2014's Top 15 Gadgets

Apple launched its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus with much fanfare in September last year. The latest offering from the tech giant is touted as being bigger, better and faster than its predecessors. We compare both phones to the iPhone 5sApple's iPhone 6 series was available across retail stores in India from October 17 at a starting price of Rs 53,500 and the high end model iPhone 6 plus at Rs 80,500. Both iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus come in three versions in terms of storage: 16 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB.

Apple unveiled new Apple Watch, touting it as a comprehensive health and fitness device during an Apple special event at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday in Cupertino, California in September last year. The Apple Watch pairs with the new iPhones to display notifications and features a magnetic charger, health and fitness apps and a crown that controls zoom and scrolling with a twist. It also tells time.

Apple's eighth major release of the iOS mobile operating system, released on September 17, 2014, stands out due to several features.

A noteworthy feature is the new split screen iPad multitasking, which allows two apps to be used side by side, but will also let users drag images, video and text from one app into the other.

Samsung launched the Galaxy Note 4, its most expensive phablet. The phone is notable for its excellent camera features like auto-selfies, advanced customisation and much more.

The phablet hit the market just ahead of Diwali and faced stiff competition from Apple's new devices iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which became available from October 17. The Galaxy Note 4 features a 5.7-inch quad HD Super AMOLED display, 3GB RAM and 32GB internal memory (expandable further). It has a 16MP rear camera and 3.7MP front camera.

Motorola unveiled the Moto G on 5 September 2014, which boasted of impressive specs.

It has a 4.5-inch HD display with a resolution of 720x1280 pixels (329ppi), Corning Gorilla Glass 3 screen, a quad-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 based on the Cortex-A7 architecture, coupled with an Adreno 305 GPU and 1GB of RAM.

Google launched its first smartphones under its Android One project priced at Rs.6,399 in India in early October. The first set of Android One smartphone devices, Micromax Canvas A1, Spice Dream UNO and Karbonn Sparkle V.

The phones have features like front and rear-facing cameras, 1GB of memory, fast quad-core MediaTek processor, long battery life as well as features particularly important to Indians, including dual SIM slots, an FM radio tuner, and a microSD card slot for additional storage

When Nokia launched the Lumia 520, a year ago, it was an instant hit among those looking for a low-cost smartphone. But the phone came with just 512 RAM, which meant the Lumia 520 users couldn’t play high-end games; a major drawback considering the current needs of smartphone users. With this in mind, and along with several improvements, Nokia launched Lumia 525 in January.

With a superb battery and upgraded RAM, the Nokia Lumia 525 was a strong contender among smartphones priced in the 10k range.

Google released its new Android operating system, Lollipop, on October 17, and also presented new models of Nexus products to compete with Apple.

Provided by MiD-DAY Google Nexus 6, 9 and Android Lollipop

The Nexus 6 smartphone has been developed by Motorola and was available for pre-order in late October and in stores in November. The tablet -- Nexus 9, developed by HTC was available for pre-order on October 17 and in stores starting November 3.

Google launched the Nexus 6 smartphone as part of its great online shopping festival (GOSF) that took place from today, December 10 to December 12.

Amazon launched its "Fire Phone," a high-end handset boasting "breakthrough technologies" and a move aimed at challenging market leaders Apple and Samsung.

Provided by MiD-DAY Amazon's Fire Phone

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos unveiled the device, Amazon's first smartphone of its own, which has a 4.7-inch display, a high-definition camera and Amazon's free help service. The Fire Phone became available for purchase on July 2014.

The Playstation 4 was launched in its home country, Japan on February 22 2014.

With its sleek jet-black lightweight body it looks the part. Yet what immediately grabbed the eye was the new Dualshock4 controller. We can easily say that this is the best Playstation controller till date. Its smooth edges, good thumb grip and faster responding sticks are made for long hour gamers. The added feature to the Dualshock4 is the touchpad, which is interesting along with the in-built speakers. The user interface is an improvement as the navigation and loading time really make a difference.

The X Box One saw its official Asia release on September 2014. Priced at Rs 39,990, the gaming console, which was released on September 23rd in India, included the Xbox One console, Xbox One wireless controller and a 14 day trial of Xbox Live Gold for new members. The games that are compatible with the Xbox 360 console will not work on the Xbox One and that it will also not require a constant internet connection.

The console also comes with a Blu-Ray disk drive, but for us, what seems to mark the Xbox One as special is its attempt to go social. The Kinect controller which lets you play games by just waving your hands and moving your body is now a part of the Xbox package, and has been improved as well, letting you navigate other features of the console apart from just the gaming part. Connectivity with Windows Phone has been improved and there are a number of sharing options as well.

After the launch of the Xperia Z2, Sony launched another compact version: the Xperia Z3 Compact costing Rs 44,000 in September.

Unlike it's predecessor it was smaller in size with a 4.6-inch display screen, improved batter life, better connectivity...

Released in October 2014, pecs-wise, the Passport is Blackberry's most feature-rich phone till now.

It has a superb 4.5-inch square touch screen with a resolution of 1440x1440 and pixel density of 453 PPI, features 32GB internal storage, 3GB RAM, and a quad core 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor with 450MHz Adreno 330 GPU.

Taking a cue from its first Yoga tablet, Lenovo moved several notches higher in the performance and style categories with the Yoga Tablet 2. Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 in stand mode

Available for purchase in November, the Yoga Tablet 2 contained longer battery life, sharper screen and was 4G LTE ready.

Released in October, its brushed aluminium finish, stylish metal buttons and a soft and pristine white back cover, the Lumia 830is a work of art that reminds us of why we once loved Nokia.

Though, its makers insist on us using Microsoft devices, we follow our heart. The other coloured back covers — green, red — add edge with a premium mix of colours and style. At 150 gm, it is light weight and is backed by a slim body (8.5 mm) as well.