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What a year it’s been for gadgets. We saw the second coming of the Jesus phone, the toppling of Canon as the premier DSLR maker and the first short wobbly steps of the Android OS. We also saw the fall of the economy, which may or may not have jump-started the rise of the netbook. Hey, we’re gadgetheads here, not economists.

You’ve got to admit, this has been a turbulent 366 days for technology. But as we’ve seen a torrent of gizmos come blasting through the Lab, there are a few that stand out above the rest. Here we list our favorite pieces of technology that were tested, released or announced in twenty-ought-eight.

10. Analog: The Herman Miller Embody Chair

Left: It may not have an accelerometer. Or an OLED. Or lasers. Or image-stabilization. You can’t even plug it in to an electric socket. But the Herman Miller Embody chair has got its back (and yours) covered with meticulous engineering. The thing is adjustable to Asberger’s levels of obsession; controls exist to cradle your lumbar, hips and neck. Plus the multilayered seat absorbs even the most microscopic shifts in weight, cupping your derriere no matter how much (or little) you move. It’s the greatest breakthrough in ass-to-comfort technology since, well, the Aeron chair.

: Photo by David Clugston

When was the last time you strapped on a set of noise-canceling headphones, turned on some “Straight Outta Compton,” and got smacked in the head by deep, resonant bass? Never? That’s because (until recently) no set of noise-canceling cans could bring the low-end thump. Leave it to a collaboration between the masters of sound at Monster Cable and the meticulous master of hip-hop, Dr. Dre, to produce a set of headphones like the Beats. These black and red over-the-ear ‘phones feature a customized 40mm driver and a souped-up digital amplifier that sends bass deeper than the Marianas Trench directly into your cabesa.

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Honda’s hybrid has pedigree — the Insight has been around since 1999 — but Toyota’s goofy-looking Prius has been the go-to car for smug environmental apologists. That’s about to change. The 2010 Insight will bring great mileage to the masses with an expected selling price of $18,500 — a full $3,500 less than the entry-level Prius.

But cheapness alone isn’t enough to earn a car a place in our top 10 lineup. The 2010 Insight also features a dashboard display straight out of Battlestar Galactica, making heavy use of ambient cues to keep your right foot light on the go-pedal.

In fact, the only thing we don’t like is the shell. The Prius was a hit partly because it looked so different on the road. The Insight looks almost exactly the same as Toyota’s green-mobile. But then, maybe that’s the point.

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2008 saw a rash of cheap, YouTube-ready camcorders that could be had for less than a couple of hundred bucks. Mostly, these one-shot wonders were crap. Not the Zi6. Infused with Kodak imaging pedigree, this pleasantly plump handheld shoots with sharper detail and richer color than any other cam of its ilk. (The popular Flip Mino HD is prettier, but its videos look far worse.) Couple that with a dead-simple setup and you have to wonder why anyone would shell out thousands of dollars for a camcorder that will almost undoubtedly be used to upload vacation videos to the web.

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As with any tech involving lasers, you’ll need to have a Bond-villain-size bank account to afford it. But once you’ve dropped your $7,000 and got it back to your underground lair, you’ll see what all the fuss was about. The Mitsubishi LaserVue has twice as much color as any other TV due to the lasers providing the light. The size of the rear-projection TV is equally ambitious: Sizes start at a whopping 50 inches.

But unlike a real Bond villain, you won’t be destroying the world; you’ll be saving it. The LaserVue uses a third less power than rival sets and the lasers inside are long-lasting. Besides, what else do you need to know? It has frakkin’ lasers!

: Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com

Back in May, we described the Roku Netflix box as “Just Shy of Totally Amazing,” and it’s easy to see why. The tiny, plain-looking box sits next to your TV and gives you on-demand access to thousands of movies. You have to be a Netflix subscriber, but if you are, you can watch as many Hollywood blockbusters as you can take.

The $100 box keeps getting better, too, with HD movies expected soon. In fact, with all the big players (Microsoft, Hulu) racing to get onto your TV via the internet, it seems the geek-friendly DVD-by-mail company was planning this right from the beginning.

: Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

The Chumby brought the friendlier face of the internet into our homes, and it did it while disguised as a teddy bear for the 21st century. It took the concept of the widget and turned it into an easy-to-use hub for home entertainment.

The $180 touchscreen and leather pet is a gateway to streaming-music services, weather reports, news and video. Better still, the soft little box is based on Linux, so you can bend Chumby to your will, serving up anything it can suck in via its WiFi connection. As a bonus, you can even hook up an iPod. Time to nail shut the pet door and decommission the dog.

: Photo: Max Buck/Wired.com

Manufacturers squeezed off a lot of cellphones in 2008. But all of them lacked something. The iPhone 3G? Atrocious battery life. The BlackBerry Storm? Half-baked software. The G1? Great OS shackled with borderline embarrassing hardware. But the E71 is different. The gorgeously designed handset also comes with a fully developed operating system (replete with a dedicated user community), two separate home screens, a QWERTY keyboard where touch typing was not some half-remembered fever dream, plus a battery life that could be measured in days, not hours. Any wonder why we ditched our iPhone and picked up one of these babies?

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In 2008, Nikon staged a comeback worthy of Rocky Balboa. With the new flagship, full-frame D3, the see-in-the-dark D700 and the brand-new medium-format wannabe D3X, Nikon has been roundly kicking arch-rival
Canon’s butt.

The biggest surprise, though, was the D90, the first digital SLR to shoot video — and high-def, 720p video to boot. The advantage of relatively cheap, interchangeable SLR lenses together with a Hollywood-style shallow focus not available on even high-end consumer camcorders made the Nikon a must-have for budget movie makers. And that’s before we even get to the 12.3-megapixel still images it takes. Sure, Canon answered back with its own hi-def, 1080p camera, the 5D MkII, but Canon’s model costs almost three times as much.

: Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Netbooks: Was there a PC maker (with the exception of Apple) that resisted cultivating one of these tiny titans in 2008? For the most part, the netbook “revolution” has meant a tidal wave of underpowered, mediocre plastic boxes. But it was the MSI Wind that separated itself from the chaff. Sure, we tested other netbooks that performed faster, or had prettier chassis, or came loaded with more memory. But the Wind gets the top prize for two reasons: It’s an incredibly balanced rig that also happens to be highly hackable. Prompted by a dedicated (and slightly rabid) Wind user community, our own Brian Chen and Charlie Sorrell both managed to supplant the Wind’s Linux-based OS with Apple’s OS X on their respective machines.

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The Top Gadgets of 2008

Sure, you can get a Shelby GT500 Super Snake model from your local hobby shop, but this model by Flickr user Firas Abu-Jaber could be the most detailed LEGO car ever. Featuring a full interior, racing stripes, and even an engine. Continue reading for more pictures. Click here to view them in gallery format. (Thanks, Kristin)

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Feature: Incredible LEGO Shelby GT500 Super Snake Model

Currently at $590 on eBay , the Gibson Robot Guitar “uses an onboard computer to automatically tune itself without the need for an electronic tuner.” Aucton page . Video after the break. The non-limited edition SG and LP Studio are available in a variety of finishes. The Flying V and Explorer are only available in metallic red

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eBay Watch: Gibson Robot Guitar

If you’ve been wondering if “Kim’s Terran hold off Cooper’s Protoss onslaught.” Hit the jump to see “Browder and Simpson comment.” This game is still set for release in 2009.

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StarCraft 2 – Kim vs. Cooper Battle Report

The 2009 Porsche Carrera 911 S Cabriolet boasts a PDK transmission, which has the “ability to snap off shifts 60 percent faster than the Tiptronic and faster, in fact, than any human using a manual transmission, and those who relish pure performance will love this.” Video after the break. Click here for first picture in gallery.

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2009 Porsche Carrera 911 S Cabriolet Track Test

This monitor mod could be the perfect computer setup for Steampunk fans. Featuring “a full-fledged PC, speakers and LCD (obviously).” Click here for first picture in gallery

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Steampunk Monitor Mod Includes Computer, Speakers

There’s more to playing football in college than a potential NFL contract and a sound education—there’s stacks of free gear and gadgets to be had too! Just as an example, the players that butt heads in the Rose Bowl will receive a package that includes: # Sony DVD camcorder # Commemorative Fossil watch # Commemorative Ogio backpack # Commemorative New Era 5950 fitted hat # Commemorative plaque # Commemorative autograph football # One-year subscription to ESPN the Magazine And the title game between Florida and Oklahoma? Try a $300 Sony Gifting Suite (player’s choice up to $300 in Sony electronics), a Tourneau Watch, and a Blockbuster video movie rental subscription. Even the lowly Poinsettia Bowl, which I hadn’t heard of until today, nets players an iPod touch and some Best Buy gift cards.

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Play In a College Football Bowl Game, Get Piles of Free Gear [Swag]

Roku owners were greeted with a brand new home screen this morning as the service was updated to handle HD video and a expansion that could see new channels and web content on your TV. According to NewTeeVee, the new screen was accompanied by a welcome message: By now you’ve discovered our new home screen

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Roku Player Gets Update for Netflix HD, Future Service Expansion [Roku]

As someone who’s ended up on the wrong end of clamshell packaging, I welcome all news about manufacturers that abandon the practice. Sony did just that this week (but the video still needs work). As we reported yesterday, Sony is but one of several big name companies that have pledged an end to wasteful, destructive clamshell product packaging. Others include Amazon, Microsoft and Best Buy

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Sony Declares Death to Clamshell Packaging by Way of Campy Video [Packaging]

This video is the first public demo of the iPhone 3G unlock, named “yellowsn0w”, courtesy of Dev-Team member MuscleNerd . With a wave of his hand, he goes from AT&T to T-Mobile, and makes a call.

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Dev-Team Shows Live iPhone 3G Unlock ‘Yellowsn0w’ Demo [IPhone 3G]