The world of smartphones can essentially be divided into two camps: iPhone and Android. Sure there are some BlackBerry and Windows Phone users out there, but Apple and Google handsets make up most of the market.
And as in any situation where there are two dominant players, each platform has their own army of loyal fans. And I’m sure both sides have plenty to say about Samsung’s Galaxy S III being named the Best Smartphone of 2012…
That’s right, according to the 2013 Global Mobile Awards, which are the official awards of Mobile World Congress, the best smartphone of 2012 was the Galaxy S III. It beat out the iPhone 5, Nokia’s Lumia 920 and HTC’s Droid DNA.
The GSM Association appointed the panel of judges, which was made up of a group of a dozen global journalists and analysts. PC World’s Sascha Segan, who was part of said panel, explains how the group arrived at their decisions:
“The award selection process was a multi-tiered affair where we submitted lists through email and then narrowed it all down in a marathon, six-hour, three-continent conference call. The award will be supplemented on Thursday by a “best device at MWC” award – yes, I’ve already handed in my nominations, and no, I can’t tell you what they are.
In handing out the awards, we debated how innovative the devices were, the impact they made on the market and their commercial success. “
And the smartphone category wasn’t the only award Apple missed out on. It also lost to Google’s Asus-built Nexus 7 for the Best Tablet of 2012 award. Admittedly, Apple may have shot itself in the foot here, releasing 3 tablets last year.
But the show belonged to Samsung. In addition to winning the best smartphone, it also took the ‘Best Mobile Enabled Consumer Electronics Device’ award for its Galaxy Camera, and was named Device Manufacturer of the Year.
I doubt that Apple cares much about these awards—especially since it sold a record number of iPhones last quarter, and the iPhone 5/4S are still the most popular smartphones in the world—but it still makes for an interesting debate.
So we’d love to hear what you think. Was the Galaxy S III really the best smartphone of 2012? Why or why not?