Apple iPhone 5
The iPhone 5 is exactingly, thoughtfully designed from the inside out, and Apple's attention to detail shows. It's by a wide margin the best iPhone ever built.
What were the most-wanted gadgets among gdgt members in 2012? Based on their Want lists, Apple products ruled. Apple also showed up prominently among our members' most-purchased gear -- and in their "Had" lists, which include products they've jettisoned, presumably as they've upgraded to newer models.
The iPhone 5 is exactingly, thoughtfully designed from the inside out, and Apple's attention to detail shows. It's by a wide margin the best iPhone ever built.
At just $200 it's among the most affordable tablets you can get. It packs in numerous features typically available only on higher-end devices, including a sharp 1280 x 800 display, and a fast quad-core processor.
It retains the long battery life of earlier e-ink Kindles, and adds a sharper, higher-contrast display, a more responsive touchscreen, and faster, more fluid page-turns. And with the addition of its new frontlight, it's not just possible to use the Kindle in the dark; it's actually enjoyable.
The iPhone 5 is exactingly, thoughtfully designed from the inside out, and Apple's attention to detail shows. It's by a wide margin the best iPhone ever built.
At just $200 it's among the most affordable tablets you can get. It packs in numerous features typically available only on higher-end devices, including a sharp 1280 x 800 display, and a fast quad-core processor.
It retains the long battery life of earlier e-ink Kindles, and adds a sharper, higher-contrast display, a more responsive touchscreen, and faster, more fluid page-turns. And with the addition of its new frontlight, it's not just possible to use the Kindle in the dark; it's actually enjoyable.
The MacBook Pro with Retina Display is Apple's best laptop yet, and, price aside, is probably the most well-rounded laptop available today. It has the best display available on any device -- anywhere -- and it's faster, thinner, and lighter than other laptops in its class.
If you're content with Angry Birds on your smartphone, the Vita may not be for you. But if you want a true console experience that you can take almost anywhere, this is as good as it gets.
Apple's third-generation iPad has a beautiful new Retina Display that smokes the resolution on the HDTV in your living room, a camera that shames the competition, and optional next-generation mobile broadband that's faster than most home connections.
Apple's first full-HD set-top box comes with a freshly updated UI, while providing the same easy access to Netflix, every movie, TV show and song in the iTunes Store, not to mention subscription sports channels.
The Galaxy S III's bright, sharp AMOLED display is one of the largest on any smartphone, at 4.8 inches; it boasts one of the best cameras we've seen on a phone; it has great voice quality; and it can effortlessly handle the most demanding apps.
The Wii represented hope for the future of gaming, but as it turns out that vision has gotten lost in the mix as game consoles have adopted far more advanced features, graphics, and motion capturing-controllers (like the Kinect).
Although it lacks its successor's personal assistant, Siri, and packs a slower processor than the 4S, the iPhone 4 remains a great choice if you want the iPhone experience at half the price of the newer model.