Photos: CNET.co.uk Editors' Choice Awards
The CNET.co.uk Editors' Choice Awards 2006 were held last night in London's Piccadilly. We've captured some of the action on camera -- take a look
Thursday 23 November marked the first annual CNET.co.uk Editors' Choice Awards, held in London's Piccadilly. Representatives from the cream of the technology world gathered to quaff fine wines and see which of their products were good enough to win a coveted CNET.co.uk Editors' Choice Award.
We handed out awards for the best digital cameras, best camcorders, best televisions, best mobile phones, best laptops, best MP3 players and best digital radio. To win an award, products had to demonstrate excellent design, features and performance, as well as having that extra spark that made us look at technology in a new way. These are the products that the CNET.co.uk editorial team would buy for ourselves, if only we were that little bit richer.
Forget the PS3 and the Xbox 360 -- the most desirable items on the night were the Editors' Choice Awards. Here they are in all their glassy glory.
Marco Bilello accepted the award for Best LCD Television on behalf of Philips, for the Philips 42PF9831D. Despite the tongue-twisting name, it has the best performance of any high-definition LCD we've seen.
Heidi Jutton picked up an award on behalf of Samsung for the Best Ultraportable Laptop,the Samsung Q35. We liked its handsome design, great battery life and affordable price.
Sony Ericsson's W810i Walkman Phone won the award for Best Music Phone. It's notable for its cool looks, great music playback and ease of use. Sony Ericsson also scooped the award for Best Camera Phone with the K800i. Andy Jephson collected both awards on behalf of Sony Ericsson.
The HTC TyTN's slide-out keyboard and super-fast Internet access helped it win the award for Best Smart Phone. Andrew McLaughlin was on hand to collect the award.
Sony scooped the award for Best Tape Camcorder for its reasonably priced hi-def Handycam HDR-HC3. David Philips is all smiles as he collects the gong on Sony's behalf.
JVC pipped Sony to the post for Best DVD, Hard-drive or Solid-state Camcorder. The well-specified Everio GZ-MG505 was a big hit with the CNET.co.uk team. Niomi Jayasinghe was on hand to grab the plaudits.
Pure Digital nabbed the award for Best Portable Radio with its Evoke-3. We thought it had all the features you need in a digital radio, including impressive sound quality. David Harold collects his gong from a slightly shifty-looking CNET rep.
It wasn't all awards, prizes and cheesy grins -- there was drinking, socialising and a brief outbreak of dancing. Here you can see MP3 specialist Chris Stevens looking especially pleased with the '97 Chardonnay.
"My goodness you're so interesting!" These HTC reps are all ears as our PC specialist Rory Reid dazzles them with yet another philosophical conundrum, possibly involving the metaphysical repercussions of time travel.
To find out who else won awards and which products you should be asking Santa for this Christmas, view the full list of award winners. -RR