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Have we really invented most of what there was to invent? Unlikely, but big new products have gotten fewer and far between. And in 2013, various big tech launches landed with varying thuds. Both hardware (HP's Chromebook 11, Nintendo's Wii U console, the Surface tablet) and software.
BlackBerry's much-awaited BB10 operating system launched in January, but fizzled out, crushed by unexciting, overpriced products. Windows 8, launched the previous year, flopped, and in an ever-so-unrelated move, Microsoft's Steve Ballmer announced that he would step down next year.
Yet there were some great gadgets this year: many new-and-improved ones, and a few all-new products. Here's my pick of five that rocked.
The iPad Air
The Air shows us what 2013 was mostly about: improvements. If Apple's new iPhones were totally underwhelming, it made up with the iPad Air.
This is an overhauled iPad that looks like a big iPad Mini. It's the lightest 10-inch tablet around. It's super-thin, though at 7.5 mm it's beaten by the FTV-model-like Sony Xperia Tablet Z (6.9 mm).
Sadly, the iPad Air is way overpriced, at Rs 51,900 in India for the 32 GB cellular model. And it retains its 5 Mp camera, instead of moving up to the iPhone...