The Oculus Rift virtual reality gaming device fits directly over your head for immediate transportation to immersive digital worlds such as Titans of Space and Rogue System. Its games are still in the earliest stages and fairly rudimentary, but we got a hands-on in May and came away impressed.
From Vine, to Instagram video, to Snapchat, it's never been easier -- or more popular -- to quickly and simply share short video clips with friends and family. Ordinary people and brands alike have adopted the newly accessible technology in myriad creative ways over the course of 2013.
Plus, without them, we never would have met the dancing machine of viral fame known as Cousin Terio.
After its record-setting Kickstarter campaign, the much-anticipated Pebble smartwatch finally shipped in January. And it has plenty of competition now.
Nevertheless, today's smartwatches are still somewhat clunky, awkward in appearance and not exactly seamless in utility. But remember this: the first cellphones weren't much to write home about either. The smartwatch emergence in 2013 matters as an interesting reference point -- will they eventually reach the smartphone's level of ubiquity?
Google shocked the world by announcing its groundbreaking wearable tech device in 2012, but members of the public finally got their hands on Google Glass in 2013. Singular in its category, the connected glasses represents a new front in how deeply we can expect to integrate electronics into our everyday lives.
While early Glass "explorers" have been first to use the device, Glass will likely be released to the general public early next year. What's more, Samsung is reportedly testing out a competing device now as well.
When Apple announced its iPhone 5S in September, the new phone came with one particularly slick innovation -- a system called Touch ID that scans your fingerprint to unlock the phone when you gently touch the home button. The finger-reading technology promised a new level of ease previously seen almost exclusively in spy movies.
One young girl, however, quickly found a security flaw in highly adorable fashion -- it involved her unsuspecting, napping father. Her finding was harmless enough, however, and Apple was not called upon to respond or make any fixes to the new feature.
Entrepreneur Elon Musk in August unveiled the alpha design for his wildly futuristic Hyperloop high-speed transport system. If successful, the system will transport people at 800 mph, meaning it would be possible to make the approximately six-hour trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles in about half an hour.
Some experts have raised doubts about whether the idea will ever become reality, but one startup has already landed big-time partners and announced an official name: Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Inc.
Microsoft released the Xbox One in November, ending years of angst for gamers who'd been stuck with the Xbox 360 since 2005. The Xbox One features a smooth Kinect integration, which reads users' body motions and hand gestures to help bring gaming, streaming video and live TV all under one powerful umbrella. Unified entertainment has been a hot topic for a few years now, but the Xbox One elevates the concept to a new reality with increased integration and ease of use.
Google and Apple have sought to digitize your wallet for a couple of years now. But a new startup called Coin may have made more realistic progress than either tech giant by simplifying its concept.
Coin can hold info and swipe to pay functionality for up to eight credit cards to offer improved security and slimmed down wallets. It launches next summer, but its announcement video in November generated a mountain of buzz and anticipation among tech-minded consumers, particularly on Twitter.
Like it or not, 2013 has been the year of the selfie. The selfie got its own social network, called Shots of Me, and was named Oxford Dictionaries' Word of the Year.
But no one took selfie-mania as far as the company Planetary Resources, which used Kickstarter to fund a telescope that will deliver you a selfie from space. Submit a shot of yourself and what you'll get in return is a selfie with the Earth and outer space providing one heck of an epic backdrop, as shown in the Grumpy Cat example above.
A year is more like a decade in the world of technology. Think back to last December; our tech-augmented lives were quite different just 12 months ago.
There was no real platform to quickly and easily share social video with family and friends in the way it had taken off with photos, thanks to Instagram. We still hadn't really seen Google Glass in the wild. And the selfie had not yet reached its pandemic proportions of 2013.
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But all that's changed since. Vine, Instagram video and Snapchat have elevated social video to new heights. Glass is everywhere — on athletes, celebrities and even one unfortunate driver. Selfies, meanwhile are everywhere. 2013 gave rise to a selfies-only social network, called Shots of Me, and was named Oxford Dictionaries' official Word of the Year.
Here we honor the tech world's year in change by highlighting nine of our favorite innovations from 2013. From Coin, the super credit card, to the iPhone's new Touch ID security system to, yes, Glass, check them all out above then make your own additions in the comments below.
Homepage image: Greg Borenstein, Flickr