Four products that may just change our World this year. Just perhaps.

It's January which means only one thing. It means it's the start of a new year. This is important to us as it's a time to reflect and pontificate on what new products we'll see hit the market this year. Here's our lowdown on four to keep your eyes peeled for. You think we've left out any corkers? Then let us know.

Google Glass
Imagine walking down the road wearing a pair of glasses that displays a map and route helping you navigate to your destination. You’re now imagining Google Glass. These augmented-reality specs would enable you to view media through specially-designed glasses, be it maps, photos or video-chat. In November 2012, Google’s Project Glass won recognition by Time magazine as “Best inventions of the Year 2012” and it’s thought that these will launch late-2013. And if you're listening Sergey/Larry, can we road test a pair please?

Nest
Nest is a thermostat, not a product we’d normally be shouting about from the rooftops, but this is a nifty little gadget. This is an intelligent device that learns your habits and then adjusts it’s controls to meet your needs. It has wifi connectivity meaning you can control it remotely from your computer. This is particularly useful if you head on holiday, only to sit on the plane and remember you left the heating on. Already launched in the USA, it’s expected to hit our shops at some stage in 2013.

Apple iTV
Steve Jobs was quoted as saying "I'd like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use...it would be seamlessly synched with all of your devices and with iCloud. It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it." It's therefore assumed that it's only a matter of time before Apple launch the iTV, with many people thinking that 2013 could be that year. Cloaked in secrecy, it's thought to be between 46-55 inches and having access to Apple's app store and iCloud synchronisation so you can seamlessly watch media that's stored elsewhere on other devices. After a slightly underwhelming launch of the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini, there’s share-price pressure for Tim Cook to create a stir, and this could be the game-changer that he’s looking for.

Xbox 720
Microsoft have kept very quiet indeed about life post-Xbox360, their hugely popular games console. On his blog, Major Nelson, Director of Programming for Xbox Live, is running a live countdown to the release date. Various leaks suggest that the technical spec will tower above that of the 360, with the 720 having quad-core intel processor and 8GB of memory. It’s realistic to assume that a Christmas 2013 launch date can be expected, and rumour has it that the official name may be ‘Durango’.

Author: Ben Reynolds