TIME's Best Inventions of 2008

From a genetic testing service to an invisibility cloak to an ingenious public bike system to the world's first moving skyscraper — here are TIME's picks for the top innovations of 2008

By Jeremy Caplan, Kristina Dell, Andrea Dorfman, Laura Fitzpatrick, Justin Fox, Sean Gregory, Lev Grossman, Barbara Kiviat, Jeffrey Kluger, Richard Lacayo, Michael Lemonick, Lisa McLaughlin, Jay Newton-Small, Alice Park, Mark Thompson, Bryan Walsh and Rebecca Winters Keegan

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Sanyo Xacti HD1010

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Sanyo's sleek-as-a-pistol Xacti is a digital camera and video camera in one. Rather than carrying around separate, boxy gizmos, you can take 4-megapixel stills and 1080i or 1080p high-definition video with the pocket-sized Xacti. Its slim design allows you to hold the camera comfortably in one hand; the buttons are streamlined and simple to operate for switching quickly between still picture and video. The Xacti's stand-by mode makes it easy to start filming in an instant. The camera uses cheap, small SD cards, so you don't have to lug around a stack of tapes or worry that you'll run out of internal memory.
Price: $799 list
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