PcWorlds 100 Best Products of 2007

Each year the editors of PcWorld rank the best PCs, HDTVs, components, sites, and services. Plus: the products they are looking forward to next year, and give insights as to which technologies are rising and falling.

Innovative Web applications, powerful processors, spectacular HDTVs, and creative game consoles--we asked you for your favorites and added lots of our own for our annual roundup of the best hardware, software, and services. Then we looked at each product, rating and debating its design, impact, performance, and value to create our ranking of the best tech products available, from 1 to 100.

Of course, no matter when we plan our best-products story, a few hot contenders--we're looking at you, iPhone--will end up just around the corner. So this year we took time out to run down our five most anticipated products, as well as several hot and not-so-hot technologies. Read on for all that plus slide shows, video, and more.

More on the Best Products of 2007

• The Top 100 Products, in Ranked Order


• The Top 100 Products, in Alphabetical Order


• In Pictures: The Top 20 Products of the Year


• In Pictures: Readers' Picks for Best Products of the Year


• In Pictures: Most Anticipated Products of the Year


• Video: The Best Products of 2007

The Number 1 Product of the Year
Google Apps

1. Google Apps Premier Edition
(Web applications; $50 per user per year) Google is much more than just a search engine, and with its invaluable Google Apps suite, the company is well on its way to challenging Microsoft for productivity-suite supremacy. Google's Docs & Spreadsheets (soon to be joined by a PowerPoint-esque presentation application) already makes for an interesting alternative to Microsoft Office. Combine it with Gmail, Google Talk, and Google Calendar, and suddenly nearly all of your basic productivity programs and data can be available online.

For small businesses that need more than the free versions offer, Google Apps Premier Edition adds capacity, support services, and tools for integrating existing infrastructure so that all your employees can use Google's powerful Web apps--no matter where they are. Printouts may never die, but if Google has its way, the office-less office may become a reality long before the paperless one does.

Next page:The Top 100 Products, Numbers 2 to 10