Gadgets of the year

Best high-end digital compact camera of the year

According to Digital Camera Info.com, the Canon Powershot G12 is one of the best cameras of the year.

"If you want an all-in-one camera that offers a tried and trusted user interface, speedy performance, excellent image quality and a versatile screen, the Canon Powershot G12 is very easy to recommend," says the site.

BEST DIGITAL CAMERA IN 2011

Sony's SLT Alpha A55 gets the vote. SLT stands for single-lens translucent (instead of SLR, or single-lens reflex), which means a permanently open shutter, resulting in faster auto-focus for photos and HD videos.

The camera offers features such as phase-detection autofocus during movie recording and extremely fast continuous shooting (10 frames a second).

According to ITWeb, SLT is definitely a technology we'll be seeing more of.

BEST CELLPHONE OF THE YEAR

Cellphone users who don't have one only kid themselves that they don't covet an iPhone 4.

Since it came on the scene four years ago, there's no doubt it has revolutionised the way we think about phones - no longer just a device for talking to people.

In true Apple tradition, each generation is a little better than the last. With a five-megapixel camera and LED flash, Apple's bliksemly fast A4 processor and best-clarity Retina display, it has impressed many users.

BEST CELLPHONE IN 2011

The new Samsung Galaxy S2 I9200 seems to be a real iPhone 4 competitor and promises to be the new best-Android phone on the block.

Planned features include a 2GHz processor, 1GB RAM and 4GB ROM, and it will come with Google Android 3.0 Gingerbread. Other specifications - like 32GB of built-in storage, a microSD card slot with a 32GB card and an 8megapixel camera with the ability to record full HD video in 1080p - are still just rumours.

Rumoured specs include Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi b/g/n, GPS, a gryoscope, an accelerometer, and proximity and ambient light sensors to crush the competition.

BEST GADGET OF THE YEAR

The iPad is a completely new class of product that fits in somewhere between a laptop and a smartphone.

The iPad has been billed as the ultimate leisure device - for reading a book or magazine, looking at photos, playing games, watching movies or listening to music. One of its most impressive features is its crystal-clear image reproduction and large screen.

Unfortunately, the iPad is still not available in South Africa.

The iPad 16GB Wi-Fi is currently available from www.have2have.co.za for R6412. The South African release date of the iPad is not known.

BEST GADGET IN 2011

Reuters says Apple is prepping "new camera-toting iPads" that will come in two sizes. One is the iPad Mini.

Steve Jobs has intimated that it is going to happen, but one wonders whether this device really should be any smaller. One of the nicest things about it is its size. Well, bring on 2011 and we'll just have to wait and see.