Inspecting gadgets

Steve Jobs ruled, Samsung competed and Black Berry found believers. Sarah Britten on the best of 2010

'A new gadget that lasts only five minutes is worth more than an immortal work that bores everyone," French painter Francis Picabia once said. Anybody who has seen the joy with which the modern Homo sapiens brings home a new box to lift out the treasure within, flinging aside the manual, never to read it again - will nod sagely at the truth of this observation.

This has been a banner year for people who like small, expensive things that come in boxes and Do Stuff. What's more, many of these new devices are the kind that will not only end up in the geek hall of fame, but in back pockets, handbags and homes across the land.

What makes a good gadget anyway? Practicality, ergonomics and usability, says Aki Anistasiou, self-described "Greek Geek", "gadgeteer" and host of TechnoByte on 702. A good device should fit nicely into the hand, have a screen that is easy to read and make accurate typing a breeze. Decent battery life is also important: a gadget is no use if it's always plugged in and charging.

Toby Shapshak, editor of Stuff magazine, talks about the original Swiss army knife, which always added new features. "A great gadget, in this digital and mobile era, does several things well, without needing us to read a manual and without killing its battery life."

Based in part on these criteria (with a couple of wild cards chucked in), these are the gadgets of 2010:

Apple iPad

R9500

Sorry people, it is an obvious one, but there's no getting around the continued supremacy of the cult of Apple. We might as well abandon ourselves to the inevitable and prostrate ourselves before the ascetic figure of Steve Jobs, the individual who, more than any other, has a knack for showing a product to the public and persuading them that they want it enough to queue for 10 hours to get it. As member of the Twitterati, Sipho Hlongwane, puts it: "Apple create consumer electronic art, devices that you never knew you needed and now can't live without."

"The iPad has completely changed the way I read things," says IT manager Mohammed Jadwat, who also carries a Black Berry Torch and an iPhone 4. He shows me how the Flipboard app organises content and displays it in a way that's reminiscent of a well-designed print magazine. "It makes reading a pleasure."

Perhaps the best measure of the success of the iPad is the longevity of its appeal in a market where novelty wears off very quickly. Says Anistasiou of his: "I get as excited today about using it as I did when I used it for the first time in April."

Apple iPhone 4

R10030.95

It became the fastest-selling mobile phone in history when 1.7-million units moved out of stores within the first three days of launch. Even though it soon became apparent that it had teething problems, this did not stop the huddled masses from crowding outside Apple stores in the hopes of getting their hands on one. Somehow, Apple has shored its brand up to the point where its fans are willing to forgive it anything. Though Google's Android platform is growing rapidly, and there are many other very good (possibly even better) smartphones on the market, Apple's hold on the reins of gadget supremacy globally seems as unassailable as the ANC's first dibs on the presidential jet. Where Apple goes, others follow.

Black Berry Torch

R5 225

South Africans are mad keen for what used to be a purely business brand, and Vodacom says the number of prepaid customers using BlackBerrys on its network has jumped 1000% in 12 months. "BlackBerry's answer to the iPhone is arguably their best phone yet," Shapshak says of the Torch, which he listed among his favourites of the year.

Amazon Kindle DX

R2 356

The arrival of the iPad completely eclipsed the Kindle at one point, but the original e-reader is making a comeback. Who couldn't love a device that makes it possible to pack an entire library in your luggage without worrying about excess baggage, and then reading on the plane? "The one-click purchasing system and easy-on-the-eyes e-ink screen make it the perfect fully immersible reading device," says author and insatiable reader Fiona Snyckers. Just don't drop it, she advises -either in the water or on the tiles.

Samsung Galaxy Tab and S

R7199

Both Samsung's iPad and iPhone competitors, the Galaxy Tab and S respectively, are on several lists. The Galaxy Tab is the first real competitor to the iPad, with several advantages over its trendier rival: smaller screen, front-and-back facing cameras and functions as a phone. It also has superfast data speeds and runs Google's Android operating system.

Samsung C9000

R74999

Anorexic TVs have been around for a while. Anorexic TVs with really cool remotes, not so much. The Stuff guys were so impressed with this one that they made it their TV of the year "and your front room's unicorn". The WiFi video remote lets you control your TV while dividing your attention with the game in your hand, and the TV itself is so beautiful you'll want to put it up in place of a piece of art, which is what most South Africans do anyway.

Microsoft Xbox Kinect

R2056

Most of the people I canvassed expressed the desire to own one of these. No controller needed, the Kinect senses your body movements and enables you to jump around and do your bit for reducing South Africa's obesity levels. Perhaps our police commissioner could invest in a few of these to get those stomachs in and chests out.

The Wonderbag

R170

"The gadget I love so much I want to hug it - and I can, because it's made for cuddling - is the magnificent Wonderbag," says award-winning food writer Jane-Anne Hobbs of this South African invention, a heat-retention cooker. Yes, it's essentially a drawstring cotton bag filled with polystyrene beads, but sometimes it's the simpler solutions that work the best. The Wonderbag is easy to use, solves technical problems (from slow-cooking a stew to keeping Hollandaise sauce at the right temperature) and reduces the amount of electricity you need. Also, it requires no batteries and won't break if you drop it.

Power Balance Silicone wristband

R261

Have you noticed that every second person is wearing something that looks like a watch on their right wrist? Only it isn't a watch? In fact, they're wearing a Power Balance TM silicone wristband. In their own words, Power Balance is: "Performance technology designed to work with your body's natural energy field." They are expensive, mainly worn by men, and everyone seems to want one. This is an immediate sign that something is a gadget.

The Personal Breathalyser

R2119

This could be your best gadget investment this festive season. With a range of these available online, it's easy to get hold of one. Drunk driving has become a post-party problem, not because of all those ads over the years entreating us to be responsible, but because the police are actually arresting people. A breathalyser provides clarity in situations where you're not sure - and not being sure can mean spending the night on a friend's couch, or spending the night in jail with your local drug dealer.

Of course, if you've had it with gadgets and their hold over us, you can chuck them into yet another device. A Blendtec blender will reduce anything - including an iPad and an iPhone - to bits of metal, plastic and silicon, as they've demonstrated on numerous very popular YouTube videos.

Perhaps that's the ultimate definition of a gadget: something that's fiddly and expensive, and can be broken - for gadgets, unlike art, are not immortal.