The Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards are back letting you know what the best products of 2009 really are.

Now in its 6th year, the Pocket-lint Awards, thought to be the longest running in the UK, pick the best gadgets and gizmos from the last year.

Pocket-lint's vigorous vetting process means that all the gadgets up for nomination have to have been seen by a member of the Pocket-lint team (so far over 600) and have to have been available somewhere in the world between December 2008 and December 2009.

The awards, voted by a panel of leading gadget journalists from around the world, including the staff from the Pocket-lint team, will decide the real must-have gadgets of the year, rather than those simply deemed cool or anticipated, being the definitive guide for consumers looking to buy gadgets.

Better still, because we don't have a print publication to worry about, we haven't had to call the decision early meaning the best gadgets of 2009 get a chance to win rather than those just announced in the first half of the year.

This year's categories are: 

• Best music gadget
• Best car gadget
• Best digital camera
• Best laptop
• Best software/service/app
• Best game
• Best gaming hardware
• Best home cinema device
• Best mobile phone
• Best gadget
• Product of the Year 2009

Nominations for the award categories are being taken now and the final list of nominations (five per category) will be announced on Monday 16 November with the winners being announced at an awards party at the beginning of December. 

What do you think are the best gadgets of 2009? What should be included for nomination? Let us know in the comments below:

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