11/10/11 – Gaming technology took many of the plaudits at last night’s T3 Gadget Awards 2011. Microsoft’s motion sensor Kinect won both overall Gadget of the Year and Gaming Gadget of the Year, while high-concept gaming device the Razer Switchblade picked up the prestigious Innovation of the Year award.
The Kinect is a worthy double winner, having done away with the controller to revolutionise gaming – and being confirmed by Guinness World Records as the fastest-selling consumer electronic device of all time in the process.
And gaming’s next revolution could be just around the corner in the shape of the Razer Switchblade. This cutting-edge tech combines an infinitely customisable keyboard, which metamorphoses to suit the game being played, with touchscreen technology and Intel’s Atom processor to create full-spectrum PC gaming on the move.
Moving from concept to reality, Switchblade’s jaw-dropping tech can be seen in Razer’s just-released gaming laptop, the Razer Blade.
“The concept for this mini console could be the start of something revolutionary,” says Luke Peters, Editor of T3. “If Razer decides to license its technology further afield, we could see it appearing in tablets, mobile phones and even home appliances. That is a mouth-watering prospect.”
The T3 Gadget Awards is the world’s biggest technology awards and 2011, its fifth year, was the best yet – with a record-breaking 960,000-plus votes cast.
Samsung’s Android-powered Galaxy S II beat the iPhone in Phone of the Year, and Apple were also pipped by Google to Tech Brand of the Year. Amazon and its Kindle picked up two awards: Retailer of the Year and Commuter Gadget of the Year.
After a year when social media demonstrated how central technology is becoming to our everyday lives, Twitter and Facebook both picked up gongs.
Twitter won Digital Media Service of the Year, after being involved in everything from the super-injunction scandal to the Arab spring uprising; and Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg was voted Tech Personality of the Year, beating off competition from the likes of Lady Gaga and Stephen Fry.
David Attenborough picked up the Outstanding Contribution to Technology Award, in recognition of a career championing the cutting-edge of tech through his world-famous nature programmes.
“I’ve been at this game rather a long time,” says Sir David, “so this award from T3 is a culmination. It means a lot to me.”
For more details on the T3 Gadget Awards 2011, visit awards.t3.com.
ENDS
T3 Gadget Awards 2011: the winners
Razer Switchblade
Amazon Kindle
Canon PowerShot G12
Eye-Fi X2
Microsoft Kinect
Apple MacBook Air 11-inch
Samsung Galaxy S II
Apple iPad 2
BlackBerry Bold 9780
Digital Media Service of the Year
Monster Beats by Dr Dre Pro Studio
Philips Airfryer
Apple MacBook Air 11-inch
Amazon
Samsung 8000 Series UE55D8000
Mark Zuckerberg
Outstanding Contribution to Technology
David Attenborough
Microsoft Kinect
About the T3 Gadget Awards 2011
Established in 2007, the T3 Gadget Awards is the annual “technology Oscars” from T3, the premium lifestyle brand. Every year, the biggest and best from the world of technology are recognised and celebrated in what is the globe’s biggest technology awards. In 2011, the T3 Gadget Awards has had its biggest year to date, with a record-breaking 970,000 votes cast.
About Future
Future is a leader in the field of digital publishing and was named Consumer Digital Publisher of the Year at the annual Association of Online Publishers Awards – becoming the first magazine publisher to win the Award. Future also won the Grand Prix Award at the event in June. Its web and mobile sites deliver 160 million page impressions every month to over 30 million unique users*. Future delivers more than 100 digital editions and bespoke apps through the rapidly growing iPad platform and is developing product for new tablet devices coming on stream. Digital now accounts for a third of all Future’s commercial revenues. And its development of video on demand and apps is rightly regarded as market leading. Technology brand T3 is leading the way on iPad, becoming one of the top grossing apps in the UK and one of the very few five star apps in the world. The Future digital portfolio includes award winning and hugely respected brands including: www.techradar.com, www.cyclingnews.com, www.gamesradar.com, www.computerandvideogames.com, www.musicradar.com and www.bikeradar.com.
*Source: comScore Digital Analytix, August 2011
About Ford
In 2011, Ford of Britain is celebrating both 100 years as a leading marketing and sales operation in the UK, and 100 years since the first Ford, the Model T, was assembled at its Trafford Park facility in Manchester. Ford has been the UK market leader in car sales for 34 consecutive years and the commercial vehicle sales leader for 45 years. In the UK, Ford directly employs over 15,000 people, many in highly skilled roles developing and building high-technology, fuel-efficient, low CO2 engines, and with a further 100,000 jobs supported through the Ford supplier chain and dealer network. Ford plants at Bridgend in South Wales and Dagenham in East London have the combined capacity to assemble two million engines annually so that one in three Ford vehicles globally can be powered by a UK-built engine. Ford’s Dunton Technical Centre in Essex is the global centre of excellence for diesel powertrain R&D and for European commercial vehicles while Ford Southampton produces the iconic Ford Transit.
For more information
Steve Wright, Communications Executive
T: 01225 822803 or steve.wright@futurenet.com
Jane Leah or Anna Taylor, Beam Agency
T: 020 7833 9595 / m: 07949379974
anna@beamagency.com
