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The 25 Most Innovative Products of the Year
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Benefit: Does for the computer what the iPhone has done for mobile handsets.
HP's kitchen-friendly computer, theHP TouchSmart IQ770 PC($1650), is beautifully designed, and its touch screen makes it suitable for use on a countertop as well as a desktop. HP also supplies a software interface, optimized for use with the touch screen, that ties into news, weather, and calendar details, among other daily-living information. The handy, customizable HP control panel lets you quickly access photos, launch a photo editor, and play back music, too.
Innovation: Clever, unique hinge lets you slide the screen up at an angle.AT&T Tilt
Benefit: Well-positioned QWERTY keyboard results in what looks like a tiny notebook that you can use in your hands or rest on a table.
The tilting screen is the main innovation, butthe Tilt(made by HTC under the name TyTN II, $400 with a two-year AT&T contract) is one of the most powerful phones available, period. Want a quick rundown of the specs? How about the Windows Mobile 6 operating system, a large screen, 3G wireless connectivity, GPS, a 3-megapixel camera, and the ability to talk to corporate BlackBerry servers? Top that, iPhone.
Facebook APIInnovation: Platform lets anyone with a good idea and some coding chops add real value to Facebook.
Benefit: Facebook taps developers' creativity, in turn permitting Facebook users to customize their pages.
Sure, the killer app of Facebook has not been written yet--and many of the ones that exist now are kind of silly. But Facebook has been on a roll in more ways than one, having led to the creation of the Google-backed OpenSocial, which looks likely to result in open platforms' becoming widespread. Common ground should spark lots of creativity, and it should keep the social networking and media buzz alive.
Innovation: Allows a PC to boot in a few seconds into a simple, secure interface with a Mozilla-based browser.
Benefit: Lets you save energy by keeping your PC powered off when you're not using it.
