2008 has been a year of hits-and-misses, ups-and-downs, innovations and demolitions. Of course, for our readers it is noteworthy because we saw the end of the short-lived HD-DVD, the birth of a revolution with Netbooks, a successful Olympics and the credit crunch. The economic decline ended the year badly for everyone but here TechCast News aims to look back on the year with the entire collection of positive gadgets and innovations that will change our lives for the better.

1. iPhone 3G: Year on year, Apple seduce us with their attempts at fusing technology with aesthetics. In 2008, they succeeded by taking over the Smartphone market. It is everyone’s favourite toy mobile device as it now comes with 3G, A-GPS, push email, and bigger storage. Apple’s own App store further expands its capabilities taking advantage of these various welcome additions. The second generation of the iPhone is not without its flaws (namely poor camera, no video, poor battery life) but this means we cannot wait for the next iteration of Apple’s winning Smartphone

2. Netbooks: These lightweight, energy efficient portable laptops are changing the way the world computes simply by reducing the features and the size you would find in a normal laptop. The biggest reason for their success is the price. By making ultra small laptops affordable, more and more casual users are now able to log on whenever and wherever they are. The laptop market itself has been growing for some years now having taken over desktop sales in 2007 but now Netbooks are the new must-have. The influx began with the Eee PC by Asus and the OLPC from Nick Negroponte, but expect the other outfits out there like Sony to start jumping on this bandwagon.

3. Solid State Drives (SSD): The SSD has grown in stature in the last year becoming more and more available in the commercial sector. With no moving parts it enhances the performance by reducing seek time, latency, and allows for faster read/write speeds. The biggest benefit is that it also increases the battery life. This is the one technology we want to see growing this year and I believe this will see the end of hard disk drives by 2010.

4. Wii Fit: Playing its part in defining gaming history, the Wii Fit has not seen its demand fall since it was first released in April 2008. The Wii board is a yet another massive hit for Nintendo who have single handedly carved out a new gaming market based around fun and simple games.

5. G1 Android: Not content with dominating the way we function with the World Wide Web, Google last year introduced their mobile platform, Android, on the T-Mobile network. The aptly named mobile phone G1 (Google 1) is the first phone to carry the Android mobile operating software. My favourite feature of the G1 is the different ways you can interact with it via the touch screen, QWERTY keyboard or the track ball. Bringing together everything we like about the Blackberry phones and the iPhone. Just like Apple, Google have opened up their store to tech-heads who can design widgets for the phone. The new OS is a very good first effort but this chunky model will be a repellent to those used to the pretty looks of the iPhone.

6. Flip Mino: What could the YouTube generation need more? Well, here’s the answer. A camcorder so simple you don’t even have to read the instructions. This one-touch recorder is the iPod of the video world with built-in memory capable of recording 60 minutes of video and rechargeable via the USB port. The guys behind the idea have been quick to expand their range with new models, which incorporate HD recording and custom designs. The pocket recorder only fails in the storage department.

7. Facebook: I am one of the lucky few that isn’t addicted to the global phenomenon. Facebook has grown to be the mother of all social networks. I personally know people who would literally shrivel up and die if they didn’t have a daily dose of ‘poking’ others or leaving comments on other peoples status. Facebook has also had its fair share of controversies, namely the new layout design, the great Scrabulous affair (which is really a shame because who really plays that game in reality) and of course the big question of who really came up with the big idea anyway. But don’t worry folks, as plans are in the works to turn this whole debacle into a Hollywood event.

8. Google Chrome: Not only did Google enter the mobile phone market in 2008 but they also had time to enter the browser market. Mozilla’s Firefox leads the way with Internet Explorer losing even more ground in this battle. Google chrome is aiming to push Firefox inch for inch. Google first released a beta in September and created early hype by ‘accidently’ leaking a comic book but Chrome was widely downloaded upon release and heralded as the fastest browser available. Expect to hear more about Chrome’s market share increasing throughout 2009 as Microsoft’s IE dominance continues to decline.

9. BBC iPlayer: It’s one of the most loved sites in the UK and the most hated by ISP’s. This online service is now a very important part of the BBC’s broadcast armoury. The iPlayer has been fine-tuned regularly and is available across all three major operating systems. It also boasts series stacking, high-quality video and sound, subtitles and automatic bookmarking – allowing you to watch a programme from the place you last left it. The BBC is leading the way with digital on-demand services, but then again, they are using our money to fund it. The taxpayers do not accept failure!

10. Sony Reader and Amazon Kindle: The tech world has been able to digitize every other medium except for books. Until now, that is. Last year saw the popularity and demand for electronic books grow and with it, the devices used to consume them. Two of the most notable book readers: the Amazon Kindle and Sony’s Reader. In a size-zero world, the Kindle is far too industrial compared to the simplicity of Sony’s second-generation reader. I hardly read books anyway but this device lets me access blogs and RSS feeds for free. The Kindle unfortunately never made its way across the pond, but it was a huge hit over in the US featuring a mobile data modem for downloading content over the air for absolutely zilch.

by Ahsanul Islam on 11/01/2009

Tags: 3G, Android, Apple, Facebook, Flip Mino, G1, Google Chrome, iPhone, iPlayer, Kindle, Netbooks, Nintendo, Solid State Drives, Sony Reader, SSD, Wii Fit