Of gadgets and gizmos: What we shopped for in 2014

2014 was a great year for tech lovers as gadgets entered our living rooms and our pockets. They even sat on our wrists. Here's what we busted out our credit cards for this year.

Chromecast:

Smart TVs suck. But Google's tiny dongle makes it all good. The Google Chromecast makes it easy to stream pretty much anything from your smart device or PC to your living room big screen. Movies, TV shows, music, games, photos can all be streamed with one touch straight to your big screen TV. Our favourite thing about the Chromecast is the ability to seamlessly watch YouTube while sitting on the couch. You can pick a Google Chromecast up for ₹ 2,999 on Snapdeal.

iPhone 6:

Simply put, this is the most desirable phone in the world at the moment. Apple finally made the jump to big screens and added many enticing features like Apple Pay along the way (nope, it's not available in India yet, but our fingers our crossed). The sleek hardware design and iOS 8 make this the best flagship phone available in the market today. The Apple iPhone 6 can be yours starting from ₹ 51,898 on Flipkart.

Sony Playstation 4:

Unlike its competitor, Microsoft's Xbox One, the Sony Playstation 4 does not try to become your multimedia hub or offer the best TV viewing experience. But it promises to be the most powerful video game console -- and on that front it delivers in spades. With games like Grand Theft Auto V, Destiny and inFAMOUS Second Son in its huge lineup, the PS4 offers some of the most spectacular graphics and gameplay your money can buy. It's available on Flipkart for ₹36,449 standalone or for ₹ 40,699 bundled with GTA V on Amazon.

Moto 360:

Wearables are in this year. But everyone except Motorola seems to have settled on cookie-cutter square designs. The Moto 360 at first glance looks like a premium watch. On closer inspection it does much more. Running Android Wear, the smartwatch syncs with your phone and pulls all notifications to your wrist. The 360 can also natively run some apps and has a pedometer and heart rate monitor for all the fitness freaks. The 360 overwhelmed its competition and was the smartwatch to buy in 2014. On Flipkart, it can be yours for ₹ 17,999.

Xiaomi RedMi 1S:

Xiaomi launched a Chinese invasion on the Indian smartphone market scarcely five months ago and left competitors like Samsung and Micromax reeling. The RedMi 1S was essentially a mid-range smartphone being offered at an entry level price and it sold like gangbusters. Buying one, though, proved harder than winning a lottery, you had to register early and the moment a batch became available it sold out in seconds. The Redmi 1S is sold for ₹ 5,999 on Flipkart but good luck finding one in stock.