While not all of them may be the best products of 2009--or the best deals--they're all special enough to stand out from the rest of the pack in 2009.
David Carnoy
Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET's Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He's also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Nook e-books and audiobooks.
Amazon's second-generation Kindle came out early in the year, but it managed to remain the most popular e-book reader throughout 2009, even as competitors did their best to knock it down.
Read the full review.
2 of 20 Corinne Schulze/CNET
Apple iPhone 3GS
With the iPhone 3GS, Apple didn't make any design changes; however, it did make the phone twice as zippy and improved its battery life.
Read the full review.
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Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch
Previously known as the MacBook, Apple's basic 13-inch aluminum unibody laptop was promoted to the "Pro" series, all while adding features and cutting the base price. It sits at the top of our laptop best-products list.
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Apple iPod Touch third-generation
The latest iteration of the iPod Touch failed to include a camera, but that's one of its few flaws.
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Barnes & Noble Nook e-book reader
The Nook may not have lived up to the hype, but it certainly was a noteworthy product of 2009.
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6 of 20 David Campbell
Flip Video Mino HD
Led by its Mino line, Flip Video pocket camcorders continued to gain market--and mind--share in 2009.
HP's Mini 311 is the first Netbook to include Nvidia's Ion graphics chip that gives it HD video and basic gaming capabilities. In his review, CNET's laptop guru Dan Ackerman says that, "HP's Mini 311 adds a larger, high-definition display and advanced graphics to a basic Netbook, while keeping the price very appealing."
Read the full review.
8 of 20 Justin Gollmer
HTC Droid Eris/HTC Hero
HTC's Droid Eris (Verizon) and Hero (Sprint) are very similar smartphones that currently run on Android 1.5. They don't feature a built-in physical keyboard like the Motorola Droid does, but they are cheaper, with the Eris coming in at a very affordable $99.
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Kodak Zi8
Flip Video finally got a serious competitor in the Kodak Zi8, which features 1080p recording, electronic image stabilization, and a macro mode.
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Logitech Squeezebox Radio
The Logitech Squeezebox Radio has an exceptional design, an unmatched variety of streaming music services, and solid sonics, making it the top value pick for Wi-Fi radios.
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LG BD-390 Blu-ray player
We like LG's BD-390 Blu-ray player because it incorporates 802.11n Wi-Fi and video streaming (Netflix, Vudu) into a high performance product for an affordable price. It's become so popular that it's sold out at most stores.
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Motorola Droid
The Droid's not perfect, but it runs the newest version of Google's Android OS (2.0) and gives Verizon users a worthy alternative to the iPhone.
Read the full review.
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Nikon D5000
Nikon's affordable dSLR that features HD video recording was a top choice among consumers in 2009.
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Palm Pre
The iPhone 3GS and Motorola Droid stole some of its thunder, but the Palm Pre had its moment in the limelight. Now, it just needs a decent App Store.
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Panasonic TC-P50V10 series plasma HDTV
The Panasonic V10 series plasma was the only TV this year to win an Editors' Choice award from our video guru David Katzmaier. For the money, you can't get a better picture in big-screen, flat-panel display.
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Samsung UN55B8500 series LCD TVs
It costs a mint, but Samsung's local dimming, LED-based UNB8500 series delivers the best picture quality of any LCD we tested in 2009.
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Sonos ZonePlayer S5
The ZonePlayer S5 shrinks the Sonos streaming music experience down to a compact single-speaker system with great sound that you can control from any iPhone or iPod Touch.
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Sony PS3 Slim
Sony's PlayStation 3 is finally taking off, thanks to a redesign and price drop to $299.
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Vizio VF551XVT
LED TVs were hot in 2009, and Vizio gets props for putting out the 55-inch VF551XVT, a local dimming, LED-backlit TV that cost less than $2,000 and exhibits excellent LCD picture quality for the buck.
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Zune HD
It's not quite as good as the iPod Touch, but Microsoft finally made the Zune sexy with this year's Zune HD, which features a brilliant OLED touch screen.
Read the full review.
