Top 20 Gadgets of 2000 - 2009

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
From our front-page news:
Top lists are far from rare, and as we're getting close to 2010, I'm sure there will be countless more to look through in the next month or two (who knows, perhaps we might even have one). One posted at the website for Paste Magazine caught my eye, as it shows off the staff's choices for the top 20 gadgets from the year 2000 to present. I don't entirely agree with all of them, but overall it's a solid list.

In the list's 20th spot is the Bluetooth earpiece, which surprised me. I've always considered these to be instant douchebag creators, but the site mentions that while that could be the case, it's also surely been responsible for many saved lives over the years, so how you can trash it? Interestingly, many of the choices on the list have to do with audio of some sort, whether it be music or real discussion.

As you'd expect, there are a fair number of USB devices, including the USB flash drive, which I'd have to agree as being a great choice. I'd place it much higher than #18, though. If you have a flash drive, and you probably do, just imagine not having one for a second, and see how great that idea sounds. This form of storage was slow to catch on, thanks in part to the early-adopter pricing, but today, I know almost no one who's without one.

Most of the other winners aren't that surprising, and it's not going to shock a single person on earth that the iPod landed in first place. Other notable mentions include the Blackberry, Slingbox, iPhone and Amazon Kindle. I thought hard about what I'd have to consider my favorite gadget of the year 2000 or later is, and I quickly realized that I'm not much of a "gadget guy". Although I don't use it as often as I like, I might have to pick Sony's PSP. It's mobile, has stellar graphics and tons of capabilities, and the list is growing all the time. The only real downside is battery-life... I can't stand it!

kingston_thumb_drives_112309.jpg

Travelers need no longer preserve their novels’ final chapters for the plane ride home. The online superstore Amazon introduced its peculiar literary instrument in 2007, compacting the book and the bookstore into a single, grayscale device. The Kindle married an unlikely couple: literature and the electronic. It will remain one of the few gadgets to be never criticized for its brain-melting capabilities. And best of all, thanks to digital ink, it reads just like paper.


Source: Paste Magazine
 

Psi*

Tech Monkey
I have difficulty separating technology from good marketing. For instance I have been playing mp3s for many years thru pocket PCs. But most people do not know what a PPC is even tho it existed for a few years before an iPod. So is the iPod a stroke of genius for technology or marketing?

YES. I do like USB flash drives. They debuted just when floppies were running out of capacity and just before CDs caught on as a means of distributing large files, or the like. 64GB, 32 GB, & 16 GB USB drives are 3 of my top watch items on nextag.com for tracking price erosion. Not sure what i would do with those ... backups maybe? ... but I want 'em at the price I want 'em ($100, $50, & $20 respectively).

I dissed reading off the a LCD display (computer?) sometime ago. Something about computer based training that was never a fav of mine. I will need to revisit in the future when what *I* want to read is more readily available.

I think GPS' should be on all top lists.

I think it ironic that BT headsets are on the lists considering that they are only about plain old telephone gab. And, i have been rapidly losing interest in Smart Phones ... but I am just rebelling against the cost of the support not to mention the marketing forced on me. :mad:
 

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
Psi* said:
So is the iPod a stroke of genius for technology or marketing?

Well, no one claims that the iPod was the first, but it does come down to just that... the simplicity (I'm willing to debate this, though) and also the marketing. Apple brought pocket audio to a mainstream audience, and that's proven by the fact that millions upon millions of units sold. When it comes to audio players, you never heard people speak of the competitors, so in that regard, the iPod might deserve the number one spot. I'd refute that since I am not entirely a fan of the thing (though I do own one), but I think in a general vote, most people from the tech crowd would choose it for first place.

As for GPS'... I could not agree more!
 
Top