There are several, if you factor in the way manufacturers have been incorporating technology that is inherently more efficient into their products. Examples of this are the smattering of hard drive camcorders (no more DV tapes) and LCD TVs that have crowded out those nearly extinct tube TVs.

Nice, but I'm talking about conspicuously green gear.

The most prominent is the Smart fortwo, a subcompact (microcar, really) that delivers 40 MPG on gas alone without sacrificing the requisite safety equipment that the US demands. The Honda Civic Hybrid (besting the fortwo's fuel economy) and Nissan Altima Hybrid also did well.

Aside from those, the other glaringly obvious green gadget is the Moixa Energy USBCell, a AA battery that charges from a USB port. Maybe the LED-based Sima Ultra Bright Video Light SL-20LX for videographers and the pricey Samsung WF337AAR washing machine. And stretching the green cred a little further, I suppose I can leave the door open a smidge for the LED PowerFlare PF-200 Safety Light and the Accutire MS-4359.

A decent assortment, but precious few compared to the 300+ products they looked at.

Now, I'm not saying that a product should win only because it sips electricity -- or dare I dream, generates it -- nor am I accusing Wired of sidestepping the power issue. How a product performs and lives up to expectations is still foremost on the minds of consumers, me included.

I get it, I'm not naive. But I'll also admit that I remain a little disappointed.

For now, power consumption as a testing criteria seems to be centered around battery life in laptops, cell phones and portables. I suspect that as electric bills get heftier, this will expand to gadgets of the plug-in kind and Wired's labs will be investing in a Kill A Watt or two.

Still, I can't tell you how much it would please me if some TV (OLEDs can't arrive soon enough), PC, or DVR won in terms of outstanding performance, functionality and energy efficiency. That is the kind of gadget that would win my heart and dollars.