Top 100 2012 Outstanding hardware,software and cloud [Part 6]

11 MICROSOFT SURFACE RT As Maxwell Smart might have said, the Surface RT missed our top 10 by that much. That’s no surprise, considering that this is Microsoft’s rookie effort at building a retail computer; it’s number 11 because the Surface has successfully redefined what a tablet can be. 12 AUDIOENGINE 5+ The original 5 system was one of the best near-field, powered studio monitors we’d ever heard. The new 5+ is every bit as splendid, thanks to the dual 50-watt Class AB monolithic amplifiers driving the 5-inch Kevlar woofers and 0.79-inch silk-dome tweeters. SUPERB! 13 AMAZON KINDLE FIRE HD Amazon has vastly improved its users’ tablet experience, rendering this 16GB model even more suitable for consuming content from Amazon. More important, the company is selling the Kindle Fire HD at an incredibly low price for a tablet that has an expensive optically bonded display.	14 GOOGLE NEXUS 7 We saw plenty of cheap Android tablets in 2012, but not one that was a worthy contender for this list. Then along came Google’s Nexus 7,which brought top-flight performance, features, and design to an inexpensive tablet – along with a lovely, optical bonded display 16 ADOBE CREATIVE SUITE 6 This suite is full of technological triumphs, from its support for GPU acceleration in Photoshop CS6 and Premiere Pro CS6’s ability to output smartphone apps for almost any mobile operating system by transferring their production to the cloud. 15 FALCON NORTH-WEST TIKI It’s small, quiet, and extremely fast – especially with games. This is no budget box;rather, it’s a polished, tiny, purpose-built gaming system. The heavily overclocked Iby Bridge processor, a fast SSD, and a GeForce GTX 680 graphics card combine to make this system the quickest of its size that you can find 17 SONY TAP 20 A luggable all-in-one with a 20-inch,10-point multitouch display that runs on either AC or battery power, this could be the perfect family PC. Or is it a humongous family tablet? Either way, it shows that windows 8 is inspiring PC manufacturers to innovate.
18 RASPBERRY PI Conceived as a tool to encourage students to learn how to program long before they enter college, this Linux-powered PC also has a low price that makes it the perfect platform for hobbyists interested in building experimental projects. 21 OLYMPUS OM-DE-M5 Most mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras are designed as “step-up” cameras for the point-and-shoot crowd, but the Olympus OM-D E-M5 has the mettle to compete with full fledged digital SLRs. We like its fast focusing speed, terrific image quality, and appealingly retro aesthetic. 19 DELL ULTRASHARP U2713HM This big little monitor delivers the same number of pixels as a 30-inch model – in a more affordable 27-inch package. with an LED-backlit IPS panel boasting accurate color, excellent uniformity, and a wide rage of viewing angles, it’s great for both PC and Mac users. 22 APPLE IPHONE 5 It’s the best iPhone yet, improving on its predecessors with features such as LTE connectivity, a superior camera, and a larger screen. It might no have the best map program, as you may have heard, but we have no doubt that the iPhone 5 is still one of the best smartphones of 2012 20 JAWBONE BIG JAMBOX We’ve yet to see a phone or tablet with truly impressive speakers. The Big Jambox pairs wirelessly with Bluetooth-enabled iOS and Android devices, pumps out impressive bass, and has the battery life to support long jam sessions. 23 STARDOCK START8 Many early Windows 8 adopters have complained about the OS’s lack of a start Menu. Stardock, known for desktop customization software Fences and ObjectDock, responded with Start8, an inexpensive utility that adds a Start Menu to the new OS and allows you to disable the new hot corners to make your transition less jarring.	24 APPLE MACBOOK PRO WITH RETINA DISPLAY Apple’s flagship laptop delivers stunning performance and effortless portability. Not only was this the fastest overall Mac tested, but its spectacular IPS screen with 2880-by1800 pixel resolution reveals so much detail that even simple desktop icons become something to marvel over. 25 KICKSTARTER We’re recognizing this 3 year-old crowd-funding site because it opened the crowd-funding floodgates in 2012. Marquee products such as the Pebble E-Paper Watch and the Ouya game console raised millions, demonstrating that Kickstarter isn’t just for amateurs and side projects;it’s changing the way new products get funded 26 B&N NOOK SIMPLE TOUCH WITH GLOW-LIGHT Thoughtful design and an ethereal yet effective built-in reading light make this e-reader one of the best you can buy. It’s also the most flexible, thanks to a MicroSD card slot on board. And unlike Amazon, B&N doesn’t charge extra for an AC adapter. 27 RAZER BLACK-WIDOW ULTIMATE GAMING KEYBOARD Easily the best mechanical gaming keyboard we’ve tested this year, the BlackWidow is durable, useful, and just plain satisfying to use, whether you’re playing games or powering through email. if you haven’t upgraded to a mechanical keyboard, this is the one to buy! 28 WESTERN DIGITAL MYBOOK THUNDERBOLT DUO If you need a lot of storage right at your desktop, and your computer is equipped with a Thunderbolt port, take a long look at WD’s MyBook Thunderbolt Duo. This blistering-fast dual-drive device is available in 4-,6-, and 8TB configurations. 29 LINKSYS WUMC710 UNIVERSAL MEDIA CONNECTOR Most 802.11ac router manufacturers expect consumers to buy two of their routers and configure one as a bridge, but that approach is expensive and unnecessarily complicated. Though Linksys was a bit late to the 802.11ac party, it arrived with the best product of the client side.
30 LENOVO IDEACENTER A720 Fitting this all-in-ones’s internal components into a base of size of a small pizza box let Lenovo flatten the 27-inch,10point multitouch display to under an inch thick. And you can lay the articulated display completely flat to use the system like a giant stationary tablet. 31 SONOS SUB Craving a milkshake? Eat some ice cream, drink some milk, play you favorite fun on a Sonos multiroom audio system, and stand next to the Sub. This 36-pound networker subwoofer’s dual Class D amps and two force-canceling speakers will do the rest. Yeah, we dig it. 32 MICROEXPRESS MICROFLEX 37B It’s not pretty, but this model’s utilitarian looks disguise a balance, high-performance PC that’s speedy general-purpose system and decent gaming rig. Credit the Ivy. Bridge CPU, Radeon HD 7850 GPU, SSD, Blu-ray drive, and 16 GB of RAM, all in a package that costs less than RM3900 33 MASS EFFECT 3 (Electronic Arts) This concluding episode to one of the most ambitious gaming trilogies ever created isn’t perfect. Indeed, the abbreviated, nonsensical ending set off a firestorm of criticism from series fans. Nevertheless, the strong voice acting and action sequences propel the game forward at a satisfyingly breakneck pace. 34 D-LINK DCS-5222L IP cameras are great devices to use in monitoring your home, but configuring one to give you remote access to it can be a pain in the neck. D-Link’s Cloud Camera line makes this important task easy. The DCS-5222L is a pan/tilt model equipped with LED lighting for night viewing, a MicroSD card slot, and two-way audio.	35 HP ZR2440W This 24-inch desktop monitor’s 1920-by-1200 pixel IPS panel produces brilliant image with wide viewing angles, an easy-to-adjust stand that can pivot to portrait mode, a four-port USB hub, and an energy-saving LED backlight. It can connect to your computer via Display Port, DVI, or HDMI. 36 SONY BLOGGIE LIVE MHS-TS55 Burning up your smartphone’s battery by shooting impromptu videos? Move up to a dedicated device. The Bloggies Live is the most versatile pocket camcorder around, delivering wireless streaming, peer-to-peer sharing, and image resolution that are on a par with today’s top phone cameras. 37 NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 680 If you don’t like the size and power consumption of AMD’s Radeon HD7970, try this Nvidia GPU, which blends the high performance of the company’s Kepler architecture with the terrific efficiency of its earlier Fermi design to deliver a well-balanced powerhouse that’s suited to both gaming and GPU-compute applications. 38 ANGRY BIRDS SPACE (Ravio) Quick review for the 0.00002 percent of the population that hasn’t played Angry Birds:You shoot birds at pigs. The in-game physics are one of its best attributes, so it was a brilliant idea to move the game’s environment into space and add gravity puzzles. 39 INSTAGRAM Love it or loathe it, Instagram has driven plenty of interest in phone-based photography. This free app for iOS and Android devices makes it extremely easy to apply creative filters and boarders to your photos and then share them with friends or family via social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.