Feature Articles

Top 100 Products of 2009

By Team HardwareZone - 25 Dec 2009

Picks 11 - 20

Sony VAIO X

The Sony VAIO X is probably worth its premium fee, if gorgeous looks is worth its weight in gold. This 11.1-inch business model isn't the most powerful machine given its use of a single-core Atom Z540 processor, though it has an extensive battery life to shout about. That aside, you can be assured the VAIO X was crafted to make a grand impression with its devilishly slim profile and featherlike weight of 780 grams.

X-Mini II Capsule Speakers

Creative, look out: Singapore-based XM-I has managed to contain both size and audio into a tiny and cute device. The X-mini II Capsule speaker is not only highly portable, but also capable of great sound quality. If you need big "boomz", but like your tech accessories small, the X-mini II does a decent job: it has an extendable resonator that creates a vacuum (which acts like a loudspeaker) and can be daisy-chained with other X-Minis for further audio amplification.

ASUS Mars

Not content with NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 295, ASUS went ahead and pieced two GeForce GTX 285 units together, forming the awesome ASUS MARS. Reportedly, it is a whopping 23% faster than a standard GeForce GTX 295. Only 1000 units were ever made, so you had to be extremely lucky to have one.

Sony Ericsson Aino

Among the famous trio of phones that were released by Sony Ericsson at the end of 2009, the Aino caught our eye as its Remote Play applications allows you to connect to your PS3 from anywhere to access all your media files as long as you have an active Wi-Fi connection.

Intel X25 Gen.2 SSD

Intel's updated X25-M SSD makes our top 100 list for a few reasons - it is the first SSD unit using 34nm process technology flash memory chips for cost savings. Couple that with better latency, improved throughput, compatibility with Microsoft's Windows 7 and its TRIM function to keep the drive well-optimized around-the-clock, the second generation X25-M is a very competitive unit in the market.

EVGA P55 FTW

With a name like "FTW", this EVGA board better have the goods to show too. Fortunately, it comes with sufficient high-end features to please the enthusiast crowd. This meant having up to three separate BIOS, dedicated voltage read points and a 12-phase power design rated to provide up to 600W of power to the processor.

HP Mini 311

HP strikes back on the netbook side of things with an NVIDIA ION based machine which packs in your usual Intel Atom N280 processor found on most netbooks but using NVIDIA's ION platform for its chipset and graphics. The result? A netbook that's capable of HD video playback and some light gaming while still retaining the portability and form factor of your normal netbooks.

Nikon D5000 DSLR Camera

The Nikon D5000 packs the same sensor as the next step-up model, the D90, while retaining the small size and competitive price of an entry-level DSLR. Although it's missing some manual buttons and the LCD screen is grainier than the D90, it gives you the same high-quality images with superb ISO performance, making it a choice entry-level DSLR.

D-Link DIR-685 Extreme-N Wireless Router

D-Link's flagship gizmo doesn't come cheap and there's good reason for it. The DIR-685 is riddled with loads of features you might ever want in a router. Besides its 802.11n capabilities, the DIR-685 is also part NAS and part photo frame. It holds a 2.5-inch HDD bay and flaunts a color LCD screen across its stylized face. Oh, it comes with a USB sharing feature too. Who says routers have to be boring?

Microsoft Sidewinder X8

While the previous Microsoft Sidewinder iterations have proven to be far too big and bulky, the X8 surprised us with a better ergonomic shape and a whole slew of interesting features. Strictly for hardcore gamers who prefer to further customize their gaming experience, the wireless X8 boasts of sensitivity settings, interchangeable feet, BlueTrack Technology and seven programmable buttons.

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