Top 10 Most Brilliant Gadgets of 2007

1. Apple iPhone - Of course, you’ve heard about this phone. But have you used it? The best way to understand why Apple’s iPhone ($400) has sent shockwaves through the cellphone industry is simply to check your voice mail with it. Instead of passwords and audible instructions, the iPhone displays a visual list of voice mails­—which are saved as audio files. Using the bright and responsive touchscreen, you scroll through the list and tap a message. When you’re done with a message, simply slide your finger over it and a delete button pops up. At the top of the phone is a button that locks the screen, so it can go back in your pocket without risking accidental commands. All phones should work so smoothly. Because of the iPhone, they’ll eventually have to.

2. Dow SafeTouch Fiberglass-Free Insulation - This is a plastic fiber batt insulation from Dow Chemical that has the same R-value as fiberglass without any of the dust and itching problems. You can cut the material with a utility knife—no goggles, work gloves or face mask required. Small pieces can be torn off by hand and stuffed into crevices for insulating narrow, irregular spaces. Like any good batt insulation, it can support its own weight: Placed in a stud bay, it will hold itself in position. The only apparent downside is its cost: It currently runs about 64 cents per square foot for R-13, while fiberglass is 40 cents.



3. Samsung Solid State Drive - Hard-disk drives are the out-of-shape kids in computer gym class. While a PC’s other components (CPU, GPU and RAM) operate at lightning-fast speeds, the drive huffs and puffs and spins as fast as possible to try to keep up. Flash memory is far speedier and, because it has no moving parts, is resistant to mechanical failure. Samsung’s new Solid State Drives (the samples we received were oxymoronically labeled “solid state disks”) are essentially big bundles of flash memory—up to 64GB—that replace traditional hard drives. Laptops using SSDs are lighter, faster and quieter than those with conventional drives. As price comes down and capacities increase, all computers may give up spinning disks for SSDs.

4. Ford Sync - Ford has elegantly and inexpensively leap-frogged the competition when it comes to in-car infotainment systems. Ford’s $395 Sync is essentially a small computer running the Microsoft Auto operating system that wirelessly integrates all of your mobile gadgets. It enables hands-free phone use and has a universal music player that pulls songs from virtually any MP3 player. The voice-recognition control is simply the best we’ve ever tried. So far, the most impressive trick Sync offers is its ability to receive text messages and then read them to you. And Sync’s flexible software platform means it should be easily upgradable in the future. Sync will be available in 12 models by the end of the year and on nearly all Ford vehicles within two years.

5. Zonbu Zonbox - It isn’t the technology that makes the Zonbox revolutionary, it’s the idea. Borrowing a page from the cellphone industry, Zonbu offers its compact Zonbox PC for $99 with a two-year, $15 per month plan, which includes 50GB of online storage and the best tech support policy we’ve seen in years: If the box fails, the Silicon Valley startup will overnight a new one. Since the operating system is Linux-based, with a slew of genuinely useful preloaded applications (open-source clones of popular programs), it’s less vulnerable than Windows to viruses, spyware and unexplained crashes.

6. GM, Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, BMW Two-Mode Hybrid - Total hybrid sales are projected to be up 35 percent this year. But that’s still only about 345,000 vehicles—a fraction of the 16-plus million vehicles sold overall. GM, BMW and the former DaimlerChrysler joined forces three years ago to develop a scalable hybrid system that brings the fuel-saving technology to the masses of front- and rear-wheel-drive cars (and the trucks) that each manufacturer produces. The fuel savings, over such large volumes of traditionally thirsty vehicles, should be impressive. The system locates two electric motors and four clutches inside the transmission to deliver multiple combinations of gearing and electric propulsion. The first applications in the Chevrolet Tahoe and the GMC Yukon deliver a fuel economy improvement up to 25 percent yet still allow the big SUVs to tow 6000 pounds.

7. Nintendo Wii Fit - The Nintendo Wii is many things—a motion-sensing video-game console, a retail success story, possibly even a cultural touchstone. What it isn’t, despite its players’ controller-waving antics and media hype about gamers finally getting off the couch, is an exercise machine. Until now. The Wii Fit, a soon-to-be-released suite of games that uses a $70 weight- and balance-sensing Balance Board, does everything from analyzing posture to revealing how bad you actually are at yoga. It turns fitness into a game, instead of a chore.


8. Hitachi Power Tools CR13VBY - Reciprocating saws are indispensable in remodeling and demolition and for doing tough jobs like sawing tree roots, but they can be murder to work with for long periods. This $159 saw uses a counterweight mechanism that dampens vibration, reportedly by more than 65 percent. Hitachi calls it User Vibration Protection, and in PM testing, it dramatically reduced operator fatigue—and arguably improved safety. Like many topnotch saws, the Hitachi has two cutting modes: straight-line (for metal) and swing (for wood). Even the swing mode offers dramatic vibration reduction compared to the orbital action found on other saws. Other high-end features: a variable-speed dial and tool-free blade changing.

9. Microsoft Surface - This tabletop computer uses “multitouch” technology to let several users, employing their fingers, manipulate images and other data right on the screen—no keyboard or mouse needed. In that, it’s like two other Breakthrough winners, the Apple iPhone and Jeff Han’s Media Wall. But the Surface recognizes more than mere fingers—it can also sense and interact with objects both digital (cameras, phones) and nondigital (water glasses, paint brushes) placed on top of it. It’s a big step toward a future of pervasive computing, where digital processing power makes everything from tables to walls to floors interactive.



10. LG Super Blu Player - As the hi-def disc-format war rages on, wary HDTV enthusiasts are inclined to wait on the sidelines until the dust has settled. But LG has created a safe haven for early adopters. The Super Blu Player ($1000) plays both HD DVDs and Blu-ray discs, and it upscales regular DVDs to hi-def resolutions. LG will have to drop the Super Blu’s price to stay competitive, but the point has been made: Technology companies created this confusing mess, and it’s their job to clean it up.