Now that 2010 is completely over, I thought it would be fun to look back on the gadgets that meant the most to me over the past year. I’m leaving off the Cr-48 I received last week from Google (too new) and my Ubuntu server, which I rebuilt into a very useful media center backend (too old). I’d consider those gadgets honorable mentions this year.
Motorola Droid
Even though this phone was almost immediately outclassed by the Nexus One and replaced by the Droid 2 after only 6 months, my Droid remains the gadget I use more often and find most useful throughout the day. That it is more useful than the day I bought it is a testament to the Android platform’s growth and the persistence of the open source custom ROM development community that has sprung up around it. Here is a list of my most-used apps.
- Communication: Google Voice, GMail, Touchdown (Exchange for Android), Facebook, Twidroid Pro, eBuddy
- Productivity: VitaDroid, Calendar Pad Pro, EverNote
- Entertainment: NewsRob, Amazon Kindle, TuneIn Radio, Subsonic, Pandora, Act1 Video Player, NFL Network
- Utilities: USB Tether (a Froyo feature), Gentle Alarm, Lightning Bug
- Games: Angry Birds, Robo Defense
- Travel: TripIt, FlightTrack Pro
- ROMs: CyanogenMod 5 and 6, Sapphire 1
Amazon Kindle (2nd Generation)
I love my Kindle, and prefer to read books on it than on paper now. Part of the appeal is that it is a gadget, but, even more importantly, the Kindle is lighter and smaller than most books, and takes up a finite amount of space as my library grows. The only downside to the Kindle is that its contrast is not great, and screen glare is a problem in mediocre-light conditions. (Oddly, glare is rarely a problem outside or in bright light.)
Boxee Box
I love my Boxee Box. Even though my Amazon.com review, the #1 most helpful for the product, is less than glowing, I love the Boxee Box’s handling of local media, and wait eagerly for it to get apps for Netflix and, to a lesser extent, Hulu Plus.
