The 25 Most Innovative Products of the Year (Part 1)
Posted By Faye
Break on through: Among the Innovation Award winners are HP’s TouchSmart (displaying Microsoft’s Popfly), Toshiba’s Portege R500 (displaying Mint.com), Seagate’s hybrid hard drive, NetGear’s Digital Entertainer HD EVA8000, and — no surprise — Apple’s iPhone.
Make no mistake, the Web is taking over. Applications are moving to browsers en masse, and technology to take Web apps offline promises to smooth the road ahead. And let’s not forget breakthrough devices advancing the Web-anywhere world: Apple has redefined the phone, and One Laptop per Child’s sub-$200 laptop is delivering Internet-style collaboration to kids in developing nations. But innovation isn’t all on the Web; the PC is evolving as well. Apple has reenvisioned backup, HP has created the first useful touch-screen PC, hybrid hard drives boost speed and battery life, and ultraportables have become even more useful. Chosen from the hundreds of products we reviewed in 2007, here are 25 that will change the way you work, communicate, and play this year — and beyond.