It’s Apple vs. Google again as T3 unveils Gadget Awards 2011 shortlist

9to5 Staff | Jul 21 2011 - 11:00 pm PT

British monthly Tomorrow’s Technology Today, better known as T3, which specializes in gadgets, gizmos and other technology, is out today with its shortlist of technology products, brands and personalities for 2011. T3 Gadget Awards, one of the biggest tech awards in the UK informally recognized as the “technology Oscars”, already has over 350,000 user votes.

A strong Apple showing is evident, with some interesting Apple vs. Google battles shaping up. The Cupertino, California-based consumer electronics powerhouse has fifteen nominations, only trumped by eighteen nods for Google and its Android operating system. Samsung comes in third with eight spots on the shortlist, while Sony picks up six.

Kieran Alger, editor of T3.com, comments for 9to5Google:

The rise of Google in the past twelve months continues to impress and has really benefited the tech industry with increased competition. In the smartphone market alone we’ve seen HTC and Samsung adopt the Android platform and team it with hardware that’s really challenging the dominance of Apple. We’re yet to see that cross properly into tablets but it’s surely only a matter or time. It’s great for the industry and we’re expecting the finals of the T3 Gadget Awards to be the hardest fought yet.

Apple’s iPad 2 and iPhone 4 face off Amazon’s Kindle and Samsung’s seven-inch Galaxy Tab for the Commuter Gadget of the Year award. With Android tablets taking up 30 percent of the tablet market in June, anything is possible in the Tablet of the Year category which includes Apple’s iPad, Motorola’s Xoom, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, Asus’s Eee Pad Transformer and LG’s Optimus Pad.

Google’s Android Honeycomb operating system for tablets is also up for a vote in the Innovation of the Year category. There is plenty of time to vote up your favorites at the official website – the winners will be announced at the star-studded awards ceremony at Old Billingsgate, London on Monday, October 10. The full list of entrants and award categories is right past the break.

The prestigious Phone of the Year category pits iPhone 4, HTC’s Incredible S and Sensation, Motorola’s laptop-killing Atrix, Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Arc and Samsung’s Galaxy S II against each other. The Atrix also ranked first in the T3 Hot 100 earlier this year, while HTC took home the Phone of the Year award in last year’s T3 Gadget Awards with its Desire handset. Apple Stores, Amazon and eight other retailers are battling it out for the Retailer of the Year award. The App of the Year category includes social news reader Flipboard, Apple’s music creation tool GarageBand, Sky News for iPad, video calling app Skype, Angry Birds-killer Tiny Wings and Marco Arment’s Instapaper, an awesome app to save web pages for reading later.

Cross-posted on 9to5Mac.com

The T3 Gadget Awards 2011: shortlist by category

Innovation of the Year

Motorola Atrix
Nintendo 3DS
LG ST600 Smart TV Upgrader
Android Honeycomb
Nvidia Tegra 2
Razer Swtichblade

Gaming Gadget of the Year

Microsoft Xbox Kinect
Nintendo 3DS
Sony PlayStation Move
Apple iPad 2
Sony PlayStation 3
Alienware M17X

App of the Year

Flipboard
GarageBand
Sky News for iPad
Skype
Tiny Wings
Instapaper

Retailer of the Year

Amazon
John Lewis
Apple Store
Carphone Warehouse
Three Store
Orange Store
PC World
Tesco
Argos
Jessops

Commuter Gadget of the Year

Apple iPad 2
Amazon Kindle
Apple iPhone 4
Nintendo 3DS
EBCO Eagle LSR-50
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7

Digital Media Service of the Year

Spotify
Twitter
Virgin Media Tivo
Facebook
Dropbox
Sky Anytime+

TV of the Year

Samsung UE55D8000
Philips 46PFL9705H
Sony Bravia KDL-40NX713
Toshiba Regza 55WL768
LG P50PZ950T
Panasonic Viera TX-42GT30

T3 Design Award

Apple MacBook Air 11-inch
Apple iPad 2
Leica M9 Titanium
Samsung Notebook Series 9 (900X3A)
Fujifilm X100
RIM Blackberry Playbook

Phone of the Year

HTC Incredible S
Motorola Atrix
Apple iPhone 4
Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc
Samsung Galaxy S II
HTC Sensation

Digital Camera of the Year

Fujifilm X100
Olympus E-PL2
Nikon D3100
Canon EOS 600D
Panasonic Lumix GF2
Canon Powershot G12

Tech Brand of the Year

HTC
Apple
Google
Samsung
Twitter
Facebook

Gadget of the Year

Apple iPad 2
Motorola Atrix
Amazon Kindle
Nintendo 3DS
Samsung Galaxy S II
Apple iPhone 4
Virgin Media Tivo
Microsoft Xbox Kinect
HTC Incredible S
Sony PlayStation Move
Apple iPad 2
Motorola XooM
RIM BlackBerry Playbook
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7
Asus Eee Pad Transformer
LG Optimus Pad