When tech historians look back on 2010, they’ll remember this remarkable period for seismic shifts in the way folks create, consume, communicate and share infotainment. Think about it:
* The long-dormant tablet product category was elevated to superstar status thanks to Apple’s introduction of the iPad.
* Facebook was embroiled in more controversy over privacy, but that hardly prevented every person you ever knew from joining the world’s leading social network — adding to an online population that’s now north of half a billion. Some Facebook friends even let you know their whereabouts in real time by checking in via a new Places feature.
* Speedy “3G” cellular networks started giving way to even faster 4G wireless networks, making surfing and communications on the go zippier and, in some instances, more expensive. Verizon’s variety, called LTE, hasn’t hit smartphones or tablets yet.
* Smartphones continued to get smarter. The iPhone 4 added cool FaceTime video chat and pristine Retina Displays. Android devices advanced the ball, too: I gave favorable reviews to the Droid X and Galaxy S handsets, each with impressive screens.
* Really high-quality 3-D televisions started invading the living room. It’s too bad that there’s a limited supply of decent 3-D entertainment to justify what for most TV junkies remains a premium purchase and that the glasses required to view that extra dimension are pricey.
* Apps make sense on smartphones and tablets. They even came to the Jawbone Icon Bluetooth headset (for voice dialing and dictating texts).
The year also saw its share of disappointments, arguably none more so than Google TV. Here’s a rundown on some of the highlights:
iPad, iEverything
As I wrote at the time of its arrival last spring, it’s not so much about what you can do with the iPad — browse, do e-mail, play games, read e-books and more –…