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Ten gadgets that defined the decade

As 2009 winds down and we try to come up with new and clever ways of referring to the early years of this century, there's really only one thing left to do: declare our ten favorite gadgets of the aughts and show them off in chronological order. It's arguable that if this wasn't the decade of gadgets, it was certainly a decade shaped by gadgets -- one which saw the birth of a new kind of connectedness. In just ten years time, gadgets have touched almost every aspect of our daily lives, and personal technology has come into its own in a way never before seen. It's a decade that's been marked the ubiquity of the internet, the downfall of the desktop, and the series finale of Friends, but we've boiled it down to the ten devices we've loved the most and worked the hardest over the past ten years. We even had some of our friends in the tech community chime in with their picks on what they thought was the gadget or tech of the decade -- so join us for a look back at the best (gadget) years ever!

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engadget.com
Darkeyes6028d ago (Edited 6028d ago )

LMFAO... How can 360 be in it when PS2 is the best console (in terms of sales, and gaming catalog)... Are you telling me that 360 has had more impact than a console which has sold more than 140 million 0_o Seriously, if I even were to pick a current gen console, then I'd go with the Wii mainly cause of the user base it's generated.... FAIL.

we won6028d ago

I disagree because PS2 was just a console that sold a lot. PS2 did not define the decade with it's hardware, software, system software, Online. PS2's offerings have not shaped gaming's future. PS2 does not have the competition following suit.

Please mod don't delete my comment. I know you track 360 fans comments deleting them, even in 360 articles.

Christopher6028d ago

I can go with XBLA, but the 360 hardware? No way in hell.

360
- DVD9
- Standard PC processor/graphics
- Proprietary hardware (HDD, flash drives, wireless devices)
- External brick
- High failure rate history

PS3
- Blu-ray
- Cell processor w/standard PC graphics
- Non-proprietary hardware (HDD, flash drives)
- Internal wireless
- Internal brick
- Very low failure rate history

Yeah, go blow smoke up someone else's derrier.

6028d ago
cereal_killa6028d ago (Edited 6028d ago )

People get deleted for being off topic or acting like idiots something you do 95% of the time (see comment below). The Xbox 360 biggest mistake was releasing in 2005 and this is based on having the worst reliability ever actually maybe if they waited and did proper R&D instead of thinking about being "the first to the race"($$$$$$$$) they could have still released it in late 2005 6-8 months used to fix it's problems and still would have had a decent lead.

6028d ago
Christopher6028d ago (Edited 6028d ago )

1. Not SDF, just not an idiot

2. This is an article on ten gadgets that defined the decade, not ten online infrastructures.

3. XBLA didn't win this, the Xbox 360 did. It is, after all, the gadget in question.

4. I only compare it to the PS3 since they're the most comparable consoles out there and if you're trying to sell me that the 360 is superior in defining the decade... you're definitely an idiot. PS3 brought out cell processing and blu-ray, two the of the innovations from the later part of the decade. XBox 360 has nothing like this in their gadget until possibly next year when Natal comes out.

Edit: @we won again - your reading comprehension is lacking again. I personally think blu-ray should be on the list or the PS2, but not much else other than that. Blu-ray and HD ushered in the age of HD gaming/movies that we have now. XBLA is pretty much taking what's been on the PC for more than a decade now and using it on a console.

Anorexorcist6028d ago (Edited 6028d ago )

Yet, with less accolades than the PS2, the Xbox 360 made the list and the PS2 didn't.

The PS2 is untouchable, It's got more Games and more Sales. I mean that is all that really matters, riiiight? :/

"We went with the Xbox 360 for its innovation in online play"

Well I guess a thing called "personal computers" hadn't yet reached Engagets studios yet until after 2005.

Top console with regard to defaults and spawning one of the most notorious acronyms of all time: RRoD

sikbeta6028d ago (Edited 6028d ago )

Just an opinion guys, just an opinion, this worth nothing in the Real World lol

Major_Tom6028d ago

This was a really really really inaccurate and sloppy list.

Saaking6028d ago (Edited 6028d ago )

The 360 shouldn't be there. It has great software, but it IS one of the biggest hardware failures of all time. FACT. I would put the Wii instead of the 360.

The PS2 did a lot more to deserve a spot on the list than the 360. More games, more exclusives, more sales, more quality, the list goes on. The PS3 simply continues what the PS2 and PS1 began.

Blaze9296028d ago (Edited 6028d ago )

I'd say the 360 is appropriate for this list. It started with the Xbox 1 and became even bigger with the xbox 360. It launched online gaming on home consoles as something that can be done right and succeed very well using only a broadband connection. Especially launching at a time where most homes didnt even have broadband accessible (talking xbox 1).

@Saaking

Shouldn't be there? Right.... The 360 delivered (first to the punch) standard wireless controllers, online service that was excellent bringing downloadable demos, content, media, movies, etc. Delivered great social activity for games to game seemingly and stay connected. Delivered the gamercard. Delivered achievements. Delivered HD gaming. And much much more...again, FIRST.

You can't say that the 360 shouldnt be on this list. Because it was THE first to market, it defined the decade truly on how home consoles should be done.

Sure the PS2 sold a lot and did a lot for the industry and was huge but you can't put that above the technical advances that the xbox 360 brought this decade...FIRST....BEFORE the competition. PS2 -> Xbox 360 technical wise was like the jump to color televisions. If the PS3 had come out first, I'm sure THAT would be on this list instead of the 360.

If you actually read the article (likely didnt) it isnt about "teh salez!". If it was, the PS2 would no doubt be up there. It's about what technical features those devices delivered, unlike anything else of the decade.

JasonXE6028d ago

Hey guys...the Xbox 360 wasnt the only thing on the list you know...there ARE other devices.

You all are calling this the biggest fail ever. Why, becuase the Playstation didnt make the list or becuase every tech gadget up there didnt define the decade? If it's the later, please show me you're list of 10 gadgets that defined the decade.

Don't worry, I'll wait.

Anyone actually read this article? At all?

Staircase6028d ago

I do think the 360 is appropriate for this list. If you look at the PS3, the impact of it is obvious. Things like trophies, network cards, cross game chat, etc are becoming standard in the industry.

However, i do feel that either the PS3 or BluRay tech in general should be listed though, as this is also quickly becoming an industry standard, and the PS3 definatly impacted it's success. I highly disagree with the article's complaints of a two format HD war. If HD-DVD was not around, BluRay players may still be priced unreasonably.

cmrbe6028d ago (Edited 6028d ago )

We all know that x360 is a PS2 wannbe and because of that the PS2 should be higher. You talk about xboxlive but the article is about Gadget. Is xboxlive a gadget?. Even then if its because of xboxlive shouldn't the xbox get the nod then?.Why?. Because xbox sucked compared to the PS2?. Xbox live hasen't changed much fundmentally since the xbox. Yes it was the first to use broadband but still the dreamcast got to online console gaming first.

You talk about HD gaming yet most games on the x360 is not in HD. Even MS has downgraded requirements. We can argue about who brought HD gaming first but the way i see it MS only brought half assed HD gaming like the Dreamcast with its stupid dial-up online gaming. PS3 brought to market true HD gaming. That is a fact.

As i said, weak but not as stupid as this article though. Perhaps to you Americans the x360 is but the rest of the worlds laughs at this.

Staircase6028d ago

"We all know that x360 is a PS2 wannbe"

...what? How is it a PS2 wannabe in any aspect.

And again with the American comments, as if all Americans are babbling 360 fanboys.

cmrbe6028d ago

MS buying once exclusive franchise ring any bells?. Why do you think they always brag about having these once PS exclsuives franchise on the x360?. It is not a secret that MS since they entered the market is hell bent in destroying PS and replacing them. Thats the way MS works.

MS has tried in vein to identify the x360 with the PS2 crowd so much so they have bought almost every big exclusive franchise on the PS2 to attract them. They even brag about PS2 owners migrating to the x360 which they have failed to do. Now they are going to rebrand x360 as the sucessor to the wii with Natal because they know they failed with trying to convince the bulk of the PS2 crowd to migrate to the x360. Resolution standard down grade ring any bells?.

It is well know that MS release the x360 early so that they can get a jump on the competition. Part of the strategy was to brand the x360 as a PS2 (PS) alternative which is why the went after every big PS2 franchise they can get their hands on early. MS exces never kept this fact a secret. Its why many like me have seen the x360 as a PS2.

Now, 4 years later and only 34 million sold with 1 year head start with a 24 million xbox userbase,significant price advantage, varied game selection and most of PS2 big franchise MS knows that their strategy of PS2 clone is not working. If it worked there should be at least 50-60 million x360 now. So now MS are turning towards the wii userbase. Its the MS way. They try to clone others success without having to blaze their own trail.

As for the American thing. I do apologise to others that i offended but its obvious that this is a US biased article and it dosen't really represent the rest of the world. Tivo?. Perhaps endgaet should have said Ten gadgets that defined the decade in US.

Staircase6028d ago

"Perhaps endgaet should have said Ten gadgets that defined the decade in US."
Good point. I do agree that some of these effected the US much more than other areas.

I still don't think that MS bought exclusives and bragged because they wanted to ride on the PS2's fame though, but rather brag about how detrimental each exclusive they bought was to the PS3 (or how detrimental they thought it would be.)

badz1496028d ago

for "defining the failure rate of the decade" title!

other than that? not so much! I would off put PS2 or Wii or even PS1 for god sake!

Arnon6027d ago

Actually the Xenos GPU inside of the 360 is quite good for a console. Not only that, but it introduced unified architecture, which the RSX doesn't use, and it's quite clear that it was the way to go since most GPUs today use it.

Christopher6026d ago

Just because something is more widely used doesn't make it better. The cell-processor only hasn't taken off because of its difference and the need for people to learn to use it. People claim this makes it worse, but it actually could lead to the next iteration in computing if given the chance. Problem is, progress is oftentimes held up by the need to maintain a legacy architect.

Arnon6025d ago

The cell hasn't taken off because it's pointless to even try and use simply because there's already more efficient processors out now. Didn't Intel cancel their Cell research? Also, no. The Xenos IS more powerful than the RSX, however, because of blu ray and the cell (yes, they actually matter in this situation), the PS3 doesn't have to work as hard as the 360 does to produce a good looking game.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

I guarantee you that the Cell will not be used for the next generation of consoles. The damn thing has 1 PPE that controls 7 SPEs. The SPEs while powerful, are not even fully functional on their own, meaning the PPE MUST make the commands to use them. Sorry, but when AMD is already releasing a 16-core CPU, the Cell is basically useless at this point. Why should we try and use asymmetric architecture? There's absolutely no logic behind it whatsoever.

There's really nothing the cell can do that another processor could not, except maybe take the load off of a GPU more than regular CPUs (and encode faster, but that's useless for anything gaming related), but even that is useless, especially when GPUs nowadays have a good 1-2 GB of GDDR5 RAM. The ONLY reason they had the Cell take the work load off of the RSX was because of the bottleneck that the RSX can so easily reach with it's 256 MB GDDR3 RAM. The 256 XDR RAM doesn't matter either. It's fast, yeah... but it's still 256 MB of RAM.

-chaz-6024d ago (Edited 6024d ago )

Arnon is correct; it's worth noting that the 8xxx & 9xxx series NVIDIA GPU (the RSX is based on the 7xxx) started using a version of the unified architecture that ATI used in the 360 GPU (and the equivalent Radeon cards).

Thus it stands to reason that the next Playstation, if Sony uses an NV or ATI card) will feature some sort of unified pipeline.

+ Show (21) more repliesLast reply 6024d ago
JOLLY16028d ago

That list seems about right to me.

socomnick6028d ago

yup, the list is pretty dead on.

The ps2 sold the most so what, the 360 changed the way games are made and played.

Before gaming was a solitary experience, and multiplayer ment gaming with someone next to you.
With Xbox live , achievements, Xbox live Arcade, Xna, DLC etc, Microsoft changed gaming forever. They brought forth the dominance of the first person shooter and connected people across the world to enjoy games.

Sony's innovations were all hardware based, CD-> DVD-> Blu-ray
Sure these things expanded the size of the games but they generally did nothing for innovation you played the same type of games on each system.

Meanwhile the 360 changed the face of gaming for the present and more importantly for future consoles.

LittleBigSackBoy6028d ago

"Sony's innovations were all hardware based, CD-> DVD-> Blu-ray
Sure these things expanded the size of the games but they generally did nothing for innovation you played the same type of games on each system."

Good luck playing Gears of War on a N64 cartridge. They don't just expand the size of games, Zelda OOT was bigger than Gears, but you couldn't fit Gears on the same size cartridge.

Bigpappy6028d ago

How do people get PS1 and CD in this discussion? I hope DECADE is not a new word for you guys.

The Lazy One6028d ago

progressing to larger storage forms is natural. It's evolutionary not revolutionary. Making new services standard is something new.

Whether or not people like to think so, XBL has set the standard for an online service. If you don't think so, look at PSN. It's copied XBL almost feature for feature so far.

And the 360 is up there because it's the only gadget that offers xbl.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 6028d ago
oli6028d ago

i think the ps2 deserves a picture instead of XB360, ps2 changed a lot this decade, wasnt it the 1st console to get ppl to wait in line at a store? and ps3 deserves one too, but mostly ps2 ;D

6028d ago
cereal_killa6028d ago

Why was 2006 skipped? Both PS3 and the Wii were released could have put either of the two in that year.

Phytonadione6028d ago

and the Pinto was a great, affordable, and fuel efficient car that only had a slight malfunction in which it would turn into a flaming death trap if it was rear-ended when it had its turn signals on...I wonder why it was never voted as one of the top 10 cars of its generation?
/s

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Killer2020UK72d ago

Oh my, that is one gaudy design

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italiangamer73d ago

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Press X to (seriously) doubt.

DarXyde71d ago

Underrated comment. I used to hate that game so much that any time my siblings asked me to play it, I just picked Hom and shut myself down mid-match.

Soy72d ago

And then MK1 killed it again.

DivineHand12571d ago (Edited 71d ago )

15 years went by so fast. I remember playing through the story mode at launch.

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