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PC World's 20 Most Innovative Products of 2006

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the top-20-list dept.

Craig Sender writes "PC World has put together a list of their choices for the 20 Most Innovative Products of 2006. The List includes Office 2007, Nintendo Wii, Sony Reader, Sony PlayStation 3, the BlackBerry Pearl, and some other interesting choices."

7 of 233 comments (clear)

  1. Print view by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://www.pcworld.com/printable/article/id,128176 /printable.html

    Ridiculous that the article is stretched across 8 pages.

  2. YouOS by daigu · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Anything in alpha testing can't really be called a product, much less the most innovative product (or in the top ten) of the year.

  3. Here are the top 10. by khasim · · Score: 5, Informative

    1. Microsoft Office 2007
    2. Intel Core 2 Duo
    3. Parallels Desktop for Mac
    4. Nintendo Wii
    5. Samsung 32GB SSD
    6. Sony Reader
    7. YouOS
    8. Dell XPS M2010
    9. Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB
    0. T-Mobile Dash

  4. How many laptops did it take? by atari2600 · · Score: 5, Funny

    So for MS Office 2k7 to make the number one position, i wonder how many LAPTOPS Microsoft had to give away. Just kidding, just kidding - i couldn't resist.

  5. Re:Office 2007? by linguae · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Office 2007's innovation is the ribbon interface, which does away from the traditional toolbar/menu interface. Although I personally don't like the interface (the ribbons are uncustomizable, and some options that used to require only one click on a toolbar now require two or three clicks), the interface does accomplish the task of placing related options together in an easily accessible way to novices of Office, as well as accessing less-commonly used features.

    Like the interface or not, the ribbon interface is an innovative way of grouping tasks together, especially in a program such as Microsoft Office that supports hundreds of features. If the ribbon interface contained some concessions for experienced computer users (shortcuts and ribbon customization, for example), then the ribbon interface may be a serious contender to the traditional menu/toolbar paradigm on the Windows platform. This is probably the single most innovative thing I've seen coming from Microsoft yet, even if I personally don't like it ;)

  6. Please perfect the innovations we already have. by gelfling · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Frankly I'm disappointed that the gadgets we already have really don't work so hot. Like Cell Phones. Why can't I get usable USB or Bluetooth drivers and sync software for my Samsung A640, even from Samsung? Oh yeah I forgot, Sprint wants me to pay for a service to email them to myself. Ditto my Sanyo 3100, Samsung A840, Samsung A900 or Sanyo 8400?

    Why does my Xbox360 still require bizarre router settings to connect wirelessly to my router? Oh yeah I forgot, Microsoft does not care. Why did I have to return 3 different routers until I found one that worked with all my clients and VPN tunnels? Oh yeah I forgot, they're lazy. Why did the wireless print server I picked up naturally assume that it had to have the same IP address as my router and afforded absolutely no options to switch it? Oh yeah I forgot, the vendor bought the product instead of developing themselves. Plus the quality of their firmware is shit. Why am I still shopping for an affordable NAS that actually does what it's supposed to do without bugs and the feature set is actually what they say it is instead of vague promises and bullshit? Oh yeah I forgot, all the goodness is in the next version of their $700 unit. Sorry.

    See I'm not a big fan of best new gadgets because next year either they will be abandoned as the shit they probably are, or, they will be shit anyway and still be around bolstered by hype, consumer indifference and marketing.

  7. Where is the "innovation"? by Helldesk+Hound · · Score: 5, Informative

    Lets look at this list...

    1. Microsoft Office 2007
    Nothing innovative here - GUI office productivity suites have been around for decades - MS Word was the innovation on the Apple MacIntosh - but that was before MS released a usable version of MS Windows!

    2. Intel Core 2 Duo
    Where is the innovation here? The Intel Core 2 Duo is merely two CPUs on a single chip. Duo is neither the first 64bit processor, nor does it share resources between cores, nor does it have an onboard RAM controller. for all the above look to AMD's CPUs.

    3. Parallels Desktop for Mac
    Running Windows software on the Mac is not a new thing - especially now that the Mac is being sold using Intel hardware. Neither is using virtualisation software to run Windows on other platforms. For years it has been possible to run Windows on Big Blue's mainframes, and on *nix using such applications as VMware.

    4. Nintendo Wii
    Truly innovative interface - completely new design for use in a completely new way with a completely different range of games.

    5. Samsung 32GB SSD
    Using Flash EPROM for mobile storage of user data is not new. Neither is the incrementing of the maximum size available. What is new is the replacement of a mechanical permanent storage device with a solid state storage device that may yet prove to be not yet as reliable as a HDD.

    6. Sony Reader
    Truly innovative device that enables electronic texts to be read as easily and as casually if they were a proper book, and with a very easy UI. Only problem is that it uses a proprietary file format.

    7. YouOS
    Using a browser for remote desktop access is not a new development.

    8. Dell XPS M2010
    Portable computers have been around for decades (predating even the Mac). Wireless keyboards are not new, nor is a DVD player, nor is a 20" flat screen. Nothing new there - except the hefty weight.

    9. Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB
    Yes - innovative method of writing data onto a HDD. But the fact of increased storage capacity is nothing new. HDDs have been increasing storage capacity for many decades.

    10. T-Mobile Dash
    QWERTY keyboard not new. 1.3 megapixel camera - not new. Wireless - not new.
    Additional RAM storage - not new (but close). Amount of built in RAM - definitely not innovative.

    11. Pioneer Inno
    In one form or another a "Real Live radio receiver" that can also record onto some sort of storage medium has been around since the '70s.

    13. Sony BWU-100A Blu-Ray Disc Rewritable Drive
    Re-writeable optical discs - nothing new here.

    14. Olympus EVolt E-330
    Digital camera with LCD display - definitely nothing new here.

    15. Google SketchUp
    3D software is not new. Free (as in Libre or as in Beer) is also not new. Perhaps the ease of use is what is new.

    16. Sony PlayStation 3
    Games consoles have been around since the '70s.

    17. RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8100
    Two words... Palm Treo. Enough said.

    18. Rhapsody 4.0
    One word... Ipod.

    19. Logitech NuLooq
    Different. Cross between a joystick and a mouse and a rollerball. I wouldn't mind trying it out if I ever came across one in a shop.

    20. Shure E500PTH Sound Isolating Earphones
    Noice cancelling headsets have been around for years. Nothing new there.

    So where is the true innovation? 19, 15, 9, 6, 4. That's only 5 out of 20.