The award is meaningless without knowing which the competition devices it went up against. Was the NC going up against Android tablets currently on the market? Was it going up against digital book readers of all kinds? Was it going up against devices for which there is little or no correlation?

EDIT; I looked it up here: http://www.cesweb.org/events/last-gadget-standing.asp

Big woo. It states, "Last Gadget Standing challenges contenders to give the product demo of their lives. At stake: bragging rights as the product 'most likely to change the face of technology.' See all the winners strut their stuff in this inventive, fast-paced competition."

Looks like it boils down to who has the flashiest presentation and has little to do with who has the best gadget.