Gadget Definition
Gadgets are devices that have been created with a purpose and a function. They are usually of small proportions, convenient, and almost always present a novelty. Many gadgets also have a more creative project than present technology. Gadgets are universal, so they have many replacements: appliances, devices, artifacts, gossip. If you look around, you are sure to have one at hand.
Types Of Gadgets
This term tends to be associated with technological devices such as iPod mobiles or PDAs. And although most of them are unique, the truth is that there are different types of gadgets that have nothing to do with new technologies: electronic gadgets such as radios and devices with integrated circuits, mechanical ones such as bikes, clocks, thermometers or computers, mini-applications called Widgets that facilitate access to frequently used functions.
Etymology Of The Word Gadget
Challenges other theories, such as the one that defends that it had already been used in navigation or the one that ensures that it comes from French-speaking terms. Although there are several models about the etymology of the word gadget, the most popular goes back to the years 1884-1885, when the French company that was in charge of casting the Statue of Liberty, “Gadget, Gauthier & Cia”, decided to sell miniature replicas of the monument to finance the project. The term began to be used and became popular in Anglo-Saxon countries in the 1980s.
Gadgets And Popular Culture
Thanks to popular culture, the word gadget is also used in non-English speaking countries. For example, in France and other European countries, it spread thanks to the cartoon series “Inspector Gadget”, whose protagonist, a clumsy and clueless detective, was equipped with endless gadgets that came out of his hat like a hand with an umbrella. Or a radar (gadget radar).
Also, in movies like “James Bond” or in the “Batman” and “Iron Man” series., we see how the protagonists are always dependent on their equipment and gadgets. On the Internet, there are also multiple websites and blogs dedicated to the world of widgets, another word that many Internet users use to refer to a gadget. Today, any young Internet fan knows how to recognize a device on his computer screen. And anyone between 30 and 40 years old has dreamed of having a gadget or arm.
What are they?
A Gadget is a trick that has a specific purpose and function, generally of small proportions, practical and at the same time innovative. Gadgets often have a more ingenious design than current technology.
Some examples…
Many small technological devices can be consider gadgets, such as mobile phones, remote controls, iPods, PDAs, calculators, watches, etc.
Google also has its sidebar with many (virtual) gadgets that can be use with Windows XP, Windows Vista, Mac and GNU Linux operating systems.
The pen (mechanical pencil), the wrench, the comb, the fork, among many others, also fit within the less technological definition.
Today’s Best Gadgets
TIME magazine made a list of the technological devices that mark the year 2010. The great and famous Apple manage to position four of its products. The iPad was establish as the electronic device of the year. According to the publication. Although it is not the first touchscreen tablet. It did manage to sell 3 million units in just one month.
In the TIME list. The Samsung Galaxy S appears as the second best device of the year. It is one of the main representatives of Android in the smartphone segment, giving the iPhone 4 a tough fight.
The 11-inch MacBook Air is third on the magazine’s list. After the netbook boom, companies once again gave importance to the ultralight segment. In which Apple’s Mac Air 11″ is a worthy exponent. log
Tech Revue is the device that fits in the fourth position. It is use to connect to the new Google TV platform, the new adventure of the computer company that intends to integrate television and the Internet.
Despite not being a bestseller, the Nexus One ranks well on TIME’s list. It is the first smartphone from Google, which has already ordered a new model from Samsung. Therefore, the first representative of Android on the market.
The iPhone 4 is the third Apple device on the list of the most outstanding gadgets of the year. Despite Apple’s innocence in the antenna error. The smartphone immediately caught the attention of users: more than 1.5 million units sold in less than a week.
The Latest Apple Device, In Seventh Place On The List, Is The Apple TV, Which Allows You To Play Content Via Streaming.
Toshiba Libretto occupies the number eight position. It is a 7” dual touch screen tablet, a concept that Acer took and improved with its Iconia: a powerful 14” dual touch screen notebook.
Microsoft’s Kinect is next to last on TIME’s list. The new motion control for the Xbox 360 console is the beginning of the end of manual video game controls. Which led the company to sell millions in a few months.