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Revisiting the defining moments of CES history
Iconic CES devices like the Apple Newton, CD player, VHS VCR, Sony PlayStation and Oculus Rift "Crystal Cove" didn't necessarily seem groundbreaking at the time. Experts and the public often gave prizes to gadgets like the Creative Zen Vision:M and Hitachi's G1000 Pocket PC that we've since deleted from our collective memory banks. With that in mind, here are 10 of the most memorable CES shows that yielded products that were instant hits as well as some that weren't appreciated until later.
The best of Engadget 2016: Editors' picks
We'll come right out and say it: 2016 wasn't the greatest year by any standards. In particular, divisive politics and celebrity death seemed to cast a long shadow over the last 12 months. There was the occasional ray of light poking through the clouds though. Especially in technology, which is what brings us all together here at Engadget. Over the last year, we've tried to bring you as many of those uplifting stories (even if they are bittersweet) as possible, to provide a little respite from 2016's emotional hailstorm. Here you'll find what Engadget's staff thinks are some of the best picks from the year. In the meantime, we'll see you in 2017!
ICYMI: Say farewell to 2016 with these favorite stories
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: We are rounding up some favorite stories from the year before it's lost to us all. When next you see ICYMI, it'll be from CES. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
TUAW Best of 2012 Personal Picks: Michael Rose
At the start of 2012, Apple customers and employees were emerging from the initial mourning period for founder and chairman Steve Jobs. Twelve months later, with the first full post-Jobs year in the books, Apple is (mostly) on track with some remarkable successes and only one or two noticeable calamities. Here's my highly idiosyncratic list of pleasant surprises from the year that was. You can browse my colleagues' lists here. Best Free Upgrade: Hulu Plus on Apple TV. There's nothing better than getting new tricks out of an old dog, and with July's unexpected addition of Hulu Plus to the Apple TV, I found new delight in my little black hockey puck. The other subscription, purchase and streaming services on the Apple TV are all worthwhile, but I was already a Hulu Plus subscriber. I'd jumped through several hoops to get VGA and audio from my MacBook into my TV for those instances when I wanted to screen a Hulu show in larger format; it was enough of a pain to discourage me from getting the most out of my subscription. Hulu's ad-supplemented service might not be a perfect all-you-can-eat TV option, but it certainly makes cord-cutting a more appealing possibility. Having it on the Apple TV gives Apple's "hobby" more credibility as a true living room reformer. Whether or not the hypothetical "Apple television" debuts in 2013, the current offering (including the March hardware upgrade to 1080p) has some legs. Honorable mention: We had to wander through the wilderness for a few months -- quite literally, in some cases -- before finding our way to a better navigation and mapping solution on iPhone. Not everyone rejected Apple's new Maps app. But for those who had issues, the problems were real and really annoying. Never mind the 3D views, Siri integration and free, fast turn-by-turn directions that we'd been waiting years to get; if point A to point B ends you at point nowhere, that's no good. Thanks to the introduction of Google's new app in December, we have something close to the best of both worlds. An improving, imperfect on-board solution that's still offering next-gen functionality as the underlying POI database catches up; plus another free, sleek and easy Google-powered app that's delivering more (TBT navigation! Voice!) than the old app ever did. Best Hardware Milestone: MacBook Pro with Retina display. Six months in, and some days I'm still not sure I made the right choice in going for the Retina 15" MBP over a fully souped-up MacBook Air. But then I spend a week away from my desktop, absorbed in the so-sharp-it-might-cut-you screen of the MBP and the remarkable performance of the all-solid-state architecture, and the extra weight in my backpack doesn't bother me so much. Apple's great leap forward in portable displays comes with a steep sticker price, and there are still a few rough edges with naïve screenshot tools and key un-Retinized apps that show up as blocky as refugees from MacPaint Mountain. (I'm looking at you, ScreenSteps 2.) But Apple's willingness to push the envelope on HiDPI display technology -- and customers' comfort level with buying in -- once again puts the company's portable computing offerings at the top of the heap. Honorable mention: No word yet from Thor's lawyers, but the mobile-to-Mac revamp of Apple's peripheral connectivity with Thunderbolt and Lightning has caused less pain than I expected and delivered more benefits than I hoped. The pace of Thunderbolt peripheral releases has sped up from a stall to a modest trot, and Mac support for the fast USB 3 standard has also helped ease the aggravation of dealing with dongles and adapters for legacy FireWire gear. On the iOS side, the Lightning connector delivers more mechanical reliability while maintaining solid compatibility with docks, clocks and chargers via the 30-pin adapter lineup. Of course, the Lightning adapter wouldn't have anything to connect to without the handsome iPhone 5, fourth-gen iPad and iPad mini. Worst Surprise: For anyone who was hoping to cash in on resale of an iPad 3rd generation, it's got to be the "early" introduction of the Lightning-equipped fourth gen iPad. You live and you learn. Best OS Overhauls: iOS 6 and Mountain Lion. Neither of Apple's big OS releases this year escaped criticism and controversy. iOS 6 faced the aforementioned Maps migraines, and Mountain Lion's Gatekeeper app security and Facebook integration. But the benefits of the new systems outweigh the drawbacks. Mountain Lion's on-board Dictation support, Notification Center and baked-in AirPlay mirroring helped make 2012 easier than 2011. iOS 6's panorama photos, improved Siri, Passbook, expanded Open In menu, the indispensable Guided Access and even Maps brought the mobile platform forward. Honorable mention: This was the year the Mac App Store came into its own as a valid, vibrant channel for Mac software. Many of my favorite Mac apps have found a home on the MAS; several more, unfortunately, have backed off the store as the sandboxing restrictions proved too challenging or detrimental to core functionality. Here's hoping that the 2013 MAS delivers some of the flexibility these apps need to thrive. Favorite Mac Apps: It took too long (really, way too long) for Cultured Code's Things to deliver cloud synchronization of tasks -- but now that it's here as part of Things 2, it's made my daily routine a lot easier. All my iOS devices and my Mac have the same to-do list instantaneously, with no fuss. (Yes, I could get some of the same mileage out of iCloud and Reminders, but I need more categorization and tagging options in my crazy register of things that are overdue.) Likewise, the newly streamlined BusyCal 2 delivers a solid and reliable calendar for anyone who needs more than Apple's Calendar or Microsoft's Outlook can supply. Honorable mention: The dead simple screenshare/remote meeting tool join.me, from the fine folks at LogMeIn, works great on the Mac and surprisingly well on the iPad. It's so much easier than most meeting tools, it's almost unfair. Bonus points for the feature that lets you hand off control and sharing to one of your attendees, then reclaim the mouse for your own; as a last-ditch, low-fi remote support tool (when Messages screensharing and Back to my Mac falls down) it's a delight. Favorite iOS Apps: I never imagined that a third-party "killer app" would revitalize an iOS baked-in feature, but I stand corrected. Loren Brichter's Letterpress is that app, and it's singlehandedly made Game Center cool again. I was also excited to see the official Khan Academy iPad app make its debut, for all your math video needs. Readdle's Calendars app is a must-have for anyone wrangling multiple Google calendars and reasonably priced at $6.99; I've dinged Readdle in the past for some questionable UI choices in its apps, but Calendars is clean and clever. Finally, for maintaining my inner serenity (to say nothing of my multiple time-zone sleep patterns), I depend on the library of Andrew Johnson relaxation apps. You can get a taste of Johnson's gravelly Scottish tones in the free Relaxing Holidays app, or browse his entire hypnotherapy catalog on the App Store and in the audiobooks section. (Bonus points for one of the best app names of all time, if you imagine it being shouted by an angry spouse as you head out to the pub.) Favorite Accessories: Speaking of behavior modification, the Fitbit activity tracker has given me insight into my sleep and fitness level in 2012 (spoiler alert: it's not so good), and the motivation to step it up in 2013. Fitbit's Ultra pedometer, my model, has been discontinued in favor of the One tracker; the new unit adds direct wireless sync to Bluetooth 4.0 iOS devices. Since I do quite a bit of flying, the automatic noise cancellation in the Fanny Wang 3000 Series headphones makes a big difference in podcast and music listening onboard. The FW 'phones are somewhat oversize for everyday use, but in noisy environments they're exactly what the ear doctor ordered. Also in the road warrior category, I spent a lot of 2012 looking for the perfect iPad keyboard/case combo. I may not have found the ideal fit, but until I do the Adonit writer keyboard and case has made my iPad a more effective writing tool. The keyboard is leagues better than the cheap Bluetooth options from some other vendors (ahem, Boxwave) and the easy-clip frame lets me quickly transition from convertible to standalone iPad use. Best Raging Against The Dying Of The Light: Macworld | iWorld. When Apple made its last official appearance at Macworld Expo in early 2009, the conventional wisdom was that the tradeshow and conference would not survive much longer without the imprimatur of the mother company. So much for the conventional wisdom, I suppose. While smaller and scrappier, the show continues to draw an audience of eager Mac and iOS fans, developers and creative pros. For last year's event, Paul Kent and his team at IDG rebranded the show as Macworld | iWorld, acknowledging the shifting platform emphasis toward mobile while making the show's name much harder to print correctly. The upcoming fourth post-Apple edition will be kicking off on January 31 and running through February 2. TUAW will be there, and after a one-year hiatus, so will I -- and I'm looking forward to seeing many of you there, too.
TUAW's Best of 2012 Personal Picks: Michael Grothaus, and the year that wasn't
In my opinion, 2012 was a lackluster year for the Apple ecosystem and the tech sector as a whole. Smartphones are now ubiquitous and this is the year the tablet hit mainstream adoption. While those are both good things, the whole touch computing world is now five years old and innovation and excitement seems to be taking a back seat to more of the same old-same old. 2012 brought us more Instagram clones, more Angry Birds knock-offs, and an endless array of people asking me to review their Kickstarter projects. I remember a world pre-2012 when developers and accessory makers would ask me to review real, finished products. Even the self-righteous outrage in the tech media about Twitter's third-party client TOS changes that brought about the (horribly named) App.net attracted only the geekiest of the tech world. After all, how is a Twitter knockoff that charges annual subscription fees going to gain mass adoption among users in the non-techie world? Before I depress people more about the state of tech in 2012, let's talk about a few bright spots. Yes, most of these were because I need to pick something that says "this was good" -- that's why my category choices are a bit generic. Hopefully 2013 will be a more exciting year for tech. Best iOS device: iPhone 5 This year we saw the iPad 3, the iPad 4, the iPad mini, and the new iPod touch in addition to the iPhone 5. That's a lot of new iOS devices in one year. And while the iPad mini deserves praise for its design and lightness, the best iOS device of the year is the iPhone 5. Its thin profile, look and feel, and that extra bit of screen space turned an aging design into something sleek and sexy again. I never thought adding just a half-inch (diagonally) of space to the screen would change the user experience that much, but it did. Matter of fact, that half-inch is just enough that I do most of my web browsing on my iPhone now instead of my iPad. Best Mac: MacBook Pro with Retina display Apple had two major Mac product launches this year: MacBook Pros with Retina displays and the new optical drive-less iMacs. While the new iMacs are sleek and beautiful, the best Mac award goes to the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. Why the 15-inch and not the 13-inch? Because the 15-inch is actually a little thinner than the 13-inch. Also, as my office is mobile, I prefer to carry the largest screen around with me that I can. For me, working in Word or Pages on a 15-inch screen is leaps and bounds better than working on a 13-inch screen. And, as with the iPhone and iPad before it, once you use a Retina display, it's hard to work on anything non-Retina. Best iOS game: The Walking Dead This is the one thing on my list that is truly a bright and shining example of a standout product in 2012. Yeah, there were tens of thousands of new iOS games this year, so why pick The Walking Dead? Because it brought back my faith that video games could be used to convey emotional, gripping stories. And that's where this game succeeds wildly. The entire team at Telltale Games deserves props for game play, art direction, and everything else that goes into making a game. However, it's the writers that deserve a standing ovation. The best video games on any platform (almost like a good book) are the ones that can get the reader emotionally attached to the characters. More than that, the best games (again, like the best books) are the ones that let us peek into the human condition and tell us something about the world around us -- and ourselves. And yes, the game is set in a world where zombies walk the earth, but that in no way implies that the story is not compelling or relevant. The world of iOS gaming is primarily dominated by "casual" games. They're games like Doodle Jump and Angry Birds (both fun games, mind you) that we play when we have five minutes to kill while on the train or waiting for an appointment. Games with complex, gripping stories are a rarity outside of the console world. That's why The Walking Dead is such an outstanding game. If you haven't played it, grab it this week while the first episode is free. The game is normally $4.99 for the first episode and $4.99 for each additional episode (or $14.99 if you buy the remaining episodes at once). There are five episodes in total and, once completed, they form a compelling story. Also keep in mind that The Walking Dead game is based on the comic book universe and not the TV series; however, players can enjoy the game without familiarity with either series. Best iOS app: Google Maps Enough has been said about Apple Maps this year. It was a huge mess that led to the firing of at least two senior executives at Apple and was a rare major failing on the company's part. Sure, Apple will keep building on its maps, and sometime in the future the company's back-end database may be adequate for most users. In the meantime, users are flocking to Google Maps via the new dedicated iOS app. In less than 48 hours there were over 10 million downloads of the app; while it wasn't out in time to be included in Apple's "Most downloaded apps" lists this year, something tells me that in its three short weeks of 2012 downloads, it may end up as the most downloaded app of the year. Besides being a wonderfully designed app with vector maps and turn-by-turn directions -- and an incredible POI database and search features -- I love the Google Maps app so much because it let me come back to the iPhone. I was finally able to buy that iPhone 5 I wanted so much, rather than bailing out to a Samsung phone. Best reader: The paperback I read a lot. My pace is about one book a week. This year I gave iBooks a real shot, having bought ten books through the iBookstore. And while the iPad's Retina display made ebooks much more pleasurable to read, the iPad is still too heavy and distracting to use as a dedicated e-reader. I also gave the new Kindle a shot. Again, nice, but for me it doesn't compare to a printed book. The only e-reader I found that I liked (primarily due to its size) was the Txtr Beagle, which I reviewed for The Guardian. However, that e-reader won't be out anywhere until next year, and in the US even later than in Europe, so I can't recommend it yet (not to mention I played with a prototype). 2012 saw e-readers move in the right direction, but for now the old-fashioned paperback book still rules. I wish picking the winners of tech in 2012 had been more work, with a larger pool of contenders to sort through. There just weren't. While I feel my choices (particularly The Walking Dead) are all bright spots, here's hoping 2013 brings much more than 2012 did.
TUAW's Best of 2012 Personal Picks: Mike Schramm
2012 was one heck of a year for me -- I released my first iPhone app, went to Europe for the first time, spoke at the 360iDev convention in Denver, and spent most of the latter half of the year traveling around the country talking to iOS developers about the App Store, the company that runs it, and where both are headed. I've played with hundreds (if not thousands) of apps this year, and covered almost one every day for our daily app feature. So I've used plenty of great Apple and Apple-related products this year, and here are my picks of the best. Puzzle Craft (Free for iPhone and iPad) I've played (and loved) a whole lot of games from the App Store this year, but Puzzle Craft stands above them all as my favorite of the bunch. It's extremely well-designed, beautifully polished, and it has both a very simple and accessible game mechanic (similar to, if not borrowed from, iOS' great Dungeon Raid) and a very complex and deeply addictive progression system behind it. The story is mostly nonexistent, and I am a little disappointed the developers haven't followed up the app's success with any more content just yet. But especially for what is now a free game, there isn't a title that I loved more or played as much of on the App Store this year. I don't beat iOS games often, just because there are so many of them to play, but I leveled up to the max in Puzzle Craft, and then kept on playing. Puzzlejuice ($1.99 for iPhone and iPad) All right, so I've got a type -- you can tell by the word "puzzle" in two of my favorite games this year. But it's true: There's nothing I love more than an endlessly intriguing puzzle game, and Puzzlejuice gets this nod because in a year of less-than-special word games, it's the only one that really brought me back to keep spelling, over and over again. I do love the game's bro-ish voice (you don't just quit a session, you "rage quit"), and seeing behind the scenes of development in the Puzzlejuice emails was fascinating for me. But this is just a great, wonderful game, from design to gameplay to the various powerups and everything in between. Among word games (a genre which I'm tiring of, at this point), it's the B-E-S-T. Fairway Solitaire ($.99 for iPhone, $2.99 for iPad) I didn't think that Fairway Solitaire rolled onto the App Store this year, but I'm told that it did, and 2012 was definitely the year in which I played the most of it. Developer Big Fish Games made its name by cranking out casual titles on PC, and this has been its first big hit on the App Store (which it's followed up with a solid set of updates and content releases since around May). Like the other games on my list, Fairway Solitaire takes a fairly mindless mechanic (card solitaire), and makes it much more interesting with various other power-ups and game tricks. And a huge amount of unlocked content (not to mention the hilariously absurd golf commentary jokes) has kept this one popping up on my iPad's screen again and again. Kingdom Rush (free for iPhone and iPad) Like word games, tower defense is a genre that's overdone on the App Store at this point -- there are a billion tower defense games out there, and there are only a few that do anything really interesting with the genre. The just-released Anomaly Korea is a great example of really switching tower defense up, but Kingdom Rush is the best traditional example that I've come across this year. The combination of colorful graphics and deep strategy (complete with a fully unlockable talent tree) hit the target perfectly, and elevate a much-traveled genre to reveal the reason why it's so popular in the first place. I'm not a big tower defense fan, but I love Kingdom Rush (especially on the iPad), and that right there is enough reason to recommend it. Runmeter 5k ($4.99 on the iPhone) It's hard to describe just how helpful this app has been for me -- I used it every day for about three months earlier this year, training up to my very first half marathon. Runmeter was already a great app, but the 5k variant (which included actual 5k, half marathon, and full marathon training plans in the app itself) served as the perfect coach for me, providing direction, feedback, and even some motivation as I worked my way through a running plan. The GPS is so well implemented, the app tracks so many things effortlessly, and little fun bits like changing the app's alert voice or tweeting from the app (and reading you back replies as you run) make it clear that if you exercise with an iPhone or iPod touch, you should really have this app with you. The amount of features Abvio has crammed into this app is really staggering when you start to explore them, and for my money, there's no better running app or fitness system out there. Slacker Radio (free with ads, extra charge for subscription) There are obviously a number of cloud music services out there at this point, but Slacker Radio has muscled its way past the others in my view, to the point where I listen to it almost more than any podcasts or even my own music collection. Especially with a subscription, Slacker can seem like magic all too often: Just type in a song or artist, hit play, and you get to listen to exactly what you want. The curated stations are well-designed by professional music pickers, and there are even non-music stations that talk sports, news, or comedy when you're in the mood for that. There are a few holes in the library (mostly obscure songs that I really want to hear but aren't available due to royalty issues), and of course you need to be connected to the Internet to listen (which made this a no-go during most of my trip to Europe, unfortunately). But in the car, out running, or just sitting at my desk, Slacker's been an almost constant companion this year, and I've been glad to have it. iCade Mobile gamepad ($80, available now) Steve Jobs famously told us that we didn't need more than one button on his iOS devices, but we gamers know that sometimes, buttons come in handy. The flat glass of the touchscreen just doesn't fly in terms of precision or responsiveness in some games. And while there are a lot of bad Bluetooth-based game controllers out there, my favorite this year was the iCade mobile, a huge contraption modeled after the Sony PSP, which you can clip your iPhone into and then button away to your heart's content. It's not stylish or tiny by any account, and it probably won't fit into your pocket along with your iPhone (the ThinkGeek 8-bitty is probably more your style, if that's what you're looking for, though get ready for muscle cramps after just a few minutes). But it is durable and dependable, and it feels more like a controller than anything else I tried this year. Yes, $80 is expensive, but if you're going to bypass Steve's wishes for your own gaming enjoyment, you'll have to pay the price. iPad (from $499) I bought my iPad back at the end of 2011, but 2012 was the year of the tablet for me for sure. Before I bought my iPad, I was one of those who believed I just didn't need it -- my iPhone 5 is awesome, and I have a MacBook for all of my portable computing needs. Why would I need another computer in between those two? But over the course of this year, my iPad has become more and more helpful, and not necessarily in the places I've expected it. In truth, it's not a portable computer for me. I can move it around, but it's been much more of a homebody than I ever expected: I still probably take my laptop out of the house more often than I take my iPad. But it has definitely become my device of choice for more than a few of my favorite pastimes, including browsing the Internet, gaming, and reading. I've never been more productive while in bed: Every night I read a few chapters of my book of choice (I've read so many books this year!), and every morning, I grab it off the nightstand to check email and preload the day's news. And it's a second screen for me while watching TV or movies on the couch for sure -- I look up game hints while playing Xbox, browse IMDb when I want to know who that actor is that I recognize from that movie, and play great games on it, brilliantly made for a bigger touchscreen. In short, my iPad has carved a way bigger place than I expected into both my workflow and my free time this past year. I don't know that I couldn't live without it (although I wouldn't want to go back to reading without it), so it's still a supplementary device, aside from the great iPad-only game experiences. But 2012 was definitely the year of the iPad for me, the turning point at which I realized just how important and useful the tablet form factor could be.
Apple announces the Mac App Store's Best of 2012
Just as they did for the iOS App Store, Apple has announced the best Mac apps of 2012 in the Mac App Store. The App of the Year award went to Day One (US$9.99), the popular simplified journaling app. The first-person role playing game, Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Ultimate Edition ($39.99) took home top honors for Game of the Year. The runner up Mac App of the Year went to CameraBag 2 ($14.99), the desktop photo editing app with numerous filters, tools and controls. The runner up Mac Game of the Year went to Splice : Tree of Life ($9.99), the artistic puzzler that finds users splicing different microbial strands to see how they react with one another. Apple also lists the next top 20 Mac apps and games of 2012. Keep an eye out for "Best of" lists of 2012 throughout December from TUAW writers.
Mobile World Congress 2012: best of show
Mobile World Congress 2012 was a massively exciting show and true to form brought us so much new kit to be excited about in early 2012. From Intel's Medfield launch, a 41-megapixel smartphone, a new generation of personal hotspots and even engineered metals using micro arc oxidation, there was never a dull moment. Highlighting what was best, most innovative, or interesting is a tough nut but we've done our best to point out the highlights using our impressions -- and the occasional arm-wrestling match -- to chose the finalists amongst the products and our Editor's more notable achievements. Fly through to the next page and have a look at our takeaways from this, the most intense mobile tech show of the year.
Macworld 2011 Best of Show winners announced
Now that Macworld Expo 2011 is complete, the official Best of Show winners have been selected and announced by the Macworld editors. We got to look at some of the choices. Here are a few highlights. BusyToDo is the latest solution from BusyMac, the folks behind BusyCal and BusySync. BusyToDo puts simple, synchronized to-do items on your iCal from your iPhone. They've pulled it off quite well, and you can watch our interview with John from BusyMac here, which includes a nice demo of BusyToDo. The Awind McTiVia is a set-top box for streaming video from your Mac to your TV. For those either without an Apple TV or looking to enhance their home media setup, it's a nice option. For US$199, the McTiVia connects to your TV via HDMI and wirelessly to your Mac. It's even got a USB port for connecting a mouse and keyboard, should your media Mac be hidden away. The OWC Mercury Aura Pro Express Solid State Drive that we looked at a few weeks ago also walked away with the honor. The OWC SSD kit beefs up your current-generation MacBook Air's storage, and it also adds a lot of speed. OWC claims peak data rates of 275 MB/s, making them up to 22 percent faster than what's currently available. There are seven other winners on the list, and we'll let you find out what they are. Remember, it's never too early to start writing your holiday wish list.
TUAW readers: Pick the best of 2010's apps and hardware
TUAW readers, last year was a huge one for Apple, application developers and anyone making peripherals for iOS devices or Mac computers. The days of "this doesn't work on a Mac" appear to be all but gone, the iPad was introduced and the number of apps in the store and downloaded to devices completely blew up. Now we want to know what are YOUR choices for the best of 2010? Remember that there was no Mac App Store last year. Way back in 2010 (less than three weeks ago) we had to download applications on our Macs the "old fashioned way," with installers and DMGs, oh my! Upscaled iPad apps were called "HD" before we saw the Retina Display, ushering in a whole new world of visually fantastic games and other apps. We also got a taste of some new hardware toys with the Apple TV and AirPlay (although AirPlay-enabled docks and speakers are just now rolling out). With AirPrint coming to a range of HP printers, we're hopeful the technology will make it even easier for everyone to send documents to those dead-tree printers when needed. Now it's time for you to choose your favorites using some nifty voting widgets from Voices Heard Media. Just pick the category you want (Mac app, iOS app or hardware for Macs or iOS devices) and enter the name of your choice in the panel. The system will bubble up the best, and we'll report the winners live during Macworld Expo, January 27-29. Nominate your picks for: Best iOS app of 2010 Best Mac app of 2010 Best Hardware (Mac or iOS) of 2010
Year-end reflections and predictions roundup
All our prognostications, anticipations, best-of lists and year-end reflections -- in one handy place. Our favorite iPhone games of 2009 The first full year of the App Store is coming to a close, and so let's take a look back at our favorite games of 2009. Note that these aren't best-selling, most important, or even the best games... TUAW bloggers post their Apple predictions for 2010 It's the end of another calendar year, which can mean only two things. First, every blog is going to be posting lists of 2009 retrospectives, and second, there are going to be a lot of posts... Our Favorite Apps: Stuff that stayed on our phones in 2009 As the year draws to a close, we thought we'd shine a spotlight on some of the favorite apps we used this year. These are the "sticky" apps, the ones that lingered on our iPhones after we gave... Also of interest: Apple nabs four of Engadget's 10 gadgets of the decade January 1 reflections on my favorite things How early iPhone predictions fared in the face of reality Two broken promises from AT&T and Apple as 2009 comes to a close
Most popular free Mac apps of 2009
Lifehacker has put together their list of the 15 Most Popular Free Mac Apps of 2009. Keep in mind, these are Mac OS X apps, not iPhone apps. The list is based on the popularity of apps they've covered in 2009 and don't represent total download numbers. Here are some of their choices (in no specific order): Magnifique Picasa for Mac Pollux doubleTwist Thunderbird Google Chrome PwnageTool/QuickPwn Namebench Quicksilver Glims While I don't agree with all their choices, it is a rather interesting list. But what about you guys? Tell us your favorite Mac apps of 2009 in the comments!
Best iPhone games of the year picks start to roll in
Gamasutra wins the award for being the first (that I've seen) to pick awards for their best five iPhone games of the year, and the list is respectable, if a little short for such a huge set of possibility. Unfortunately, they don't win any TUAW points for going with Skee-Ball over our preferred Ramp Champ, but Rolando 2 was a worthy sequel to a worthy game, Edge (now Edgy) and Eliss are both great games (too bad you can't play the former, but the latter was underrated for sure), and Space Invaders Infinity Gene deserves to be on almost any end-of-the-year iPhone game list. Good picks in there for sure. DigitalTrends also has a long list, though strangely, they tend to stick to big names and brands. There are a few gems in there -- Spider, UniWar, and Vay may be a couple good choices that you haven't heard of yet. And here's another top 10 list with some repeats from the ones above and a few more nice picks. I guess with the end of the year upon us, we'll probably have to choose TUAW's favorites of 2009, too, eh? Stay tuned.
CES 2008: The best and worst of HD
CES is an epic event, and after walking the show floor, sitting through press conferences and reading enough press releases to last us a lifetime, these are the products that made the most lasting impression, good or bad. Pioneer's extreme contrast concept was without a doubt the most impressive item on display, and left more than one person saying they'd seen their next HDTV. Size still matters, Panasonic had the biggest and Pioneer had the slimmest. XStreamHD was best and worst by making great promises, but failing to deliver when we stopped by for a demo. Finally, HD DVD's pre-CES disappointment -- and subsequent press conference cancellation -- left a pall hanging over the booth, no matter how many people were there.Best:Tru2way TVs at CES 2008Hands-on with Pioneer's extreme contrast concept plasmaHands-on with the Pioneer 9mm-thick Kuro plasmaWarner goes Blu-ray exclusiveDirecTV's PC tuner (HDPC-20) is real!Eyes-on with Samsung's 31-inch and 14-inch OLED TVs -- take that SonyPanasonic's gigantic 150-inch plasma is official!XstreamHD details continue to emergeHands-on with Marantz's first Blu-ray player, the BD8002Hands-on with HD video podcasts on an HD TiVoLogitech launches Harmony OneSharp rolls out SE94U Aquos series w/ Aquos NetMusicGiants launches VideoGiants, with HD movies from ParamountWorst:XStreamHD's CES 2008 booth tourHD DVD's CES 2008 booth tourPhilips' new LCD lineup continues to not impressMustek intros the BD-100, aka Sharp BD-HP20S
CES 2008: The best of LCD HDTVs
Whether plasma is back, or never left is up for argument, but don't think LCD took CES 2008 sitting down. Vizio upgraded the specs on its bargain LCDs, and even Panasonic showed some love. PDP prototypes might have been bigger and skinnier, but 2008 is the year we'll actually be able to buy a 108-inch LCD from Sharp, a 1.5-inch thin screen from Hitachi, or even a Quad HD panel from Westinghouse.Sharp pushes out more Aquos LCDsSony refreshes Bravia line with 17 new models, Digital Media ExtenderPhilips' new LCD lineup continues to not impressSharp promises to bring its 108-inch LCD to market in '08Samsung intros new 1080p LCD HDTVs, Ethernet / interactivity includedPanasonic reveals five new LCD HDTVs at CESSharp launches 32-inch LC-32GP3U LCD at gamersLG takes thin to the next level with the 1.7-inch LGX LCD HDTVToshiba announces slew of LCDs for 2008: hands-on and videoVizio's new Evolution Series LCD HDTVsVizio announces stylish Envy LCD HDTV lineupVizio intros Black Tie LCD lineup with 120Hz, MEMC technologyVizio intros Jive surround for LCDsJVC P-Series LCD line rocks iPod docksJVC intros 42-inch LT-42SL89 / 46-inch LT-46SL89 LCD HDTVsHitachi Ultra Thin 1.5 LCD lineup headed for CESEyes-on with Westinghouse's Quad HD displays
CES 2008: The best of Blu-ray players
It was a blowout CES for Blu-ray, and it all started even before the first day of the show with Warner's announcement. With manufacturer and studio support, the format was primed, and the addition of BD Live brought feature parity to Blu-ray and HD DVD. There was a definite feeling that it's okay to come into the water now, and we expect 2008 will see more expansion of the format still. On the high end, we saw Marantz's entry to the Blu-ray market, complete with a gaggle of drool-worthy specs and outputs. For the more modest budget (which is to say, anyone who even has a budget), skip past Denon's Blu-ray transport and check out the Samsung BD-1500 and Panasonic DMP-BD50. Marantz BD8002Denon DVD-2500BDTCISamsung BD-UP5500Samsung intros BD-P1500 Blu-ray player, BD-UP5500 combo playerPanasonic DMP-BD50Philips BDP7200Sharp BD-HP50U
CES 2008: The best of Plasma HDTVs
Based on what we saw at CES, the future is promising indeed for LCD. But don't think for a minute that plasma is done in the eyes of manufacturers or consumers -- PDPs have a rosy outlook as well. The Pioneer extreme contrast demo left all of our jaws on the floor, and we can't wait to see this technology trickle out of the labs and onto the shelves. The Panasonic 150-inch plasma had a similar effect on passers-by. Pioneer also showed off the 9-mm thick Kuro concept just to show that plasma can do the beauty thing, too.Panasonic revamps its plasma lineupVizio cranks out new plasma lineupHands-on with Pioneer's extreme contrast concept plasmaHands-off with Panasonic's 150-inch behemothHands-on with the Pioneer 9mm-thick Kuro plasmaSamsung reveals PN58A750T, PN42A450P and PN50A550S plasma lineupsThe 2008 LG Plasma lineup
CES 2008: HD booth tours
There aren't many thing more exciting to a geek, then walking around the show floor at the largest electronics show in the US of A, but unfortunately the consumer electronics show isn't for consumers. So we took the time to snap up as many pics as we could of every booth that we thought was interesting. While many of the booths are reused each year, the devices are not. Some of the booths are backed to the point that it's hard to walk around, while others are desolate. So if you want to live vicariously through us, click through and check out all the coolness.DISH Network's CES 2008 Booth tourNBC Universal's CES 2008 booth tourBlu-ray's CES 2008 booth tourHD DVD's CES 2008 booth tourSamsung's CES 2008 booth tourHP's CES 2008 booth tourSling Media's CES 2008 booth tourXStreamHD's CES 2008 booth tourMicrosoft's CES 2008 booth tourSony's CES 2008 booth tourPhilips's CES 2008 booth tourPioneer's CES 2008 booth tourLG's CES 2008 booth tourHitachi's CES 2008 booth tour
CES 2008: The best of set-top boxes
At this year's CES we saw what might be the end of set-top boxes, -- at least for cable boxes -- but there will always be some extra feature that isn't built into your HDTV that you want. The most exciting new set-top box at this year's CES is the Slingbox PRO HD, which means we can finally watch any HD content in our house wherever we want -- including via our high-speed internet connection. The new Moto boxes promise an MPEG-4 future for cable and the new Dish DVR should help bring their HD DVR prices down. Last up, was the VUDU LX, and while we weren't sure who'd pay $400 for such a device, we just can't imagine someone would pay $1000, but hey, at least it has an IR port now.Hands-on with the EchoStar TR-40 and TR-50 converter boxesSling Media's Slingbox PRO HD, SlingPlayer for BlackBerry announcedSling announces SlingCatcher (again), SlingPlayer 2.0 with Clip+Sling, and Sling Cable modemDish's new ViP612 - like the ViP622, but now with lessDirecTV intros dual ATSC tuner AM21 to piggyback HR21Hands-on with Motorola DCX series MPEG-4 cable STBHands-on with the pricey VUDU XL
Blizzard fan art page redesigned
I was looking through the Blizzard fan art pages recently, with the thought in my mind that I could do a "Best of Blizzard Fan Art" feature for our dear WoW Insider readers, when I found that selecting the "best" was extremely difficult. I kept copying so many pictures into my own "best of" folder that I began to feel like I might as well just link you all to the entire fan art site and call it a day. Most of it is really very fun to look at many many times.So today I went back determined to try again and found that they had redesigned the entire site. It loads much faster, and presents the art to you in a much smoother interface. You can see many more thumbnails per page, and change the size of the thumnails depending on how many you want to see. Once you click on a picture, you can then easily scroll through from one to another very quickly, without having to wait for the entire page to reload again and again. Also, they managed to provide a nice fade effect, so that the transition between pictures is smooth. The only downside is that you can no longer link to a single piece of art.Oh -- and also, you can no longer just click and download each picture to your own computer. I'm sure there must be a way (short of taking a screenshot), but it's beyond me. I'll take it as a sign from heaven, since I can no longer conveniently build my "Best of" folder, that the "Best of Blizzard Fan Art" site is the whole Blizzard fan art site itself. Now, with the tediousness of complicated page-loading removed, you may find browsing through the artwork gives you a whole new experience.
