iPhone wins Gadget of the Year vote
It took an 11th hour vote, but AccountingWEB’s coveted 2009 Gadget of the Year prize goes to Apple's iPhone 3GS.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Countdown had settled into a four-way split between the iPhone, HTC's HD2 smartphone, Microsoft's Xbox360 (backed with the game of the year, Beatles Rock Band) and mobile phone applications.
To break the deadlock, we set up an interactive poll. Nineteen of the 30 votes cast in the 24hours that followed went to the iPhone, confirming the widespread appeal for Apple's mould-breaking device. It was also hailed as the top gadget by members of our sister site Business Zone and gained the highest number of votes across all the Sift Media online communities that participate in the Christmas Gadget Countdown.
The iPhone featured prominently in the 2007 and 2008 Gadget Countdowns, but winning the outright prize this year could be the iPhone's last hurrah. Strong representations in our informal survey on behalf of BlackBerrys and HTC's phone models suggest that rival manufacturers are beginning to catch up. Apple is unlikely to enjoy its first-mover advantage in the smartphone market for much longer.
The Christmas Gadget Countdown is an annual tradition started by executive peripherals editor Nigel Harris, who published a selection of suggestions on the Gadget Zone blog page in the days leading up to Christmas.
Continued...
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SatNag???
Our compatriots over on UK Business Forums are putting the accounting profession to shame here with a flurry of intriguing nominations. They've had votes for several HTC smartphones (Hero and Diamond), plus the iPhone, BlackBerry and DeWalt W087K line laser...
But the one that got the biggest reaction was a vote for SatNag, the hectoring sat nav variant. "Made me laugh for ages... the wife however doesnt think its funny," responded Mpg. "Satnag is ok for about a day," noted stockdam to dampen the enthusiasm. Finally the original poster vvaannmmaann confessed his comedy nomination was just a typing error and he really meant "sat nav".
We're still burning with shame here at AccountingWEB.co.uk HQ over losing the accountant v entrepreneur joke off earlier in the year. SO DON'T LET THEM OUTDO US ON GADGETS! Take a look at some of the suggestions put forward by Nigel Harris and get those nominations rolling in for the accountant's ultimate object of desire this Christmas.
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John Stokdyk, Technology editor
PS - There's no need to be clever or original. The Apple iPhone 3GS has been there or thereabouts for the past two years in our Christmas Gadget Countdown and I still want one. So it gets my vote.
Satnag
But the one that got the biggest reaction was a vote for SatNag, the hectoring sat nav variant. "Made me laugh for ages... the wife however doesnt think its funny," responded Mpg. "Satnag is ok for about a day," noted stockdam to dampen the enthusiasm. Finally the original poster vvaannmmaann confessed his comedy nomination was just a typing error and he really meant "sat nav".
Posted by jstokdyk on Mon, 14/12/2009 - 10:16
I've had Satnag for years - it's called a wife !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
i
Two nominations
Both these have changed my life this year....
Blackberry - well, what can I say? I get to read my emails when I am not doing anything else productive - such as sitting on trains or in queues, and it saves me oodles of time when I get into the office. Reckon it will be better when I work out what apps to use...
X-box live - took a bit of time to get used to the controller and I am not sure about the benefits of shoot 'em up games like Call of Duty, but I quite like blasting Nazi Zombies - the same timeless mindless obsessional quality of tetris. Now that I have worked out the communication side you can also sit there are chat to other gamers and send them messages if you want.
My wish list:
Well I like the whole X-Box thing so much that I would like a keyboard that was part controller part keyboard. I think that might be a better way instead of wireless mouse that keeps breaking combined with RSI.
Virtual Tax konw-how & support for accountants: www.rossmartin.co.uk
Nomination
I am deliberately ignoring business here. I have to agree with Nicola regarding the Xbox360. Bought one for my grown up son last Christmas with Pro Evolution Football 2009 on it. I was absolutely hooked so went and bought one myself. Have played it throughout 2009 and finally took the plunge to go Xbox Live. Great fun playing footie via Live with gamers globally. However, I would also like to nominate The Beatles Rockband. I grew up with The Beatles in the 60s and was a fan club member. I have all the original vinyl records and later, CDs. It was a logical progression to get Beatles Rockband and the instruments for the Xbox . Great music, fun to "play" along, challenging and the concentration required stops you thinking about work. What more you could you want?
Xbox360 is more than a games console though. I've also enabled Sky (cost me nowt as I have Sky HD). And there is Twitter and Facebook links if your that way inclined. Xbox 360 is an excellent piece of kit.
Stephen Quay
I don't know how impartial it is ...
... but a comparison of 3GS v HD2 is shown here.
http://www.redmondpie.com/htc-hd2-or-iphone-3gs-9140109/
If it can be believed, the HD2 outdoes the 3GS in spades.
The vote count may be skewed simply because there are more 3G(S or not) users out there to vote, who probably have not experienced the alternatives.
But it does seem to be a case of leapfrog. In a comparison of previous models the 3G compared much more favourably against the original HTC Touch, here
http://gizmodo.com/320681/htc-touch-vs-iphone-25-minute-head-to-head-video
Now, let's see what happens to the prices post Xmas.
With kind regards
Clint Westwood.
Gadget nomination
I would like to put forward the Brother 9450CDN LAN printer. This colour printer can scan (images or documents) - in colour or B & W - to any networked PC, fax and copy (including enlargement and reduction). The process is simple and easy to follow. It does duplex and booklet printing and is also relatively cheap for a colour laser printer - ours cost less than £500 excluding VAT. There are 3 x colour cartridges and 1 x black, so printing in mono does not use up the more expensive colour toner. Highly recommended