The 12 Most Anticipated Gadgets of 2012

Image via Complex Original

The consumer electronics industry is a two-sided coin. On one hand it's amazing because of its constant, breathless innovation and improvement. Year after year companies manage to blow our minds with advancements many of us didn't think were possible. Remember the first time you saw the Motorola RAZR or the Apple iPhone? On the flip, that same drive to do better, make thinner, and go faster leaves many products obsolete shortly after it arrives on your doorstep. But that's the game we play, right? Right. You don't have to buy a new phone in 2012 if the one you copped in '11 is still working fine. Same goes with your laptop, TV, and camera. If what you got is good, then good. However, once you check out the following 12 highly anticipated gadgets dropping in 2012, you change your tune. 

12. Sony PlayStation Vita

Expected release: February 22, 2012

The true follow-up to the PlaysStation Portable is finally hitting American shores in 2012, and for the looks of it, it will be the portable gaming console to have. Why? Lets start with the display. Sony's outfitting the Vita with a five-inch OLED multi-touch touchscreen that will sport a resolution of 960x554. "Breathtaking" is the word people are using to describe it. Input is handled via the touchscreen, the D-pad, the two analog sticks, the cool rear touchpad, and the PS buttons. Then there's the quad-core ARM processor, and the quad-core graphics processor making sure everything churns smoothly along. Yeah, Sony once again created another proprietary media on which to release games and software, but we won't let that prevent it from being great.

11. Microsoft Kinect for PCs

Expected release: Early 2012

Back in November, Microsoft announced that it was working to make its Kinect motion-sensing device compatible with PCs running its Windows 7 operating system. The company really didn't have a choice: Ever since the device hit stores in 2010, people have been hacking the Kinect to do a whole host of new things, including the ability to run on machines other than the Xbox 360. To aid with the transition, Microsoft is also modifying the software developer kit so programmers can create apps that work with Kinect. We can only imagine what kind of dope programs will be released. The Kinect paired with a PC has the potential to be a game-changer.

10. New Apple MacBooks with Retina Display

Expected release: June

Apple's Retina Display, found on the iPhone 4/4S, is incredible. Crisp, clear, bright, and vivid, it's hailed as the best phone display money can buy. So it's no wonder customers have been clamoring for the technology to find its way to other Apple products. The iPad 3 is rumored to sport a Retina Display, but that's to be expected. More unexpected is the rumor that has the next-gen of MacBook Pros (and possibly the MacBook Air) getting the high-res displays. If the MacBooks do get the Retina Display, rumors have the resolution being an awesome 2880x1800. Wild.

9. Quad-Core Smartphones

Expected release: Spring

The smartphone is considered to be the new personal computer. We don't believe that, but we understand the sentiment. But imagine if your phone was as powerful as a computer. They soon may be. NVIDIA's Tegra 3 processor, announced late last year, is a quad-core chip. For comparison purposes, the iPhone 4S has a dual-core chip. The Tegra 3 promises a huge leap in performance and battery life. Manufactures like HTC have already announced that they had quad-core phones in the stash for 2012. Motorola's Atrix didn't work as a computer when docked into the lapdock due to its hardware limitations. With such a powerful chip, phones may actually be able to double as a computer.

8. Amazon Kindle Fire 2

Expected release: TBD

We know, we know: Amazon only just released the Kindle Fire less than three months ago. The chances of Amazon dropping a follow-up to its first tablet are slim at best, but rumors of a companion tablet are still swirling. Reports have Amazon gearing up to drop a larger Kindle Fire that addresses some of the original Fire's shortcomings like the lack of physical volume buttons. Amazon was able to deliver the only serious competitor to the market-leading iPad, we can only imagine what it has in store.

7. LG 55-Inch OLED HDTV

Expected release: TBD

Here's the great thing about technology: It gets cheaper every year. Most people got wind of TVs built around organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays in 2007 when Sony introduced the XEL-1, an 11-inch TV that would carry a $2,500 price tag when released a year later. The picture clarity and high contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1 blew people's minds. However, because of the high cost and small size the excitement behind OLEDs petered out. Five years later LG is attempting to reignite the flame with its 55-inch OLED HDTV. Sporting a display that's as vivid and crisp as the Sony offering, LGs borderless TV is simply amazing. Looking as an image is floating in mid-air, the TV is thinner than most phones and weighs only 16.5 pounds. LG said the reason it was able to make the TV was due to the dropping production prices. But don't expect this set to be cheap: You want the cutting edge, you're gonna have to pay. Though for something this dope, we don't see that being a problem.

6. Google Nexus Tablet

Expected release: TBD

Last year wasn't a good one for tablets running Google's Android OS. While Apple sold over 40 million iPads in 2011, less than four million Android tablets were sold. Google wants to change that. The company's executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, let it slip that Google was working on a tablet to live along side its Nexus line of smartphones. Anyone who has used a Google Nexus phone can tell you that they deliver the best, most pure Android experience. Besides the hardware usually being state of the art, the software is exactly as Google wanted it to be. There's no bloatware or unwanted apps, no software UI overlay to confuse the navigation and experience. Just Android. The way its supposed to be.

5. FujiFilm X-Pro 1

Expected release: TBD

FujiFilm had one hell of a 2011. The Japanese camera maker, seemingly out of nowhere, reinvigorated its brand with the X100—or, as we like to call it, the Camera of the Year. Looking to keep the momentum going in the new year, Fuji is working on a 16 megapixel mirrorless camera dubbed the X-Pro1. Sporting a retro, rangefinder design, the X-Pro1 will be made of metal and use a series of metal lenses which will all use Fuji's proprietary X-Mount. After the X100 and the X10 we can't possibly see how the X-Pro1 will be a disappointment. Start saving your pennies, kids.

4. Apple iPad 3

Expected release: Spring

Despite the iPad 2 coming out last year, the press and analysts are all but certain that Apple will realize the follow up in 2012. Some believe Apple will release a smaller iPad that will do battle against the lower-priced Android tablets, while others believe it will just update it will newer technology and features. We don't really care. As long as it has a Retina Display we'll be happy campers and a the rumored A6 quad-core processor we'll be happy campers.

3. Samsung Galaxy S III

Expected release: February

Samsung's flagship phone, the Galaxy S proved that an Android phone could go up against the iPhone. Now on its second iteration, the Galaxy is always released with the latest and greatest gadgetry under its plastic skin. The S III will be no different. The phone is expected to be a complete behemoth of a handset, according to Korean news site, ETNews. There will be a Super AMOLED Plus HD display with a resolution of 1280x720! It will also have a quad-core processor, and a staggering 2 GB of RAM. Unlike the Google Galaxy Nexus, the S III will have a 12-megapixel camera, making it one of the best mobile phone shooters money can buy.

2. Apple iTV

Expected release: TBD

Television is the last realm left for Apple to revolutionize. Before he passed away, Steve Jobs told his biographer, Walter Isaacson, that he had figured out what an Apple-branded TV should be. Rumors have been going for years about whether or not Apple was going to release a TV, but after that revelation, the mill went into high gear. Analysts began analyzing suppliers to see if anything could be gleaned from Apple's purchasing. Reporters tried getting sources close to the situation to crack and spill some details. Yet, we still don't know much about the TV other than it will probably be great. Here's what we think will happen: Apple will release an Internet-connected TV that will allow consumers to fully-customize their viewing experience by choosing what channels they want to pay for, and deciding how and when they watch their shows and movies. It will more than likely feature some version of the company's voice-recognition software Siri that will give users a new, novel way to control their TVs. It very well could be a flop, but we doubt it.

1. Apple iPhone 5

Expected release: Fall

Despite not having 4G, near-field communication, a giant screen, or other nascent mobile technologies, no other phone offers a better user experience than the iPhone. That said, some people believe the iPhone 4/4S is getting long in the tooth. The design, with is elegant glass and brushed metal, is said to be dated and old. The screen is said to be too small to enjoy movies and shows purchased from iTunes. The iPhone 5 is said to address most of the shortcomings people have been griping about. In usual Apple fashion, if an iPhone 5 is released it will sport at least one or two novel features that will intensify the other upgrades. However, while we will gladly welcome an iPhone with a quad-core processor, a bigger display, and a new thinner design, we hope the great user experience doesn't get tossed out with the bath water.