Best Gadgets Of 2012

As the holiday shopping season nears the tech lovers in your life are probably salivating over all of the amazing electronic toys that have went on sale this year. If you’re hopelessly lost when it comes to finding the best gadgets of 2012 for your loved ones we have compiled a list that examines four very cool pieces of gadget technology that geeks have been salivating over for the last 10 months.

Lytro Light-Field Camera

With most cameras you focus the shot, take the picture and deal with the results for the rest of your life. Lytro isn’t your typical camera. Using a process known as “light-field” the camera captures the total visual depth of a scene.

After taking a photo the user than then click on different parts of the digital picture to focus on that section of the image.

You can try the Lytro focus setup HERE.

DISH Network ‘Hopper’ Service With PrimeTime Anytime

When DVR systems arrived the first thought on many people’s minds was “I wish I could just push a button and skip the commercials.” Fast forward to 2012 and Dish Network made that commercial skipping option a reality.

Known as ‘Hopper‘ the service allows users to skip commercials for shows they recorded earlier in the day.

What might be most revolutionary however is the networks ability to offering a service called “PrimeTime Anytime,” which records every single prime time show on all four major networks automatically in high-definition. All of those shows remain on the users system for eight day, ensuring you never miss a show you forgot to record.

This offering is both a service (Hopper) and a gadget (DVR Hopper system).

Samsung Galaxy S III

The Samsung Galaxy S III is everything the iPhone 5 wants to be.  Aside from featuring Google Maps (something Apple wishes it still had at the moment) the device is one of the most powerful and user friendly Google Android based smartphones on the market. Major features on the Galaxy S III includes:

• 4G LTE* for high-speed downloads
• Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) OS
• 4.8″ HD Super AMOLED 720p display
• S Voice enables voice-activated functionality
• National retail exclusive** marble white for Sprint

The Galaxy S III also features NFC capabilities which allows users to make payments with their phones, transfer funds between devices and even wirelessly sync playlists and other information.

The Galaxy S III also features a very nice 8MP camera with reaf-facing flash and 1080p video recording capabilities. The smartphone also offers a front facing camera with 1.9MP output.

Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch With GlowLight

E-readers with e-ink technology are found everywhere these days, the GlowLight technology found on the Barnes & Noble Nook with GlowLight however is different.

While e-readers were formerly only available for daytime/lit reading the new Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight offers an easy on the eyes display light for nighttime reading.

What might be most impressive is that even with the GlowLight the device could last hundreds of hours without a single charge.

From Smartphones and cameras to DVRs and eReaders 2012 has proven to be a good year for gadgets in general. Choose one of the pieces of technology listed above and your significant other will be sure to thank you.

[Images via TechCrunch, Connect Your Home, BGR, and Device Mag ]