Most coveted gadgets and technologies in 2011

2011 started like any recent year, with the Android devices fighting a losing battle against Apple's iPad brand in the tablet sector. And then came their 7-inch, Gingerbread powered savior in the form of Kindle Fire. Offering a wealth of multimedia features from Amazon, the strong point of this 'hybrid tablet' was not the high-end technology, but rather the contraption's cheap pricing at $199 (as compared to $499 of iPad 2). Well the gimmick worked as analysts already estimate that around 6 million Kindle Fire units were sold by 2011.

Android 4.0 (aka Ice Cream Sandwich) is the latest version of Google's exalted mobile based OS. Designed as the first true 'collective' Android version, this system caters to both smartphones and tablets (much like iOS). But beyond its more accessible functionality, the Android 4.0 boasts of a slew of progressive features like improved UI, rich widgets, user friendly notifications, advanced multitasking and so on.

Touted as the 'most amazing iPhone ever', iPhone 4S does cling on to the title quite religiously. Having more processing power, a better camera system, an interactive personal assistant and even greater storage capacity, this contraption does score high on every smartphone benchmark. But still at the end of day, some of us would want to wait for the ever elusive (and hyped) iPhone 5.

iPhone 4S was a progressive yet not a revolutionary step ahead for Apple. But for many of the 'dissenters', it was the Siri personal assistant that posed as the killer app for this phone. Basically, a software (virtual assistant) that allow users to speak to the Apple device, while it can smartly comprehend their request (like sending texts, making appointments and even giving directions), Siri was certainly a big hit among Apple aficionados.

It may sound like some highfalutin sci-fi stuff, but scientists have seriously contrived the concept of self healing polymers for repairing circuits and chips. The notion calls for advanced micro-capsules, measuring less than 10 microns across, which would open up and pour out liquid gallium-indium alloy into the gaps (in case of circuit cracks and breaks). Moreover, the whole subtle procedure will be instantaneous and automatic, thus accentuating upon the efficiency of the machinery.

We all know about the dictum of 'small is beautiful'. But Fujitsu has rather notched it up a level by embodying 'small is beautiful and advanced', with their F-07C dual boot smartphone. This contraption is fascinatingly infused with two operating systems of Windows 7 (the PC version!) and Symbian. Quite adroitly, an in-built mechanism allows us to practically switch between a smartphone mode (in Symbian OS) and a mini-computer mode (in Windows OS).

If you are all up for a boisterous laptop system that has 3D viewing as its integral part (which comes along with the glasses), the Sony VAIO F 3D is certainly for you. Coming with a hefty cost of $1799, the machine does have the adequate 'power train' to back it up. The classy design is complimented by a quad-core Core i7 processor, a Blu-ray drive, and Nvidia graphics. Yes, the battery life is on the lower side, but the robust processing attribute ardently makes up for it.

Since we are talking about 3D viewing, Nintendo brought us to the realm of three dimensional gaming with their 3DS portable console. Touted as autostereoscopic device, the console allows us to experience 3D effects, without the requirement of those cumbersome glasses. Moreover, this portable console also has backward compatibility, which means it can support Nintendo's very own DSi software (launched in 2008).

Researchers at IBM have ingeniously contrived their version of computer chips that replicate the biological brain, on basis of its functionality. Following the arrangement of neurons and synapses of animal brains, the chips are infused with 256 digital neurons, complimented with conventional features like memory, communication controllers and other standard components. Though, 256 is too low, a number for an advanced brain (such as human), the technology is certainly a big step, as it clearly exhibits the achievable 'intelligence' by just silicon fabrication.

Cloud computing basically entails a IT based service, which allows you to have easy access to web-based tools or applications via the internet, as if they were locally installed on your personal computer. Alluding to much improved mobility and large scale collaboration, these type of services actually boost up business related applications. In relation to this, we as consumers can get real time info and product upgrades regarding a myriad of collectively net based companies and software.