Jonathan Gaw, Research Manager at IDC made a bold prediction about the future of wireless networking: "What’s going to make the difference with routers and residential gateways is ... the software built into them that allows the consumer to manage their network and applications in an easy-to-use package."

True innovations don’t simply improve what has come before. They surprise. They delight. They open your mind to new possibilities. These characteristics are key to the products that made our list. We evaluated hundreds of new portable devices and software, and each of our groundbreaking picks had all three traits in common. These wireless gadgets and services do justice to the word innovation.