…HTC once again proves itself to be Apple’s biggest challenger at T3’s ‘Technology Oscars’…
11/10/2010 - The winners of T3’s Gadget Awards 2010 have been announced at a central London ceremony filled with big names… and big surprises. Tech giant Apple might have scooped the Gadget of the Year award for its iPad WiFi + 3G, but it was their old rival HTC – whose Hero mobile thrashed the iPhone at last year’s awards – that was named Technology Brand of the Year.
With more than three quarters of a million reader votes, and expert judges from Sky News, MSN, The Telegraph, TechRadar and the T3 team, the awards were more hotly contested than ever. But public and panel were all agreed that the iPad was the clear winner in the Gadget of the Year category. Fending off tough competition from the HTC Desire, Sky + HD and even the iPhone 4, it was described by T3 as ‘the best thing that’s happened this year in the tech world, hands down’ thanks to its stylish and inimitable simplicity. The gadget was also named Innovation of the Year, in a category that included the Toshiba Cell TV and the Microsoft Xbox Kinect. This time, the judges were split – but it was the buying public, who loved the way the iPad can charm anyone from the tech-fanatic to the technophobic, who swung the vote.
But it was by no means a clear run for Apple, especially after the technical problems which dogged the launch of the iPhone 4. HTC once again took the award for Phone of the Year, this time for the HTC Desire, beating the iPhone to the title for the second year in a row. With a clean and functional design, and access to an expanding Android Market, the Desire won extra points for its attractive pricing. And when it came to the prestigious Technology Brand of the Year category, the judges were unanimous in their verdict that HTC deserved the title. They decided that it was not just about the products HTC has delivered – the Desire, and the equally impressive Google Nexus One – but in the way HTC has conducted itself throughout the year. It seems that ‘smugness’ and ‘control-freakery’ from certain American mega-brands hasn’t gone down with the judges and the public…
There was consolation for Apple when they bagged the Commuter Gadget of the Year award for the iPhone 4, in spite of ‘antennagate’. And Team Jobs beat Amazon, John Lewis, Play.com and Tesco to the Retailer of the Year award, thanks to the relaxed and slick service they continue to deliver online and in their stores. With the Macbook Pro scooping the Computer of the Year award – thanks to its improved specs, graphics and energy efficiency – Apple made theirs an awards total of five.
The New Media Service of the Year award divided the judges, with their votes split equally between Spotify, iPlayer and Twitter (while Facebook might have made it to Hollywood, it didn’t get a look in at the T3 awards). So, the readers had the deciding vote in the closest-run category of 2010. In the end it was Spotify that emerged victorious, thanks to its smart interface, solid mobile versions for iPhone, Android and Symbian, social networking… and, of course, the fact that it lets you listen to more or less any piece of music for free.
2010 saw the introduction of the App of the Year award. And, in its inaugural year, the title was taken by the Google Maps Navigation app. Described by the T3 team as a ‘genuine killer app for the massively popular smartphone platform’, the app beat competition including Foursquare, which helps you find people and places near you, and Spotify, the app which threatened to make the mighty iPod redundant by supplying listeners with Spotify tracks on the move.
‘The response to this year’s awards was incredible,’ says Luke Peters, Editor of T3 magazine. ‘Reaching three quarter of a million votes shows just how passionate consumers have become about technology in recent years. And again, this year has proved that it’s not enough to be a huge brand name. HTC bagged the Technology Brand of the Year award because, not only do they have great products, but they’ve got the personality to match.’
Another of this year’s most fiercely fought categories wasn’t between tech brands at all – but between the nation’s top tech personalities. Gadget Show host Suzi Perry was named Gadget Personality of the Year, ahead of last year’s winner Stephen Fry, journalist and TV personality Charlie Brooker and government digital champion Martha Lane Fox. Also in the category were TV host Jonathan Ross and Gizmodo editor Jason Chen, but it was Suzi’s charm that won over not just Gadget Show viewers, but the voters too.
The T3 Gadget Award 2010 winners
App of the Year Google Maps Navigation
Music Gadget of the Year Cambridge Audio DacMagic
Gaming Gadget of the Year Alienware M11x
Home Gadget of the Year Samsung NaviBot SR8845E
Commuter Gadget of the Year Apple iPhone 4
Green Gadget of the Year OneClick Intelliplug
Work Gadget of the Year Three Mobile MiFi
Innovation of the Year Apple iPad
New Media Service of the Year Spotify
Computer of the Year Apple Macbook Pro
Camera of the Year Panasonic Lumix GF1
Camcorder of the Year Sanyo Xacti VPC-CS1
Retailer of the Year Apple Store
T3 Design Award Samsung UE55C9000
TV of the Year Panasonic VIERA TX-P50VT20B
Gadget Personality of the Year Suzi Perry
Tech Brand of the Year HTC
Phone of the Year HTC Desire
Gadget of the Year Apple iPad Wi-Fi + 3G
For more details about the most prestigious event in the 2010 technology calendar, head over to www.T3.com/awards.
Ends
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