Top 40 products of the year: 1-10

10. Nikon CoolPix S8200
Compact Camera
5 stars
PC World Editors’ Choice Award


For vacations, having a camera that can do everything from macro shots of flowers through to amazing zoom shots of far-away mountains is ideal. When we tested 8 top travel-zoom cameras in November, the Nikon CoolPix S8200 was the best all-rounder by far.


9. Apple iPad 2
Tablet PC
4.5 stars


The slimline, lightweight iPad has defined what we expect of a tablet device. The iPad 2 took all the good points of the first iPad and added more storage space and a faster processor for better handling and faster web browsing. When it comes to portable gaming and apps, it’s second to none.


8. Runkeeper
Fitness app/website
5 stars
PC World Editors’ Choice Award


We looked at the tech that’s available to help you get into shape, and Runkeeper won us over. It’s a smartphone app (and website) for tracking and logging your workouts that can gather data about everything from sleep to swimming laps.


7. Huawei E5 Wi-Fi Router
Wireless Hotspot
5 Stars
PC World Platinum award


Connect to 3G broadband from any Wi-Fi enabled device – and from many devices at once. It uses a 2Degrees sim, but we tried it with Vodafone, and it also worked. Just buy a broadband data pack, and you’re golden. Simple and effective, the Huawei E5 is everything a traveller needs in a portable hotspot.


6. Firefox 4
Internet Browser
5 stars
PC World Platinum Award


We tested all the new browsers in May, and FireFox 4 came out on top, thanks to excellent HTML 5 support, smart privacy controls and clever tab handling. Since we tested, Mozilla has released a further four versions of Firefox – it’s now up to version 8!


5. Canon EOS 600D
DSLR camera
5 stars
PC World Platinum Award


Only a couple of months after we gave the EOS 550D a platinum rating, it’s replacement – the 600D – came along and blew it out of the water. It’s aimed at the enthusiastic amateur photographer looking to step up a notch, and delivers excellent image quality – for stills or 1080P video – alongside easy-to navigate controls.


4. HTC Sensation
Smartphone
5 stars
PC World Platinum Award


HTC’s sensation has a 4.3-inch screen, but it manages to feel smaller thanks to excellent design. The HTC Sense overlay brings an intuitive and customisable face to Android and adds a number of geuinely useful widgets.

3. Asus Rampage III Extreme Black Edition
Motherboard
5 stars/PC World Platinum Award


If you’re building a high-end gaming PC around an Intel X58 CPU, this should be top on your list of motherboards. Thunderbolt, high quality stereo sound, hardware-based networking and support for up to four full-sized graphics cards make it the envy of any system builder.


2. HP Envy 17 3D
Multimedia Laptop
5 Stars
PC World Platinum Award
PC World Editors' Choice Award


The HP Envy 17 3D has a mammoth 2TB of storage, plenty of space for your movies, music and photos. With a large screen, it’s even good for movie playback, though there’s an HDMI out if you want to display things on a bigger screen. It’s powerful and full-featured.


1. Samsung Galaxy S II
Smartphone
5 stars
PC World Platinum Award
PC World Editors’ Choice Award


When we did a roundup of 21 smartphones in July, the Galaxy S 2 was the best of them. With a high resolution, 4.3-inch screen in a featherlight handset, its performance and style are everything you could want. It also has your favourite apps, Facebook and Twitter integration with your contacts, and video calling thanks to front and rear-facing cameras.

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