Products of the Year: Christmas Gift Guide 2009

By the time 2009 is out, our teams of over twenty journalists, technicians and engineers will have tested just short of six hundred pieces of equipment, including everything from televisions to digital cameras and mobile phones to laptop computers.  We asked each one of them to produce a wish list of the products in their own area.  

Looking over their selections, we can say that the key idea in 2009 has been about saving:

• saving energy to start with.  Vague promises about green products have begun to be put into action.  We've seen products with better battery life or lower energy consumption, and the use of LEDs, either for lighting or backlighting, is often why.
• saving space, too.  Miniaturization marches on, with compact cameras becoming ever smaller, but so have computers, televisions, camcorders and GPS receivers.
• saving money.  An excellent 40'' TV would have cost £1500 in November 2008, but an equivalent model would now go for less than £1000.  Manufacturers have also worked hard to bring prices down for laptops, 3D graphics cards, monitors and SLRs.

Let's get to work then.  As well as an average of 140 products tested in each category every year, there are also some classics--'old' headphones, games consoles or speakers that are still on sale--and we've chosen the best of them to meet your needs.  Whether you're on a tight budget, looking for something to please an average user, somebody with more skills or a real expert, you'll find what you need.  In each guide, we've chosen a final winner--the present that we'd most like to receive.  Of course, you're free to choose another product if you like, or see how it stacks up against some of its rivals--that's we've also included links to our full collection of tests in every guide.  Enjoy!