Back in November we tasked you to vote online for your favourite portable gadget from our shortlist of five. Well the votes are in and the winner is the iPhone by Apple.
From Seoul to the Silicon Valley everyone’s been using the C word – convergence. New phones will sport PDA, web browser and wi-fi with the usual MP3 player and camera. The TV, the hi-fi and the computer will morph into one proud screen. Getting everything into one box is, of course, a great theory. Making it look like the kind of thing you’d want in your pocket or your lounge is another.
This years awards list boasts three – count ‘em – examples of phones that have done just this, putting design demands higher than engineering necessity. The iPhone; the Serenata - Samsung’s Bang & Olufsen collaboration, and Nokia’s tightly pack laptop-cum-phone the N810 impressed. Traditionalists, meanwhile, voted for Leica’s M8, which houses state of the art tech in the classic Leica body whilst harassed travelers plumped for the simplicity of Sony’s latest sat-nav. The message is clear – keep it simple and beautiful and we will buy.
1. Apple iPhone Steve Jobs latest market maker combines a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod and wi-fi Internet access with infinitely cunning Apple design. Touch screen controls and an astonishingly simple screen means its been flying off the shelves worldwide. In the 1990s, Apple was more of a cult than a company. With the success of the iPhone following the iPod, it looks set to be a global religion. iPhone, £269 with O2 contract. For more information see www.apple.com.
2. Leica M8 The M8 takes the original iconic Leica Rangefinder body crafted from brass, aluminium, titanium and steel but inserts a 10.3 megapixel digital lens and sensor system that delivers professional quality pictures. Classic modernist design equipped with futurist technology. Leica M8, £3390. For more information see www.leica-camera.com.
3. Sony Sat-Nav NV-U73TW Immensely simplified version of the gadget gurus favourite device, this GPS navigator comes with things you actually want – full coverage of Western Europe, speed camera updates, touch screen directions to petrol stations and parking as well as traffic jam alerts and slick cradle if you need to slide it out of the car. The main thing is, though, it doesn’t look like it belongs to a boy racer. It looks like it belongs to a grown up. NV-U73TW, £214. For more information see www.sony.co.uk.
4. Samsung F310 Serenata The Serenata sees Bang & Olufsen equip a Samsung phone with hi-fi quality speakers complete with bass boost and no distortion. B&O designer David Lewis also created the pebble look and feel for the phone. Software searches your computer for tunes and downloads them, then plays out with concert hall clarity via speaker or headset. It even makes ring tones a joy to hear. Rock the bus. F310 Serenata, Price dependent on contract. For more information see www.samsung.com.
5. Nokia N810 Internet Tablet The N810 merges a laptop, a phone, a GPS navigator, wi-fi internet access, Skype calls, video, MP3 player and a proper, old school QWERTY keyboard in a tiny version of what used to be called a Tablet PC. Each of these features offer the same speed and quality as you’d find in a full size device, but this is a pocket-sized version that actually fits in your pocket. Small but deadly. N810 Internet Tablet, £299. For more information see www.nokia.co.uk.
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