best Verizon Phone:
HTC Incredible (April 19, 2010)
The Best Computers
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Best Laptop: 15-inch
i7 MacBook Pro, (April 13, 2010)
high rez matte screen, or if you go PC, the
Toshiba Portégé R700 ...a 3lb Core i5 (June 21, 2010)
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Best Netbook: This market is commoditized, just buy something
on this list or an
iPad. (April 7, 2010)
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Best Ultraportable:
MacBook Air 11-inch (Nov. 1, 2010) We've also
added the Sony VAIO Z to our list, if you're seeking a super slim Windows machine. (Nov 24, 2010)
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Best 3D Laptop:
Asus' G51Jx 3DE beat out the competition, and has a built-in IR emitter. (Oct 7, 2010)
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Best Processors: Decide your budget, THEN pick a processor from
this list. (April 9, 2010)
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Best Desktop Graphics Cards:
We've knocked off the ATI HD 5970 chipset in favor of the Fermi-packing
Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 (Nov 9, 2010). Otherwise, decide your budget, THEN pick the card from
this list.
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Best Mobile Graphics: Anything with
Nvidia's GeForce 400M series will have serious gaming muscle (Sep 3, 2010).
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Best Motherboard: The
Asus Rampage III Extreme barely
edged out the competition in our new motherboard roundup.
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Best Router: The Netgear RangeMax V1 emerged victorious from the
Ultimate Router Battle. (Oct 28, 2010)
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Best SSD: Kingston's
SNV425-S2 64GB drive stood out by delivering blazing performance on the (relative) cheap. (Sep 1, 2010)
The Best Tablets
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Best Tablet:
Apple iPad (April 7, 2010)
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Best eReader:
Goodbye, Kindle DX. Hello, Amazon Kindle 3 (July 28, 2010)
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Best Android Tablet:
Barnes & Noble Nook Color (Nov 16, 2010)
The Best Cameras
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Best Budget dSLR:
Canon T2i (May 19, 2010)
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Best Midrange dSLR:
Canon 7D (Nov 10, 2009)
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Best 'Spensive dSLR:
Nikon D3s (
1D Mark IV if you're shooting more video) (Feb 26, 2010)
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Best Point and Shoot:
Canon S95
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Best 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. (Nov 17, 2009)
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Best Phone Camera:
iPhone 4 (June 7, 2010)
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Best Waterproof Camera:
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS2 (Jan 26, 2010)
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Best Helmet/Sports Camera:
GoPro Hero HD and
ContourHD Surfboard Mount (Nov 4, 2009)
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Best Camera Lenses:
We're adding our roundup of
well-priced, excellently-performing lenses to the list, for those of you looking for an upgrade. (Dec 6, 2010)
The Best Home Theater and AV Gear
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Best 3DTV: Panasonic's
TC-P50VT20 topped the pile in our three-way shootout. (Mar 25, 2010)
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Best Budget TV:
We've added Vizio's XVT3SV series to our list of very favorite things. (Dec 9, 2010)
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Best Blu-ray Player:
LG BD570 or
PS3 (May 13, 2010)
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Best Receiver:
Pioneer VSX-1020-K (Mar 4, 2010)
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Best Game Console:
Xbox 360 (Jun 14, 2010)
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Best Media Extender:
Now taking claiming the title as champion video streamer is Sony's diminutive, underrated almost to the point of nonexistence
NetBox. Give it a shot. (Aug 25, 2010)
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Best MP3 Player:
Apple's newest iPod Touch is on top of the top.
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Best 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 $2,000.
Audioengine's A5 speakers are $350 a pair, 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. (Sep 16, 2010)
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Best Headphones:
We're finally recommending an official pick for cans, Bowers & Wilkins P5s—and they're a doozy. As our Joe Brown says, they are, in a word, "DOPE." (March 22, 2010)
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Best Home Audio Streaming: We've
added the dreamy Sonos system to our end of year list—read Brian's lifechanger-status writeup and you'll understand why
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