December 10, 2010
1 min read
Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAmSciAm's 2010 Gadget Guide: 10 Gizmos Taking Digital Learning and Entertainment to the Next Level [Slide Show]
Big pop-tech dominated the headlines this year, so we present an array of mainly pint-size products that may have sneaked under your radar
By Larry Greenemeier
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
Apple's iPad and Microsoft's Kinect for Xbox 360 (formerly Project Natal) may have taken the spotlight in the world of digital wonder this year, but there are plenty of other cool technologies to go around. Some, such as Literacy Bridge's Talking Book and GeoPalz's kid-friendly pedometers, are targeted at a very specific audience whereas others, including a solar-powered portable digital sound system and a low-cost high-definition Web camera, have much broader appeal. Still others, for example the treadmill desktop, are decidedly low-tech but no less interesting. This year, there's even a gadget to help your favorite golfer improve his or her swing.
View a slide show of the 2010 Scientific American Gadget Guide
Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism
Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.
When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.
Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber