Picking the best of the best is never an easy job, but after much deliberation and debate, the Pocket-lint team has whittled down and weeded out the best gadgets and tech from the past year.

That means we now have a definitive shortlist for the Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2011.

There are five products in each of the 10 categories listed below, with a full review or hands-on listed for each. One of the stipulations was that all nominations must have been seen by a member of the Pocket-lint team.

This is all in preparation for the coming vote, which will be decided by the Pocket-lint team, a select team of top class UK judges, an approximate further 100 judges from technology and gadget websites from all over the world, and you dear reader. Yep, you will also have your say in which of the following gadgets you think should be crowned the best in each category for 2011.

So take a look and click through on the links below. Voting will be opened on Pocket-lint shortly.

Best digital camera in association with Jessops

Fujifilm FinePix X100 - Full review

Sony Alpha SLT-A77 - Full review

Canon PowerShot S100 - Full review

Sony NEX-5N - Full review

Olympus E-P3 - Full review

Best laptop

Apple MacBook Air 13-inch - Full review

Samsung Series 9 - Full review

Dell XPS 15z - Full review

Toshiba Portege R830-138 - Full review

Medion Erazer X6813 - Full review

Best app

GarageBand for iPad - Full review

Sky Go - Full review

Onavo - Full review

Contre Jour - Full review

Runkeeper  

Best game

Batman: Arkham City - Full review

Forza Motorsport 4 - Full review

FIFA 12 - Full review

Battlefield 3 - Full review

LA Noire - Full review

Best home entertainment device

Bose SoundLink - Preview

Sonos Play:3 - Full review

Onkyo TX-NR609 - Full review

Philips Fidelio AS851 - Preview

Virgin Media TV powered by TiVo - Full review

Best TV

Samsung UE55D8000 - Full review

LG 55LW980T Cinema 3D - Preview

Panasonic TX-50GT30 - Full review

Sony KDL-40HX723

Philips Cinema 21:9 Gold - Preview

Best tablet

Apple iPad 2 - Full review

Motorola Xoom - Full review

Asus Eee Pad Transformer - Full review

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 - Full review

BlackBerry PlayBook - Full review

Best mobile phone

Apple iPhone 4S - Full review

Samsung Galaxy S II - Full review

Nokia Lumia 800 - Full review

HTC Sensation - Full review

Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray - Full review

Innovation of the year

Google+ - Full review

OnLive - Full review

Lytro - Preview

Sony PlayStation 3D Display - Preview

Nintendo Wii U - Preview

Product of the year

GoPro HD Hero2

Apple iPad 2 - Full review

Samsung Galaxy S II - Full review

Amazon Kindle (2011) - Full review

Sonos Play:3 - Full review

Thanks to our sponsors Jessops, Net Communities and Vodafone.