There was no landslide winner as the most important tech product of 2008. But amid the most challenging economic storm in decades, you could make a case for viable candidates.

Smartphones, especially Apple's iPhone 3G, got smarter, buoyed by the brand-new iTunes App Store.

Portable and inexpensive laptops, dubbed netbooks, got smaller, cheaper and more ubiquitous.

There were innovative, if imperfect, new Web browsers from Microsoft (Internet Explorer 8), Mozilla (Firefox) and, most notably, Google (Chrome).

And Netflix, the company that built a business shipping DVDs by mail, began letting you instantly stream movies on a whole bunch of hardware components -- from a clever $100 box from Roku to certain Blu-ray players.

Blu-ray itself was something of a story, if only because 2008 began with Hollywood choosing it as the preferred format for next-generation high-definition DVDs. For all the predictions about digital distribution of entertainment winning out long term -- Netflix being one example -- physical media will stick around for a while. By the end of the year, Blu-ray players were heavily discounted. I found one for less than $200 on Black Friday.

Here's a look at some of 2008's most interesting products, keeping in mind that saying a product is "important" doesn't mean it's unblemished.

Smartphones » July's iPhone 3G launch was more understated than the mind-boggling debut of the original iPhone. How could it not be? The $199 or $299 3G version was faster, cheaper (at least on the hardware side) and friendlier to business. Of course, with more than 10,000 applications, it is the iTunes App Store that most elevates the iPhone into an important new computing platform.

Drawbacks remain. The iPhone battery still wimps out way too fast for my taste, and AT&T's 3G network is also lacking in some areas. There's no cut-and-paste, no video camera, nor turn-by-turn audio driving directions to go along with the iPhone's GPS location capabilities.

Still, the iPhone and the App Store have set a high bar for excellence that other companies are trying to live up to.

One other refreshingly simple gadget is worth mentioning: the Peek. It looks like a BlackBerry but is not a phone. It's all about consumer e-mail. Cost is $100, plus a $20-a-month fee, with no required contract.

Netbooks » Purchasing a laptop has always come down to a balancing act over size, weight, price, features and ease of use. The streamlined machines known as netbooks won't break your back or your budget. Models are available from Acer, Asus, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and others.

Still, you have to give up something to get something, as I saw testing the Asus Eee PC 900 and HP Mini-Note 2133. Models can be found for less than $400. The Asus, for example, boasts a petite form factor and relatively generous 8.9-inch screen. But it had limited storage and was challenging to type on. I liked the keyboard a lot better on the Mini-Note. But the battery was no great shakes. I had to squint to see the screen, and the placement of the mouse buttons drove me nuts.

Netbook prices continue to fall. RadioShack is selling the 2.2-pound Acer Aspire One for just $99, provided you commit to a two-year, $60-a-month contract with AT&T for wireless 3G data access. The price is $500 otherwise.

This category should continue to evolve in 2009. Today's netbooks run on the Linux or XP platforms. Figure Microsoft is grappling with how to get into the netbook game with Windows 7. Another question: Will Apple unleash a netbook?

Browser upmanship » Mozilla unveiled the smart location, or Awesome Bar, on Firefox 3. Start typing and the browser serves up a drop-down list of Web destinations based on sites you've already visited, bookmarked or tagged.

In Internet Explorer 8, Microsoft added clickable buttons, or accelerators, that may appear when you highlight text on a page. You might select an address to map it or highlight a foreign phrase to translate it. Microsoft also added a Web slice feature to quickly monitor information on sites you frequently check.

Google made the biggest splash by introducing a spartan and fast browser called Chrome, which combines the address bar and search box. Chrome is still a little buggy, and its market share is puny compared with IE, Firefox and Apple's Safari. But keep an eye on Chrome long term as Google competes not only in the more traditional browser space but perhaps more broadly as an online platform that goes head-to-head against Windows.

Movies now » As quick as Netflix is at shipping DVD rentals by mail, sometimes it's just not quick enough. The Netflix Player by Roku solved that problem to a point -- only a fraction of the Netflix library was actually available for instant streaming. Still, the $99 Roku box provided subscribers with the ability to watch movies on TV without having to wait.

Netflix has since expanded the service to certain LG and Samsung Blu-ray players, along with the Xbox 360 and TiVo HD DVR. With just 12,000 titles -- only a few in high definition -- you still can't watch most box office bonanzas instantly.

It's worth seeing how the new Blockbuster OnDemand service does. The struggling retailer recently teamed with 2Wire on a MediaPoint Digital Media Player that stores DVD-quality movies for instant viewing.

Not every one of the year's most interesting products is fully polished or guaranteed to shine long term. But the results of 2008 in techdom suggest that even in turbulent times innovation is alive. Tech companies must muster even more innovation in 2009 to generate sales against powerful economic headwinds.