Hottie Neha Dhupia presents the hottest gadgets '09!

In their latest issue, gizmo magazine Stuff India presents the best gadget innovations of 2009 -- and they got the lovely Neha Dhupia to pose with some of the must-buys!

If you're springing for any tech toys this festive season, these experts will tell you just which items will give you value for money. So read on to get started on everything from the best cellphones to dream machines!

HTC Hero
Rs 31,990
www.htc.com/in

No smartphone floored us the way the Hero did this year. It transformed Google's Android OS from also-ran into genuine contender, and proved its mettle by squaring up to the iPhone 3GS without the slightest whimper. Sure, the iPhone may have sold by the tankerload and wowed us with its apps, but it was an evolution of an already excellent gadget. Conversely, our Hero came from nowhere with its social networking integration, its multi-touch interface and superior multimedia skills. It's the only mobile we'd consider getting over an iPhone -- and that's really saying something.

Highly commended:

iPhone 3G
Nokia N97
Samsung OmniaHD
Sony Ericsson W995

Samsung UA55B8000
Rs 3,50,000
samsung.com/in

Gadgets often skirt frustratingly close to perfection. They either have the looks, functionality and most of the quality; the functionality and quality and most of the looks; the quality...you get the idea. The UA55B8000 bucks the trend. Just 29mm thick, this LED-backlit TV provides a vast gamut of rich colours and abyssal blacks, while 200Hz processing makes it ideal for watching the footy. Through its Ethernet port you can stream news, YouTube videos and Flickr photos, and it'll hook up to your computer to borrow media. Bells, whistles, looks and performance: this one's got the lot.

Highly commended:

Sony KLV-40ZX1
Panasonic Viera TH-P54Z1N
Philips BDP7500
One for All XSight Colour

Nintendo Wii Motion Plus & Wii Sports Resort
Rs 3,200
www.nintendo.com

They say the original is best, and whoever they are, they're often right. Try as Nintendo might, it simply couldn't trump Wii Sports (the freebie bundled with every Wii console, making it the best-selling game ever). Until this year, that is. Thanks to the added accuracy afforded by the Motion Plus accessory, Sports Resort takes the fun of Wii Sports and ramps it up several notches. You owe it to yourself to play Frisbee on the beach, beat your foes with a padded stick, and wakeboard around the island. For once, it's the original, but better.

Highly commended:

Logitech Guitar Hero
Controller
Nintendo DSi
MTA-4 Sledge Hammer S50
Logitech Driving Force GT

Apple iPod Nano
Rs 9,500
www.apple.com/in

Others may try and falter, but the iPod continues to forge its way through the thick of mediocrity with every new generation. For every foul cry of its critics, Apple has injected the new Nano with a fitting reply. So you want FM radio and want to record it? Check. You want video recording and add cool effects on the fly? Check. You want voice control with voice recording too? Check. You want all this to fit in a sliver of gloss metal thinner than sliced cheese? Almost check. Now what's your excuse for not running out to get one? It's got a pedometer too, to check how much fat you burnt while shopping!

Highly commended:

Apple iPod Touch
Cowon iAudio S9
Sony Walkman X-Series

Sony DSC WX-1
Rs 19,990
www.sony.co.in

Probably the most contested category this year, the Sony indeed deserves the gong for giving us a camera that is pocketable yet delivers results worthy of SLRs and, may we say, with low-light performance to beat the living daylights out of them! It's armed with several rounds of ammo that are most impressive in the hands of an amateur, among which the sweep panorama and face detection stand out the most. Pack in HD video recording and you have a cam that ain't no sham.

Highly commended:

Fujifilm F200EXR
Canon Powershot G10
Creative Vado HD
Nikon D5000
Olympus Pen E-P1

Map My India LX130
Rs 11,990
mapmyindia.com

What's the price you'd pay to get out of a sticky situation? Like, literally...getting lost in the middle of Siliguri and Gangtok in muck, without a soul in sight for directions isn't very wise. So then, Rs 12,000 isn't too much to ask for turn-by-turn directions vocalised by a seemingly infuriated but well-informed lady. Map My India promises to have mapped more than 400 cities across India as accurately as the ever-changing suburban road network will allow, bringing all of it to coloured life on a 3.5in touchscreen and a pocketable size that could even be used for mo-bikes!

Highly commended:

Nokia N97
GoGo India G35

BMW Z4
Rs 59,00,000
www.bmw.in

After the pink trousered Z3 and the pseudo-Bond carrier that followed, BMW has finally realised the true potential of the roadster with the new Z4. Like Beethoven's Fifth, only made of lightweight aluminium, it cuts through air like poetry in motion while its folds and creases create a symphony of asymptotic surfaces...regardless of the hard-top's position. It is also the first BMW to use a twin-clutch system that doesn't interrupt the flow of goosebump-inducing torque from the twin-turbo, 306bhp inline-6 engine. The most stylish way to arrive at an event this year!

Highly commended:

Samsung DVD-F1080
Asus Designo MS Series
Dell Adamo
Apple Magic Mouse

Monster Beats Studio
Rs 25,000
beatsbydre.com

Beats became an instant international rage right upon launch and for good reason too. Active noise-cancellation keeps the noise out and the tunes in with punchy and detailed sound. Dr Dre's tuning forks have given the Beats Studio a sheen that hides a delicate delivery behind a glossy skin. Monster even supplies two different kinds of antimicrobial cleaning cloths with the box, so you never ever have to visit the wrong kind of doc...

Highly commended:

B&O Beosound 5
Motorola MotoAura
Sonus Faber Amati
Tag Heuer Meridist

Amazon Kindle
Rs 13,000
www.amazon.com

Looking intellectual no longer means carrying a khadi sling with a shoulder smashing luggage of Tolkien's best. Amazon's Kindle e-book reader is now ready to be delivered across the globe and you could order your favourite book and be reading it while your instant soup simmers to perfection. Download times may vary but we're more excited about the way it can change your reading habits altogether. The 6in anti-glare screen simulates the feeling of reading on real paper and the battery lasts for an entire reading of the Lord of the Rings. For something that is thinner than most magazines, the Kindle is a game-changing gadget that will redefine future bookworms.

Highly commended:

Apple iPhone 3G
Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D W1
Olympus PEN E-P1
Sony KDL-40WE5