Top 10 devices of 2012

In your opinion, which were the top 10 devices (desktops/laptops/tablets/smartphones) announced/released in 2012?

Here's my list (so far):

1. Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display
2. Microsoft Surface Pro
3. Dell XPS 12
4. Acer Iconia W7
5. Apple iPad with Retina Display
6. Lenovo ThinkPad Helix
7. Samsung Galaxy SIII
8. Asus Zenbook Prime
9. Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro
10. Google Nexus 10

What's yours?

VenusianSky said:

I don't have enough insight on devices for a list of ten, but the one device I am excited to see is the Dell XPS 12, which my sources say are shipping in January. A buddy at work is going to order one and we are getting one as a seed unit, so I will get a hands-on demo in a month or so.

The lists above seem like good choices.

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The XPS 12 seems a very nice device indeed. I am curious to see one of them. The only thing against it so far is the weight. At 3.4 lbs, it's heavier than many 13.3" ultrabooks, despite having a 12.5" screen. Still, the flip thing is amazing.

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roadbloc said:

1. Surface Pro.
2. Lumia 920.
3. New ThinkPad Models.
4. New iMac.
5. iPad 3/4/new iPad/whatever they named it.
6. Kindle Fire HD.
7. Galaxy SIII.
8. Nexus 10.
9. iPhone 5.
10. iPod Classic (as long as mine still lives, it will still be on this list.)

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Never seen a Lumia 920 or a Kindle Fire HD... and they did not appeal to me on paper as well.

I've seen the iPhone 5 and, although it was nice, I found it quite underwhelming. It just didn't justify all the hype surrounding it. C'mon, people were saying that the release of the iPhone 5 could add up to 0.5% to the U.S. GDP! And then we get this... I don't get it. The iPhone 5 is definitely out of my list.

Rogifan said:

How can Surface Pro be on the list when it hasn't been released yet? How can you know how good it is when you haven't used it yet?

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I don't. And I haven't seen all of them, in fact. But the list reflects my expectations towards the products. As for the Surface Pro, I can have an idea of what it will be like after seeing the Surface RT.

Just curious what you were expecting from the iPhone 5 that wouldn't have made it underwhelming?

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Well, don't get me wrong. The iPhone 5 is a good product, but there's nothing particularly special about it. But it just caught up with competition. I don't feel it was breath-taking at all. The iPhone 4 was the best smartphone in the world at launch; but I have serious doubt if that also applies to the iPhone 5.

First, I think it could have a larger display, with a 1280x720 resolution, keeping the same pixel density. Despite what Apple claims to be the ideal size, I find it difficult to type on my iPhone 4S, as I have large fingers and I commit several mistakes due to the small size of the screen, just too narrow. I wish it was wider, and Apple failed to deliver that.

Second, I would expect it to have better battery life. My iPhone 4S doesn't last half a day without recharging, and I just expected the iPhone 5 to deliver something better. It didn't.

Third, iOS 6 is far from extraordinary. Just a couple of new functions. Facebook integration? Shared photos? New maps app? And still no multi-tasking? Apple must be joking.

Fourth, the iPhone 5 it doesn't support LTE frequencies in my country (Brazil).

That's what I could think about right now... I just can't see what people liked so much about the iPhone 5, apart from being an iPhone.

Ariii said:

I'm surprised I haven't seen the new iNano or the ChromeBook in this thread !

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Well, we've got just two lists so far...

To be frank, the Chromebook sounds like a great idea which can save the world. But it's not exactly mouth-watering. Is anybody out there dying to get their hands in one of those?

As for the iPod Nano, it may be good, but it's still a tiny device with limited functionality. Even Apple treated it as a "lesser product", second to the big release of the iPhone 5.

Rogifan said:

Ok so in some ways this list is worthless since you haven't seen or tried all the products on your list. And in the case of the Surface Pro its not even available to try. So is this list based on reviews you've read or just looking at the product specs and making assumptions based off that?

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I wouldn't say it is worthless. The fact that I haven't actually seen or tried all products on the list doesn't mean that I can't have an educated guess on what it is like, especially after seeing the specs and reading several reviews. You don't really know a product until you own one. Then, you can actually tell what the qualities and defects of the product are. Just testing them on a store, well, that may give you a feel of the product, but it doesn't mean you know it better than after reading a review. You can't have an idea of the actual battery life of a product unless somebody tested it; and sometimes you can't use the product on a store to test the performance, or change the brightness levels to test the screen, or lift it to test the weight.

As far as the iPhone 5, I didn't re- copy what you wrote but those are fair enough criticisms. Though for me personally I wouldn't want a bigger screen. I'm sure I'm in the minority there but I'm glad to see Apple isn't following the herd there.

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Despite all this talk of "fitting perfect to the hand", the screen size of the iPhone 5 is very convenient to Apple. Developers have just to add something to make their apps look longer, and it's not a radical change in the aspect ratio.

As a matter of fact, I don't think it's following the herd. Apple introduced those large screens when it released the first iPhone in 2007. There was no word at the time on that size being perfect for the hand. But, as time went by, screens got bigger, and only the iPhone remained with the very same screen of the original one. Then Apple only came out with this crap to justify releasing the iPhone 5 with a smaller screen than its competitors.