Digital Trends Best of 2011 Awards

By Digital Trends Staff December 26, 2011

digital-trends-best-of-2011-awards — Image used with permission by copyright holder

It’s never a bad year to soak up new technology, but we’ll still go out on a limb and say 2011 has been a particularly good one for gadget fiends. Sure, on the surface, 2011 lacked the many landmark product introductions that have changed the landscape of technology. A year like 2007 brought the first iPhone, first e-reader, and first netbooks. Even the tablet revolution we’re experiencing now started back in 2010. No, the last 12 months can’t lay claim to many new buzzwords, but 2011 will stand out as a year many of these technologies reached new degrees of performance, affordability, and practicality.

Smartphones now connect at 4G speeds, pack dual-core processors, and run two mature, fully featured operating systems, with a third still brewing. Ultrabooks have taken the successful design elements pioneered by the MacBook Air and made them more affordable. A number of potent Android tablets have given the iPad a run for its money, and low-price introductions like Amazon’s outstanding Kindle Fire now sell for as low as $200. It’s a good time to be a geek.

With such a plethora of hot silicon on the market these days, we’ve rounded up our favorites in every category to both look back at the devices that defined the year, and give credit where it’s due. We’ve seen it all. Here’s what takes the cake.

Categories:


Digital Cameras		Headphones		Computers


Home Theater		Cell Phones		Tablets & eReaders

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Digital Trends Staff

Digital Trends has a simple mission: to help readers easily understand how tech affects the way they live. We are your…

Computing

This Lenovo laptop is usually $1,700 — today it’s $847

The Lenovo ThinkBook 16 Gen 6 laptop on a white background.

If you're looking for a new laptop that will have no problem keeping up with your daily workload, you should check out the sixth-generation Lenovo ThinkBook 16, especially now that it's on sale from Lenovo at 51% off. From its original price of $1,729, it's down to a more affordable $847, which is excellent value when you consider the capabilities of this machine. You need to complete the purchase as soon as possible if you want the $882 in savings though, because there's a chance that it's already gone by tomorrow.

Why you should buy the Lenovo ThinkBook 16 Gen 6
The sixth-generation Lenovo ThinkBook 16 is a dependable laptop for its price, as it will help you complete your everyday activities and tasks quickly and efficiently with its 13th-generation Intel Core i7 processor and integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics. It's also got 16GB of RAM, which our laptop buying guide says is the sweet spot for most people. While the Lenovo ThinkBook 16 Gen 6 won't go as fast as the top-of-the-line models of the best laptops, it will surely boost the productivity of both professionals and students.

Computing

The Dell XPS 15, 16 and 17 all have huge discounts today

The open Dell XPS 16 on a table.

There's always high demand for Dell XPS deals because these laptops offer a combination of dependable performance and stylish designs. Three Dell XPS laptops are on sale right now with huge discounts from Dell, including the final versions of two models as they're being retired by the Dell XPS reset -- the Dell XPS 15, which is down to $1,199 from $1,499 for savings of $300, and the Dell XPS 17, which is down to $1,999 from $2,909 for savings of $910. In addition, the Dell XPS 16, one of the new models in the line of laptops, is also already discounted from Dell at $600 off, slashing its price to $2,949 from $3,549.

If you're interested in taking advantage of any of these offers, we recommend that you proceed with the purchase immediately because we're not sure how much time is remaining before they expire. This is particularly true for the Dell XPS 15 and Dell XPS 17, as once their stocks are gone, you may never get another chance at buying these laptop deals.
Dell XPS 15 -- $1,199, was $1,499

Computing

Scores of people are downgrading back to Windows 10

The screen of the Galaxy Book4 Ultra.

Microsoft continues to struggle with the adoption of Windows 11 among its users. Recent data from Statcounter reveals a notable decline in the operating system’s market share, specifically compared with Windows 10.

After reaching an all-time high of 28.16% in February 2024, Windows 11 has experienced a drop, falling below the 26% mark.