Best Tech of 2011 Awards
Best Earbuds: Shure SE215 Earbuds I have found the greatest affordable earphones ever at only $100. After a few days of auditioning, an audiophile friend of mine confirmed their greatness and thought they’d cost $500. Aurally, they have a beautifully wide and airy soundstage — they’re sound-isolating but you don't feel claustrophobic. With the wide soundstage you get great presence and detail, crisp yet smooth but without the treble peaks other ’phones foist on your ears. There’s just enough bass — and my audiophile friend loves house music — with none of the overbearing boominess found in other "beat"-heavy phones. Physically, you drop them behind and over your ears and they lie naturally in your lobes and canals (tip: choose the right size earbud) — you can lie on your ear and not puncture your head. Drawback: the in-line iPhone mic and controls cost an extra $50. — Stewart Wolpin
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This isn't your usual "best of 2011" list. This year, instead of sitting back and taking in the breadth of gadgetry released in 2011 and trying to parse the merits of this smartphone or that computer, we're going to tell you about the technology we're actually using that came out in 2011. For us, what you see here is the best in class because it actually impacted our technological lives in a meaningful way. Everything on this list is something we got our hands on and then continued to use, or something we've spent extensive time with and we think is important for what it represents. So kick back, take a gander at our picks, and then tell us in the comments below what technology you picked up in 2011 that you found worthwhile. Evan Ackerman, Stewart Wolpin and Raymond Wong contributed to this post.
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