Gadgets of the Decade - The Good, The Rad, and the Aesthetically Challenged

Allow me to preface this by saying yes - we realize that the decade technically ended in 2009. But it’s the end of the year and we’re taking creative license to do a round-up of the best and worst of the gadget world over the past 10ish years. Here are some of the game-changers that we were proud to witness, and some of the cringe-worthy ones that we were happy to never see again.

The Aesthetically Challenged: Zune Back in the dark ages of 2006, we were still using iPods, but on November 14, Microsoft introduced the Zune, and we were saved…

Toshiba Bubble Helmet Nothing inspired by Spaceballs can ever be anything but ridiculous in real life. Well, except for jam… yes, jam is still okay.

Safe Type Keyboard Would be put to far better use as the controls to an X-Wing.

Apple's Clamshell iBook The fact that Apple’s marketing people felt that it looked best upside-down really says it all.

Nintendo Game Cube If the aesthetics didn’t work for Apple a year earlier I don’t know why Nintendo thought it would work for them.

Motorola AURA Industry design taken from Star Trek, and it looks uncomfortable to boot.

XACT XQ2500 Landline Phone Be careful, lest you mistake you landline for your pregnancy test.

Telson TWC 1150 This is a watch, camera and mobile phone all in one. Not only is it bulky and unattractive, the logistics of using it are baffling.

The Good and the Rad: iPod In 2001, despite initially mixed reviews, Apple forever revolutionized music with the introduction of the iPod. It cost $399, was not Windows compatible, and held 1,000 songs on its 5GB hard drive.

TIVO Television hasn’t been the same since 1999, when at long last live TV could be recorded, paused and, in the case of Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction”, rewatched over and over again.

USB Flash Drive Late in 2000 IBM began selling the first commercially available USB flash drive in America, the DiskOnKey. It held up to 32MB of memory and wrote 10x faster than a diskette.

PalmOne Treo The Treo was one of the most successful gadgets of 2003, thanks to its successful merger of phone, PDA and camera in a lightweight, streamlined package.

iPhone Really, what can I say about the iPhone that hasn’t already been said. Love it or distrust it, no one can deny its massive social and technological impact. Introduced in 2007, it came with 4GB ($499) or 8GB ($599) of storage, 2 megapixel camera, and a revolutionary user interface.

ASUS Eee PC The Netbook uprising started with the Eee PC in 2007 and can be argued to have heralded the age of the tablet. It is however, still debated whether the iPad (another amazing gadget of the decade) and tablets like it will eradicate the netbook before its uprising can turn into a coup d’etat. It cost $399, had a solid-state 4GB hard drive and ran Linux.

PlayStation 2 In 2000 Sony introduced the PlayStation 2 and brought the gaming experience to a whole new level. It was the first to be backward compatible and the first to use CD’s instead of cartridges to store games. It set the standard for all the consoles that would come after, and it remains the best selling console of all time. Source : www.retrevo.com