Best tech of 2012
Another year has almost gone by and with Christmas and New Years just around the corner I thought that I would take a look back at some of the gadgets and tech that have made an impact throughout the year.
As always its been a busy year in the tech industry with new gizmos seemingly coming out every week, sometimes it can be hard to keep up so I’m going to give you a breakdown of what I think are 5 of the coolest bits of tech you can get.
Nintendo Wii U
Source: Gamasutra
After the hugely successful Nintendo Wii I think that a lot of people were thinking where were Nintendo going to go next. Sony and Microsoft had followed suited with add-ons to their consoles that provided additional functionality and I would argue that the Xbox Kinect has far more functionality than the Wii’s controller. Fast-forward to 30th November 2012 and the Wii U is launched, Nintendo’s latest console looks very similar to the Wii but comes packed with enhanced hardware and a tablet like controller. With strong sales, over 40,000 units sold over the opening weekend, and a good opening game line-up I have a feeling that this will be another triumph for Nintendo. I’m sure this is going to be a Christmas favourite for many kids!
Samsung Galaxy S3
Source: PC Advisor
I don’t think that this phone needs much of an introduction as it recently picked up the ‘Gadget of the year’ prize at Stuff Awards 2012, this phone has made a name for itself… Apple won’t be happy. This is Samsung’s flagship phone and it has been picking up rave reviews since even before it was released. With the latest Android operating system, a large 4.8-inch super AMOLED HD screen, 4G compatibility and a host of other features it’s not hard to see why this phone has made the top 5.
Amazon Kindle Fire HD
Source: Pocket-Lint
Although I must admit that I’m not a great reader myself nobody could have missed the e-reader wave that has hit, e-readers come in all shapes and sizes now but Amazons’ Kindle is still by far the most popular. Earlier this year the Kindle Fire HD was released, the e-reader sees a departure from just a stand-alone e-reader more towards a tablet with a beautiful 7-inch HD display. The Kindle Fire focuses on the rather large eco-system that Amazon has managed to build incorporating games, films, books and apps. Definitely one to look into if you’re an avid reader and additionally want tablet functionality.
NetFlix
Source: NetFlix
OK… so this may not have been introduced in 2012 but I think that it’s still relevant as video streaming has really taken of this year, I think this has been fuelled by the internet basically becoming an essential in most peoples home similar to electricity, water and gas and also the introduction of ever faster broadband speeds such as fibre optic broadband. More on this later.
Video streaming I think is a great idea, I’m lucky enough to have access to LOADS of DVD’s and blu-rays however they do take up a lot of space and also trying to find what film you’re looking for can be a bit of a chore. With video-streaming it’s simple, you pay a set amount per month and you get to choose from a huge selection of films to watch, I’ve tried NetFlix before and it has a very simple navigation and layout, quick search function and I managed to stream several films without any buffering… score!
Fibre Optic Broadband
Source: Techradar
If you’re a bit of an internet freak (I won’t judge you if you are) you will understand the pain of trying to stream something off YouTube or play a game online to find that it continually buffers of lags. I bet you just wish that there were something faster… well there is, fibre optic broadband. It’s being rolled out across the UK and will allow lightening fast speeds of up to 100Mbps compared to the standard 24Mbps which most of us aren’t probably even getting anyway. Currently as it’s so new fibre optic broadband is only available in certain parts of the country and you will have to pay a premium for it, however coverage will increase and the cost will decrease in 2013 as it becomes more popular.
So there you have it, my run down of my top 5 bits of tech for 2012, it’s been a great year for tech and I’m sure 2013 will see even bigger and better things. Personally I can’t wait!
