2007 Engadget Awards

wallcraft · 02-22-2008, 08:51 PM

The 2007 Engadget Awards includes three E-Ink readers in the Handheld of the Year category. At the moment, the Kindle is running second to the Nokia 810.

The Kindle is also in the Gadget of the Year category, where it isn't doing so well (iPhone by a landslide).

Votes will be tallied until Saturday, March 1st.

JSWolf · 02-22-2008, 10:02 PM

Too much Apple fan wank going on there.

Cthulhu · 02-22-2008, 10:48 PM

Am boycotting such awards shows, considering how much bashing they allowed of my beloved PRS-500.

Apple stuff seems neat, if I want to blow high dough and have limited connectivity to the real world. Apple fanboys are certainly living the "I-Life"

JSWolf · 02-22-2008, 10:50 PM

To be honest. I didn't vote Apple. The iPhone is not better then the Nokia N95. Nor is the iTouch better then my Rio Karma. For actually playing music, my Rio Karma sounds better.

Cthulhu · 02-22-2008, 11:34 PM

Jon-

Never used a Rio. To be honest, have only barely used the Apple Touch. Played a bit with brother-in-law's iPhone. My pudgy fingers do not play well with eentsy touchscreens. My fingers are better suited to my 755 Treo.

JSWolf · 02-23-2008, 08:10 AM

If I was to get a do it all type phone, I'd get a Nokia N95. Forget the Apple iPhone. Too much hype and not enough on actual delivery.

Gideon · 02-23-2008, 09:29 AM

Happily voted for the iPhone. Single greatest device I've ever used short of an actual computer.

I've had plenty of smart phones, pdas, treos, etc... never had a single one that I loved using as much as the iPhone. Why? Because it's actually usable without making me want to throw it through a nearby window.

The lack of SDK at launch sucked, but hacking my iPhone has been easy and given me lots of great new apps. The whole 3G business never concerned me. I've wifi almost everywhere I go, and for everything but web surfing (not something I do a WHOLE lot of on the iPhone, i tend to google for one particular thing and use that. 2g works just fine for that) the upgraded Edge works pretty well. And the wifi is FAST - even though my old Windows Mobile phone had wifi it was still at a crawl. The Edge network works faster on the iPhone as well.

It does everything I need it to do and does it well. Notes, weather, calendar, email, web, flash cards, RSS, IM, wikipedia, movie times, Amazon, voice notes, nice Facebook access, an ebook reader (good for reference books), the incredibly useful maps feature, calculator, great google tools interface, alarm, the occasional game or video, and it plays my music wonderfully. And Apple is constantly adding new functionality and features, so I'm happy. And all those features are a pleasure to use. It's fast, it's intuitive and I've not had any problems syncing my data.

It's not perfect. But having tried almost every other device on that list, nothing else really gets close. In my opinion, at least. No one product is for everyone, but I don't think it's unfair for people to make it their pick - most everyone I know who has one absolutely loves it and we're not all mindless apple fan boys. My mom got one for Christmas, and absolutely adores it (and she doesn't follow this stuff at all.) My old HTC or Treo isn't even in the same league.

N95 is very nice. But having played with one for a bit I still greatly prefer the iPhone. Given this is apple's first time out in this field, I'm very excited to see what future versions hold. If another product comes out that kicks its butt - great, then I'll get one of those.

JSWolf · 02-23-2008, 09:35 AM

All this is going to do is give Apple a swelled head and make them think they did it right. Well that's not so. So please don't vote for the iPhone so Apple might then have a rethink and maybe do it better the next time.

kilofox · 02-23-2008, 10:18 AM

I have owned the N95-3 and currently own the iPhone. Both are great phones BTW. They both have their strength and weakness. What separates them is: the N95-3 is great for creating content and the iPhone is great for consuming content.

Its obvious that after using the Nokia that it was made by a company with experience, it does all the little things and then some that make Nokias great phones. While I loved S60 phones, I always loathed the pokiness of the system and the lack of RAM. Nokia fixed that with the N95-3's expanded RAM capacity. I owned the N95-3 for 2 months, my only big criticism is the build quality. There is no excuse for $700+ phone being made out of plastic. My $75 Moto RAZR feels more solid than the N95 did.

The iPhone is a great first effort by Apple. I cant think of better initial offering by another cell phone company. It does lack all the little things that Nokia offers with their phones. A great example of a "little thing" is Nokia's dismiss a call feature that includes a pre-addressed SMS message to the dismissed caller. Things like that really impress me. Other obvious lackings in the iPhone: MMS, AD2P, video etc etc hopefully will come down the road.

For now I am satisfied with the iPhone... but Apple better look out. I will be anxious to see what Nokia and other companies comes up with now that they have been pushed by Apple. I really like what I am hearing about the Sony X1

JSWolf · 02-23-2008, 10:31 AM

I do like the X1's keyboard. It makes it easier to type then the on screen keyboard of the iPhone.

Gideon · 02-23-2008, 11:10 AM

That may be part of it, too. I've no interest in trying to create content for my blogs or anything else on the go. I'm interested in information access, and that's where I find the iPhone really shines. Give me my feeds, mail, recipes, wikipedia and local maps and phone numbers and I'm pretty happy. Right now all the technology that does this sort of thing is just far too rudimentary for me to even want to deal with it. I can type pretty fast on both sorts of devices, but neither one do I actually want to compose something even as long as this post.

kilofox · 02-23-2008, 02:42 PM

I think a key to typing on the iPhone is to just blast away! People don't realize that you don't have to exactly hit the letter you want. You just have to be close (the next key laterally or vertically is close enough) and 99 percent of the time the iPhone will deduce what you were trying to type. Many times it doesn't show you the word you typing until the last letter or two.

Example:

The word "concentrate": don't worry about hitting each letter correctly just blast away. You may end up actually typing "xpmvbrrsrw", but OSX quickly determines that you had to be typing "concentrate", the one small problem is that sometimes it wont be able to "guess" until the last letter or so and your brain is telling you otherwise.

Trust the system and you will more oft than not get the word you are trying to type. Once I did that... my typing speed increased immensely. I am somewhat surprised that Apple doesn't incorporate that into its desktop OS as well.

TallMomof2 · 02-23-2008, 04:43 PM

I *might* have bought an iphone if it'd been with a different wireless service. But I didn't want to pay the premium for the name and also really didn't want to change services. I've never been a big Apple fan but their products definitely have their place... just not in my life. Ended up with an LG Voyager and am extremely happy.

Glad to see eInk readers at least getting a nod.

Cthulhu · 02-23-2008, 05:06 PM

When I played with an in-law's iPhone, I felt the poor cousin. Generally feel that way around him, as he is a well-paid guru at some geeky software company, and is eager to bestow upon himself & immediate family all the amenities he lacked in childhood.
The utterly amazing speed of Google maps on his phone floored me. That is, until I remembered that it was running on his wifi.
My Treo does not have GPS, but I can dead reckon my way in most places. Rev-A on my Sprint Treo leaves my Verizon 650 in the dust.

One big reason I have a smart phone is internet access. Where I live and work, it is a crapshoot to get it on a computer. It is slow, yes, but I'm surfing the internet for engine parts & pizza ON MY PHONE! .

Many people dismiss the functionality of smartphones, and I suppose that is fine. Could not live and work without one. Apple wins in the design world, no denying that. I'd exchange flashy compact design for speed and usablity.

To get away from Apples, am glad that the Kindle is in the running. Imagine is the Kindle and iPhone had an offspring. Wait. I suppose then we'd have the Illiad. Nevermind.

Gideon · 02-23-2008, 06:45 PM

It's actually pretty fast in Edge mode, too. If you're already in the right area, that is. I use it on the road a lot for phone numbers and directions, I was astonished how quick it was.

AT&T is definitely a problem... but in the area I live it's the best option and I had it already. Having to renew my contract without getting a discount really, really pissed me off, though. These cell phone companies are just impressively evil.

I'm really surprised by just how slow this "3g" sprint service on the Kindle is. The web browsing on my phone is faster. Obviously draw speed has to do with it, too... but still - very slow. It could be, of course, that the way the Kindle utilizes the 3g chip is slowing it down. I know in a number of earlier smartphones this was a problem with their data and wifi.

Still, I just don't use it for that (except the occasional wikipedia article.) It's just great having so many books instantly available, whether through feedbooks or Amazon proper.

02-22-2008, 08:51 PM	#1
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,975 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	2007 Engadget Awards The 2007 Engadget Awards includes three E-Ink readers in the Handheld of the Year category. At the moment, the Kindle is running second to the Nokia 810. The Kindle is also in the Gadget of the Year category, where it isn't doing so well (iPhone by a landslide). Votes will be tallied until Saturday, March 1st.

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02-22-2008, 10:02 PM	#2
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,974 Karma: 128903378 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Too much Apple fan wank going on there.

02-22-2008, 10:48 PM	#3
Cthulhu Technologist Posts: 488 Karma: 585237 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: I'm between Cities Device: SONY Reader PRS-500	Am boycotting such awards shows, considering how much bashing they allowed of my beloved PRS-500. Apple stuff seems neat, if I want to blow high dough and have limited connectivity to the real world. Apple fanboys are certainly living the "I-Life"

02-22-2008, 10:50 PM	#4
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,974 Karma: 128903378 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	To be honest. I didn't vote Apple. The iPhone is not better then the Nokia N95. Nor is the iTouch better then my Rio Karma. For actually playing music, my Rio Karma sounds better.

02-22-2008, 11:34 PM	#5
Cthulhu Technologist Posts: 488 Karma: 585237 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: I'm between Cities Device: SONY Reader PRS-500	Jon- Never used a Rio. To be honest, have only barely used the Apple Touch. Played a bit with brother-in-law's iPhone. My pudgy fingers do not play well with eentsy touchscreens. My fingers are better suited to my 755 Treo.

02-23-2008, 08:10 AM	#6
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,974 Karma: 128903378 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	If I was to get a do it all type phone, I'd get a Nokia N95. Forget the Apple iPhone. Too much hype and not enough on actual delivery.

02-23-2008, 09:29 AM	#7
Gideon Wearer of Pants Posts: 1,050 Karma: 7634 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Norman, OK Device: Amazon Kindle DX / iPhone	Happily voted for the iPhone. Single greatest device I've ever used short of an actual computer. I've had plenty of smart phones, pdas, treos, etc... never had a single one that I loved using as much as the iPhone. Why? Because it's actually usable without making me want to throw it through a nearby window. The lack of SDK at launch sucked, but hacking my iPhone has been easy and given me lots of great new apps. The whole 3G business never concerned me. I've wifi almost everywhere I go, and for everything but web surfing (not something I do a WHOLE lot of on the iPhone, i tend to google for one particular thing and use that. 2g works just fine for that) the upgraded Edge works pretty well. And the wifi is FAST - even though my old Windows Mobile phone had wifi it was still at a crawl. The Edge network works faster on the iPhone as well. It does everything I need it to do and does it well. Notes, weather, calendar, email, web, flash cards, RSS, IM, wikipedia, movie times, Amazon, voice notes, nice Facebook access, an ebook reader (good for reference books), the incredibly useful maps feature, calculator, great google tools interface, alarm, the occasional game or video, and it plays my music wonderfully. And Apple is constantly adding new functionality and features, so I'm happy. And all those features are a pleasure to use. It's fast, it's intuitive and I've not had any problems syncing my data. It's not perfect. But having tried almost every other device on that list, nothing else really gets close. In my opinion, at least. No one product is for everyone, but I don't think it's unfair for people to make it their pick - most everyone I know who has one absolutely loves it and we're not all mindless apple fan boys. My mom got one for Christmas, and absolutely adores it (and she doesn't follow this stuff at all.) My old HTC or Treo isn't even in the same league. N95 is very nice. But having played with one for a bit I still greatly prefer the iPhone. Given this is apple's first time out in this field, I'm very excited to see what future versions hold. If another product comes out that kicks its butt - great, then I'll get one of those.

02-23-2008, 09:35 AM	#8
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,974 Karma: 128903378 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	All this is going to do is give Apple a swelled head and make them think they did it right. Well that's not so. So please don't vote for the iPhone so Apple might then have a rethink and maybe do it better the next time.

02-23-2008, 10:18 AM	#9
kilofox Connoisseur Posts: 71 Karma: 217 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Kindle 2	I have owned the N95-3 and currently own the iPhone. Both are great phones BTW. They both have their strength and weakness. What separates them is: the N95-3 is great for creating content and the iPhone is great for consuming content. Its obvious that after using the Nokia that it was made by a company with experience, it does all the little things and then some that make Nokias great phones. While I loved S60 phones, I always loathed the pokiness of the system and the lack of RAM. Nokia fixed that with the N95-3's expanded RAM capacity. I owned the N95-3 for 2 months, my only big criticism is the build quality. There is no excuse for $700+ phone being made out of plastic. My $75 Moto RAZR feels more solid than the N95 did. The iPhone is a great first effort by Apple. I cant think of better initial offering by another cell phone company. It does lack all the little things that Nokia offers with their phones. A great example of a "little thing" is Nokia's dismiss a call feature that includes a pre-addressed SMS message to the dismissed caller. Things like that really impress me. Other obvious lackings in the iPhone: MMS, AD2P, video etc etc hopefully will come down the road. For now I am satisfied with the iPhone... but Apple better look out. I will be anxious to see what Nokia and other companies comes up with now that they have been pushed by Apple. I really like what I am hearing about the Sony X1

02-23-2008, 10:31 AM	#10
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,974 Karma: 128903378 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	I do like the X1's keyboard. It makes it easier to type then the on screen keyboard of the iPhone.

02-23-2008, 11:10 AM	#11
Gideon Wearer of Pants Posts: 1,050 Karma: 7634 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Norman, OK Device: Amazon Kindle DX / iPhone	That may be part of it, too. I've no interest in trying to create content for my blogs or anything else on the go. I'm interested in information access, and that's where I find the iPhone really shines. Give me my feeds, mail, recipes, wikipedia and local maps and phone numbers and I'm pretty happy. Right now all the technology that does this sort of thing is just far too rudimentary for me to even want to deal with it. I can type pretty fast on both sorts of devices, but neither one do I actually want to compose something even as long as this post.

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02-23-2008, 02:42 PM	#12
kilofox Connoisseur Posts: 71 Karma: 217 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Kindle 2	I think a key to typing on the iPhone is to just blast away! People don't realize that you don't have to exactly hit the letter you want. You just have to be close (the next key laterally or vertically is close enough) and 99 percent of the time the iPhone will deduce what you were trying to type. Many times it doesn't show you the word you typing until the last letter or two. Example: The word "concentrate": don't worry about hitting each letter correctly just blast away. You may end up actually typing "xpmvbrrsrw", but OSX quickly determines that you had to be typing "concentrate", the one small problem is that sometimes it wont be able to "guess" until the last letter or so and your brain is telling you otherwise. Trust the system and you will more oft than not get the word you are trying to type. Once I did that... my typing speed increased immensely. I am somewhat surprised that Apple doesn't incorporate that into its desktop OS as well.

02-23-2008, 04:43 PM	#13
TallMomof2 Kindlephilia Posts: 2,017 Karma: 1139255 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Snowpacolypse 2010 Device: Too many to count	I might have bought an iphone if it'd been with a different wireless service. But I didn't want to pay the premium for the name and also really didn't want to change services. I've never been a big Apple fan but their products definitely have their place... just not in my life. Ended up with an LG Voyager and am extremely happy. Glad to see eInk readers at least getting a nod.

02-23-2008, 05:06 PM	#14
Cthulhu Technologist Posts: 488 Karma: 585237 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: I'm between Cities Device: SONY Reader PRS-500	When I played with an in-law's iPhone, I felt the poor cousin. Generally feel that way around him, as he is a well-paid guru at some geeky software company, and is eager to bestow upon himself & immediate family all the amenities he lacked in childhood. The utterly amazing speed of Google maps on his phone floored me. That is, until I remembered that it was running on his wifi. My Treo does not have GPS, but I can dead reckon my way in most places. Rev-A on my Sprint Treo leaves my Verizon 650 in the dust. One big reason I have a smart phone is internet access. Where I live and work, it is a crapshoot to get it on a computer. It is slow, yes, but I'm surfing the internet for engine parts & pizza ON MY PHONE! . Many people dismiss the functionality of smartphones, and I suppose that is fine. Could not live and work without one. Apple wins in the design world, no denying that. I'd exchange flashy compact design for speed and usablity. To get away from Apples, am glad that the Kindle is in the running. Imagine is the Kindle and iPhone had an offspring. Wait. I suppose then we'd have the Illiad. Nevermind.

02-23-2008, 06:45 PM	#15
Gideon Wearer of Pants Posts: 1,050 Karma: 7634 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Norman, OK Device: Amazon Kindle DX / iPhone	It's actually pretty fast in Edge mode, too. If you're already in the right area, that is. I use it on the road a lot for phone numbers and directions, I was astonished how quick it was. AT&T is definitely a problem... but in the area I live it's the best option and I had it already. Having to renew my contract without getting a discount really, really pissed me off, though. These cell phone companies are just impressively evil. I'm really surprised by just how slow this "3g" sprint service on the Kindle is. The web browsing on my phone is faster. Obviously draw speed has to do with it, too... but still - very slow. It could be, of course, that the way the Kindle utilizes the 3g chip is slowing it down. I know in a number of earlier smartphones this was a problem with their data and wifi. Still, I just don't use it for that (except the occasional wikipedia article.) It's just great having so many books instantly available, whether through feedbooks or Amazon proper.