Amazon's "Best of 2007" topped by Wii, a few surprises

Certain winners on Amazon's "Best of 2007" list of could've been seen coming a mile away, but in the top sales category we were just a little surprised to see the Canon PowerShot A570 IS topping the list of electronics, and Nokia's Internet Tablet topping out computers (unclear if that counts as the N800 or N810 or both). The Wii naturally held top honors for video games. "Most-loved" included Garmin's nuvi 350 under electronics, the MacBook Pro under computers, Leopard in software and Wii under video games. Wish lists were dominated by the 3rd-gen 4GB iPod nano, Asus EEE PC and the Wii, while top gifts included that same nano, as well as the MacBook and Super Mario Galaxy.

[Kamokazi @ Dec 28th 2007 10:55AM]

Wow, nice to see the Internet Tablet getting some love...it's a great little device.

And before you Mac fanboys gloat too much about the MacBook, keep in mind that there are only a few individual Mac notebooks, but hundreds of different PC notebooks, so the PC numbers get drastically thinned out. It's still a notable accomplishment for Mac though. Hopefully it'll help scare MS into getting Vista in a little better state (SP1 RC is a nice start).

[mattclarkie @ Dec 28th 2007 11:00AM]

I'm the first to admit that I hate Apple, but I am no fan of Microsoft either. I have been running Vista for 6 months, and had no problems apart from an update which corrupted a file, easy fix. By this time I would have wiped my XP machine twice, so Vista is definately an improvement over XP.

I can't understand the Wii. I have had a 360 since launch, and am loving it, I have never played on a console as much as I have the 360. I wish some of the games were longer, but it needs more recognition from the wider public, who seem captivated by the idea of standing up to play games.

[Matt @ Dec 28th 2007 11:36AM]

Have you played SM Galaxy? I just got it last week and I haven't been so immersed in game play since the original Half-Life. It's a beautiful implementation of the of the Wii controls. I've been playing console games for over twenty years and sitting stationary with essentially the same control scheme (just more buttons) from 1988 is getting boring.

[Jonathan Bergeron @ Dec 28th 2007 11:57AM]

What's wrong with Vista? I've had it for over 6 months now, and it hasn't crashed once. I've loaded all kinds of programs onto it too.

Do you own Vista, or are you just regurgitating what other people have said before you?

[Sean D. @ Dec 28th 2007 12:01PM]

I brought a Wii down to my parents house over the holiday so I could play some SMG while there, and I couldn't get my parents (both in their early 60s) off of it. I ended up playing Wii Sports all weekend. My dad loved bowling, moved as if he was actually bowling, and consistently scored over 160- the learning curve for him was about 1 minute. I also brought my XBox 360, which I also hooked up to the 57" HDTV to show them how great it looked, and they were immediately bored with it (no love for CoD4 or Pinball FX). "I don't understand what you're supposed to do with all those buttons," is what my dad said about the 360's controller after a glance.

You'll understand the popularity of the Wii once you see people who don't typically play (or even like) videogames getting excited to play, and doing fairly well at it. Surprisingly (or not so), my parents are looking forward to owning a Wii of their own... now if you could only find them in stores...

[Chance Morgan @ Dec 28th 2007 12:12PM]

Matt,

I have played SMG and I love the game. It is unfortunately the only game I have loved outside the casual love for Wii Sports.

I finally got my family interested in my 360 by playing SceneIt. A whole lot of family fun. I just wish it was more than 4 players.

As for Vista, I bought a vista laptop last February and I really enjoy using it. I do get a little tired of granting permissions, but it sure has kept my wife from screwing it up. She loves how easy it is to access music and pictures. I think she it on it much more than I am.

[ryan @ Dec 28th 2007 12:57PM]

Hi mattclarkie,

I don't have a 360, PS3 or Wii. I've heard similar complaints from my 360-owning friends about how they don't understand the appeal Wii has on people. The only explanation I can help you out with is that the console, with the horrible graphics and all, appeals to just about anyone of any age. My cousin received one for X-mas and the whole family was fighting over who was going to bowl next. This same cousin has had every other game console in history at every family party in the last 15 years with all the latest games and they mostly have gone unnoticed. The Wii just catches people's attention. I actually think it's cool to see senior citizens throw a whooping on their great grand children while playing video games... even it is only bowling.

[belial20xx @ Dec 28th 2007 1:05PM]

The 360 had its chance to be numero uno but microsoft shoddy quality and joke of a repair process doomed it and before long it will be in dead last.

A system with the quality like the 360 has will never be first. Microsofts arrogance I went through 4 360 consoles 1rst store bought and 3 were refurbs from microsoft that did not work out of the box.

Nintendo Wii is a quality system and it is fun. Mario and zelda are some of the best titles this gen unlike the way over hyped halo 3 which looked as if it had more jaggies than a wii title.

microsoft will loose because it dont care about its customers. I lost over 1600 on the pos because I was necer able to play it due to its garbage quality. The games are there but the quality is non existent making the 360 a temp console that may barely live a year when taken out of the box.

[Mateo @ Dec 28th 2007 1:54PM]

The fact that OSX was the most wanted software proves that the MacBook was not the most wanted computer because of its exclusive os. The percentage of people who wanted Leopard on amazon was greater than the percentage of people who wanted a Microsoft os.

[rip @ Dec 28th 2007 2:44PM]

Yeah, but remember, it cuts both ways. Windows people love to talk about market share and how Apple is small. But they forget to mention that Apple is just one company and there are many PC manufacturers. Apple is a very large computer company, but because they are the only ones making Macs, everyone thinks they are smaller.

AFAIK, only Dell, HP, and maybe Lenovo are bigger in the US.

[Kamokazi @ Dec 30th 2007 12:51AM]

@rip

But Dell, HP, and IBM/Lenovo can't sell computers with OS X on it, so your point is irrelevant-the hardware the OS is running on is pretty much meaningless, it's OS marketshare, not hardware marketshare. If Microsft sold all the hardware for Windows PCs, then Apple would be an small hardware company in comparison.

Also, those companies are significantly larger than Apple. Dell is about twice as large, and HP and IBM are about four times larger (based on revenue).

[lothar @ Dec 28th 2007 11:04AM]

That camera got a Highly Recommended rating on dpreview which is really good.

[Speddy @ Dec 28th 2007 11:10AM]

Amazon acquired dpreview, so duh.

[Spyvie @ Dec 28th 2007 11:23AM]

Canon PowerShots are among the very best affordable point and shoots. The A570 is a well constructed, full featured camera and is available everywhere for well under $200... why is it so hard to believe that it's a top seller?

[James @ Dec 28th 2007 11:10AM]

i have a wii, it has an ok selection of games, but it is fun to play. i would'nt mind an Xbox 360 or ps3 here in the near future though.

i am impressed with the improvements in macs operating systems these days, but i still hate the menu interface and the single mouse button. i also hate how the system can lock up from time to time while you wait for software to load, you get the pinwheel that spins. not to mention the constant changes in architecture.
and just think, if mac wasn't so... proprietary then they could have come out on top of windows. but i still don't want a mac.

[lothar @ Dec 28th 2007 11:20AM]

The Wii is a party gaming system, if your a hardcore gamer you'll definitely want to own a PS3 or 360.

[James @ Dec 28th 2007 12:04PM]

i would acctually recomend a PC for hardcore gaming. seeming as how you have way better control on games with a 3500 DPI mouse then with a thumbstick. the wii also provides good control in FPS games.

[richardofmystery @ Dec 28th 2007 12:11PM]

You do realize that Mac mice have several buttons these days, right? I'm able to right click until I've had my fill of right clicking. I use both Leopard and XP on an almost daily basis (I need them both for work), and the fact that XP has nothing like Expose (which I access using the 3rd and 4th buttons on my apple mouse) drives me crazy.

[Matt @ Dec 28th 2007 12:30PM]

Yeah Macs have two buttons now, but Apple thought it would look cleaner to have a solid piece of plastic over both buttons. I was test driving an iMac at an Apple store the other day and I found myself accidentally left/right clicking due to the clumsy implementation. Why can't they succumb to the tried and true separate mouse buttons? And that little round ball of a scroll wheel?...just stupid.

However, that glossy iMac display had me drooling.

[rip @ Dec 28th 2007 2:38PM]

Yes, the Apple mouse sucks. But that doesn't change the fact that you can right-click on a Mac. And have been able to for about 10 years. WTF.

And if your talking about a Mac laptop, the mouse is a non-issue. You can right click, scroll and double tap to click-hold on the trackpad. Try doing that on a pc.

It amazes me that people still spout off about right-clicking on a Mac. Mac people should start yapping about 8 character file naming limits on PCs. It's about as relevant.

[mike @ Dec 28th 2007 11:39AM]

I really don't know how many people out there like the Wii (except for senior citizens).. I bought one 3 months ago, used it ounce and actually returned it back to CC, its a super dumb machine.. It should be grouped with all of those Chinese after market video consoles... Its a total ripoff.

[Alex R @ Dec 28th 2007 12:11PM]

Me too. I got it after about a week of release and returned it within 4 days. The novelty had worn off by the second day. What a waste of £180. Bought 360 games instead, which was much better value for money.

[Josef @ Dec 28th 2007 12:30PM]

The Wii is good for what it is intended to be. A broad appeal console aimed primarily at people who have not been big gamers. I had some family in town for Christmas and we hooked the Wii up to the big TV in the den. Mom, Dad, cousins, aunts and uncles were having a great time with it. It's a social gaming device. Hard-core gamers will be disappointed with it but then again, they aren't the target audience.

[shaun @ Dec 28th 2007 11:42AM]

I'm suprised they didn't throw the Kindle to the top...

[thethirdmoose @ Dec 28th 2007 11:53AM]

The canon a series is very good... not as thin and stylish as most point and shoots, but very sturdy and high-quality. I have the 710 IS, and it is close to an SLR in terms of features, especially with the alternate firmware

[Ken Zemach @ Dec 28th 2007 12:47PM]

I too have the 710IS and LOVE it. I think one of the reasons the 570IS got rated so high is the IS part. My 710 is my 6th or 7th consumer digicam. After #3, (around 2002), there really hasn't been much improvement other than more megapixels (and after four, do you really care???). However, the IS makes a HUGE difference in shot quality for anything motion or sports related, mostly if you're the one trying to get the quick shot and moving around. If it's good light, I can shake shake shake the camera while I depress the shutter, and still get a good shot. If I zoom all the way in, which is 6x optical and something like 4x digital, I can STILL get a clear shot which one cannot do without a tripod on a regular camera.

Summary: it's the IS that makes this camera a leap in performance over any other improvement in the last 4 years.

[alanj878 @ Dec 28th 2007 12:27PM]

i would have never suspect cannon camera to be on it I guess since so many people are into online video like youtube it cannot help but make the top ten list as for wii and leopard that was expected

[belial20xx @ Dec 28th 2007 1:21PM]

Lets see what you say when it breaks and it will.

I had a 360 and the hell that is their customer service made be move to the wii.They will never get it right. And trust me the refurbs are worse than the new 360's with an even shorter life span so have fun with that.

I have a PC for my hard core gaming and its a monster that a ps3 and a 360 can never compete with. So for hard core gaming pc is the way to go. Screw the 360 its crap though there are good games on it it is not worth the trouble and not to mention it is drm'ed to hell and if you ever switch with a refurb or elite say goodbye to those downloads you thought you owned microsoft says they are not responsible for lost content even if its paid for.

[customjmn @ Dec 28th 2007 1:39PM]

"Most-Loved Products...Computers: Apple MacBook Pro notebook PC"

Apparently Amazon can magically change Macs to PCs..."Hello, I'm a Mac AND a PC"

[Kamokazi @ Dec 28th 2007 2:01PM]

The PC term is very confusing, as it translates to Personal Computer, which any Mac obviously is. It stems from the days of things being "100% IBM/PC Compatible", which, as IBM became less significant in the PC market, ultimately got changed into just PC for short. It really should be Windows and Mac, but that gets confusing too because Macs are the whole hardware/software package, where Windows is not.

[Kennylad @ Dec 28th 2007 4:17PM]

The Wii rocks despite it's graphics because of the total emersion of the system adding a speaker and vibration to the controller is huge part of it's success. When you play a game on the Wii it doesn't just happen on your Hi Def Flat screen tv on the wall... it happens in your hand making the game almost 3d and therefore sucking you into believing that you are hitting that baseball, firing that gun etc. Eye candy from 360 and PS3 only go so far!

[customjmn @ Dec 28th 2007 5:10PM]

That's technically correct, but Apple's entire ad campaign recently has revolved around the "I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC" difference, so I found it somewhat ironic that Amazon would refer to a MacBook as a PC.

[Kamokazi @ Dec 30th 2007 12:52AM]

It's Apple's ad campaign, not Amazon's. It probably makes more sense in their site organization to file them in the same category as every other computer.

[customjmn @ Dec 28th 2007 5:17PM]

I was replying to Kamokazi^

[skyman375 @ Dec 28th 2007 6:09PM]

"Computers: Nokia Internet tablet PC"

I find it pretty hard to believe that the Nokia tablet is really the bestselling computer of 2007??? Has anyone ever walked into a coffee shop and actually seen anyone using one?

[Jack Bauer @ Dec 28th 2007 6:22PM]

Canon's A series is excellent. They're maybe not as cool as all those "lifestyle" cameras. But functionality, optics and handling are much better. They're almost as small and much cheaper!

[Matt @ Dec 29th 2007 1:54PM]

WHY CAN'T DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION GET THE RECOGNITION IT DESERVES!!!! DDR is way better than the Wii. And Guitar Hero... you don't even get to sweat, maybe you'll get a pinky finger cramp. I want Al Gore to make a movie about Dance Dance Revolution because our kids are going to die from being fat way before the earth explodes from hair spray.