As 2008 draws to a close I’m going to take time out to look back at some of the best gadgets that the year had to give us. Without a doubt it was the year of the iPhone. The Smartphone from Apple was the most talked about device in 2008. I wonder what Apple have in store for us in 2009? We’ll find out soon enough because Macworld is just around the corner (I expect updates to the Mac Mini and the iMac range). There were other great gadgets in 2008 too, so let us take a look back.

Apple iPhone.
The must have gadget that had everyone talking. Apple introduced touch screen technology to the masses with the innovative iPhone. With it came the mobile iTunes and App stores. Access to thousands of albums and applications were a finger tap away. No doubt Apple has changed people’s expectations of what a mobile device should be.

Twitter
Not a gadget, but a micro-blogging and social networking website. Twitter really took off in 2008 allowing people to blog about what they were doing in 140 characters. Why 140? It’s to do with the amount of character that can fit in a single SMS message. It’s even got the starts twittering. Look out for Stephen Fry, Robert Llewelyn and John Cleese.

Netbooks.
Maybe one of the more surprising gadgets of 2008 were the netbooks that appeared. Sure they were around at the back end of 2007, but these nifty portable and small computers could be carried anywhere without much bother. Their ultra cheap price made sure that they would be popular with people wanting internet access wherever they were.

Blu-Ray.
The battle between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray finally came to an end with Blu-Ray becoming the champion. But will it be a success? There are already services that allow us to download high definition movies straight to our computers bypassing the need for a disc all together. Is it too late for Blu-Ray to even get off the ground?

There were many innovations during 2008 and I look forward to seeing what the big technology companies have to offer us in 2009. Thinner LCD TV’s will be big I think as well as the Nokia N97 (A possible rival to both the iPhone and G1).

My favourite gadget of 2008 has to be the iPod touch that I got. It’s been absolutely everywhere with me. A truly great gadget. I have nothing more to say to you this year. We’ll start the year off with a look at some exciting upcoming gadgets. Until then, I wish you all a Happy New Year!