CRN 2007 Products Of The Year

It just never stopped during 2007. From the unveiling of the Apple iPhone to the launch of Microsoft Vista, to the emergence of AMD's Barcelona chips into the marketplace, the new products and launches and announcements and solutions just kept coming.

Keeping up to date with the fast-and-furious changes to platforms and functionality - - and their implications for the IT channel - - meant we never had the chance to slow down. And, if you're in the industry, neither did you.

Even as we wrapped up this Product of the Year 2007 special report, we were kicking the tires of new products, looking under the hood and seeing which had the most horsepower, offered the best mileage per gallon and delivered the whiz-bang features. When we finally had a chance to look in the rearview mirror at all of the products and technologies that made a difference this year, we found ourselves with a tough task.

It was the year of Microsoft's Vista. It was also the year of Apple's Leopard. So what was the best operating system of 2007?

Intel's vPro thrashed the rest of the desktop market this year, but Barcelona grabbed its share of attention.

Facebook. Windows Live. VMware. Once again, software became cool and, in some cases, potential game-breakers. Picking an application of the year wasn't easy. Nor was it a simple task to a favorite notebook, a category that has continued to dominate growth in the PC segment over desktops.

Desktops themselves got smaller, more powerful and cooler (both from a thermal and cultural point of view). And they've become even more attractive targets to spammers and hackers, so picking a security product that stood out above all others was a challenge-and-a-half.

Slide Show: 10 Best Products Of 2007

But the more difficult our job in making these choices, the better it is for the industry and the more value solution providers can deliver to customers. So while 2007 was a hectic year for all of us, it was a monumental one for the industry.

So what do you think was the Chip of the Year? Application of the Year? Operating System of the Year for 2007? We did our level best to sort through all of the products we have reviewed this year and present choices that may prompt discussion, debate or disagreement. But let us all agree on one thing: We hope 2008 will keep us just as busy with great technology, products and solutions.

Next: Security Product of the Year