Devised by a panel of T3 tech experts, the annual Hot 100 is now in its ninth year. Traditionally focusing on product, 2014’s list has evolved to represent how technology is in everything we do and how it is shaping our everyday lives. There are no rumours or speculation – everything on the list is confirmed and coming out either right now, this year or next, says T3.
Google is this year’s number one. From Google Cars, Gmail and Google Docs, to being at the forefront of wearable tech with Google Glass and giving mobile devices human-scale understanding of space and motion with Project Tango, Google is ever-present in many of our everyday lives. Its innovative nature and purchasing of companies such as Nest Labs, the home thermostat and smoke alarm purveyors, who on its own merit are 14 in the list, only reinforces Google’s influence.
Matt Hill, T3 Editor of Magazine and Digital Editions, says, "Google has so many fingers in so many hot tech pies, either of their own creation, through strategic partnerships or via forward-looking investments, it can be almost dizzying to keep up with. But all the year's biggest trends – connected cars, wearable tech, the connected home and space exploration – have Google at their centre, and pretty much every piece of tech you touch this year will be shaped by it in some way."
In summary…
The Hot 100 identifies clear trends for the coming year. Wearable tech features heavily and shows a mass growth market in many sectors. Fitness accessories such as Fitness Bands (38) have numerous brands set to release their latest versions imminently; the Garmin Forerunner 620 (71) fitness tracking training watch predicts your future recovery times, and the LG HRM Earphones (31) measure blood flow and how much oxygen you take on board. Humble footwear features twice in the form of the Nike Free 3.0 Flyknit (39) running shoe and Adidas Samba Primeknit (79) football boot.
Away from fitness, headsets beaming media directly into your eyeballs feature in many forms. Smartglasses (65) are coming in many forms, Google once again lead the way, but by no means are they the only ones, with clones coming in the shape of Vuzix M100, Epson Moverio BT-200, Recon Jet, Lumus’ Meta Pro and Epiphany Eyewear. The Oculus Rift (10) headset is going to make gaming an even more immersed activity, with PlayStation also set to release their own headset, Project Morpheus, in the next twelve months, and the Avegant Glyph (57) headphones come with Virtual Retina Display.
Home and cars are becoming ever more connected with mobile tech life. From fridges to washing machines, The Internet Of Things (14) represents the raft of connectable home goods on, or about to be on, the market, highlighting the aforementioned Nest Labs as a current stand out. This trend is also represented with the Samsung WW9000 (41) washing machine that allows you to control it from your smartphone. At number 3 is The Connected Car, another trend that looks set to revolutionise your everyday life. In-Car innovation such as Apple’s latest offering, CarPlay, makes the car another extension of the smartphone.
The highest ranked product is the HTC One M8 smartphone (2). Its predecessor, the HTC One, was a multiple winner at the T3 Gadget Awards 2013 picking up Phone of the Year, the T3 Design Award and the evenings main award Gadget of the Year. The HTC One M8, which was launched only days ago (25th March), is one of only four phones in the Hot 100 along side Samsung Mobile (6) which incorporates the Galaxy S5, the Sony Xperia Z2 (40) and the uber-security conscious Blackphone (63).
With 2014 looking set to be one of the most innovative and important to the gaming industry in years, it’s hugely prevalent in the top ten. PlayStation once again beats Xbox in the battle of the consoles and is highest placed at number five for its total gaming products, whilst Xbox comes in at 17, and is also four places below Titanfall (13), the Xbox One exclusive game. Steam Machines, the purpose built devices for Steam, who look set to enter the console battle by bringing PC gaming to your TV, are placed at number nine, with Oculus Rift - the next-generation, virtual reality headset - at ten.
The full Hot 100 list is in T3 magazine and digital editions from 27th March and on the T3 website.
