Check out the 8 most popular gadgets

There are more gadgets than people in this world today. In this fast paced environment, new gadgets are launched everyday to make life easier and entertain millions of people. Howstuffworks lists some of the most essential gadgets used across the world.

Let's take a look at some of the most popular gadgets...

Smartphones

Smartphones have become popular across the world for its ability to handle computing and communication needs.

BlackBerry continues to be one of the world's most popular smartphones. Developed by Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM), the BlackBerry functions as digital assistant with address book, calendar and to-do list capabilities.

It also works as a portable media player supporting music and video playback and camera and video options. Some of the most popular smart phones are:

Apple iPhone 3GS
Motorola Droid
HTC Nexus One by Google
Palm Pre
T-Mobile MyTouch 3G (white)
BlackBerry Bold 9700
HTC Hero
Nokia N97 mini
T-Mobile G1

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Portable Media Centers

Portable Media Centers are handheld multimedia device that can play digital music, image, and movie files that have been downloaded from the Internet or stored on a personal computer. The Zune 30 was the first portable media player developed by Microsoft.

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Noise-cancelling headphones

Noise cancellation makes it possible to enjoy music without raising the volume excessively. Noise-cancelling headphones cancel the lower-frequency portions of the noise. They depend on soundproofing to prevent higher-frequency noise from disturbing you.

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Digital Cameras

Photography has become easy and hassle-free with digital cameras. These cameras make it easy to download photographs, besides displaying images on a screen immediately after they are . . .

Apple iPod

One of the most popular devices from the Apple family, iPods comes in 4 sizes- iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the iPod Nano, and the compact iPod Shuffle.

The storage capacity ranges from 2 GB for the iPod Shuffle to 160 GB for the iPod Classic.

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GPS Receivers

A navigation tool, the GPS receiver uses signals from satellites to point out exact location on the planet any time. In India, iWave Systems Technologies has launched tiniest global positioning system (GPS) receiver module. The module weighs less than 25 grams and is just 27 mm by 25mm in size.

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Satellite Radio

With these in your pocket, you can listen to radio anywhere you go. They feature built-in antennas that receive the satellite signal, and come with rechargeable batteries.

Satellite radio is an analogue or digital radio signal that is relayed through one or more satellites and thus can be received in a much wider geographical area than terrestrial FM radio stations.

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Smart watches

Watches too have raced ahead with the changing times. You can now access news, weather, sports, stocks, horoscopes, instant messaging and e-mail from a watch.