Top posts, devices, software and smartphone awards for 2011 | ZDNet

Notable big news of 2011

There were a few stories that stood out to me in 2011 that I wanted to note in this reference post, including:

• Microsoft and Nokia announce my dream partnership so why aren’t you all happy?
• The HTC ThunderBolt ushered in LTE speeds
• Hands-on with the Windows Phone 7.5 Mango technical preview
• Becoming a BlackBerry fan when it’s not cool to do so
• Sorry BlackBerry fans, I just can’t stick around any longer
• T-Mobile’s 42.2 Mbps HSPA+ network earns my respect as a 4G network
• Here’s the Nokia N9 MeeGo phone and you can’t have it (review)

Best of 2011

I have a few titles I would like to award to the devices, accessories, and software I checked out in 2011.

• Best QWERTY keyboard: RIM BlackBerry Bold 9900
• Best looking display: Samsung Galaxy Nexus (Super AMOLED and HD resolution rocks!)
• Device that surprised me: Nokia N9 MeeGo device (Best hardware I have even seen from Nokia and an OS that is surprisingly good.)
• Best Windows Phone 7 device of the year: AT&T HTC Titan
• Best BlackBerry device of the year: RIM BlackBerry Bold 9900
• Best Android device of the year: Samsung Galaxy Nexus (Just now released as a GSM world phone. I would award this to the Samsung Galaxy S II that is more widely available if I didn’t have the chance to buy the Galaxy Nexus.)
• Best iOS device of the year: Apple iPhone 4S
• Best mobile operating system of the year: Windows Phone 7.5 (aka Mango)
• Worst mobile device of the year: HP Veer 4G(Was anyone really looking for a Zoolander-sized phone running a dead OS?)
• Best overall mobile device of the year: Apple iPhone 4/4S
• Best accessory of the year: SuperTooth HD Bluetooth speaker
• Favorite mobile application: Twitter
• Favorite mobile service: Spotify

Looking ahead to 2012

As we move into 2012 there are actually not many rumored devices and I am personally quite happy with my current collection that consists of the Nokia N9, Apple iPhone 4S, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and Dell Venue Pro. Here is what I look forward to trying to evaluate in 2012:

• Nokia Windows Phone device on a U.S. carrier
• New Apple iPhone
• Windows Phone device running next version of the OS
• Android device running next version of the OS

What was your favorite mobile device of the year? I listed 10 representative choices below, but if you have something different feel free to leave a comment. Also, what are you looking forward to in 2012?