Samsung Galaxy S II, iPad 2 Top MWC Awards
Despite not having a presence here at Mobile World Congress, Apple's iPad 2 was named the best tablet at the conference, though the Samsung Galaxy S II bested the iPhone 4S in the smartphone category.
BARCELONA - Despite not having a presence here at Mobile World Congress, Apple's was named the best tablet at the conference, though the bested the in the smartphone category.
Samsung walked away with the Device Manufacturer of the Year award at the Global Mobile Award Winners 2012, while the Samsung Galaxy S II - which recently - was named best smartphone. "A phenomenal success around the world, this has outperformed all its Android rivals and demonstrated the maturity of the ecosystem," the judge said of the Galaxy S II
The device beat out the iPhone 4S, the HTC Desire S, the Nokia Lumia 800, and .
Samsung ended the year as the world's top smartphone maker, though Apple edged it out during the fourth quarter thanks to the iPhone 4S. Still, Samsung's accomplishments were enough to earn it the device manufacturer of the year award at MWC. "Success across the board with progress in every category, and outperforming rivals in a tough market," the judges concluded.
The GSMA handed out about three dozen awards, which were culled from more than 600 entries and judged by more than 170 independent analysts, journalists, academics, including PCMag's mobile analyst, Sascha Segan.
On the tablet front, Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 was not able to defeat the iPad 2, which was victorious against the Tab, the Acer Iconia Tab A500/501, Amazon Kindle Fire, and .
"A unanimous choice for a tablet that has defined the market and dominated sales," the judges said.
GSMA Awards host Tim Minchin informed award show attendees that Apple was not there to accept the award, eliciting laughter from the crowd. "But I'm sure they'll be quietly delighted," Minchin joked.
The Financial Times, meanwhile, won for Best Mobile Innovation for Publishing. In accepting the award, a paper spokesman quipped that they should probably thank Apple since the FT was forced to develop its winning mobile app after when the two companies failed to come to an agreement over Apple's access to subscriber data.
Also winning awards:
- Best Feature Phone or Entry Level Phone: Nokia C3-00
- Best Mobile App for Consumers: Angry Birds
- Best Consumer Mobile Service: Google Maps
- Best Mobile App for Enterprise: Citrix Systems
- Judges' Choice - Best Overall Mobile App: WhatsApp
- Most Innovative Mobile App: SwiftKey
- Best Mobile Innovation for Automotive, Transport or Utilities: Ford Sync