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Archive for the ‘Awards’ Category

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iPhone app of the year

In Awards on December 7, 2010 at 11:25 am

It’s December, which means it’s time for the award ceremonies to kick off once again. Last night saw the announcement of the Turner Prize at Tate Britain, and I know you’ll all be watching eagerly for who wins the World Stupidity Award, and Postman of the Year.

Last year I launched my inaugural online awards, giving prizes for my favourite museums, books, sandwiches and facebook status updates, amongst others. This year I shall be awarding more of the same, plus some entirely new categories, along with details of the runners up in each field. First up are what I consider to be the finest apps of the year for a geek with an iPhone.

Runners up …

GPSMS – your friends will always know where you are with this mapping app, which pinpoints where you are and sends a message with your location to a contact in your phone. It’s particularly useful when meeting up in a large or crowded place, such as Hyde Park on a summer’s day or at a music festival. And it’s also good if you’re lost and want to show someone where you are. Or if, like me, you live on a street with an unconventional numbering system. www.gpsms.co.uk

Words with Friends – a highly addictive scrabble-like game to play on the move. Download it at your peril.

FlightRadar24 – what’s that plane in the sky? Why, it’s a British Airways A320 on its way to Heathrow from Madrid. Instant informational gratification. Amazing for plane geeks!

And the winner is …

London Cycle – always know where the nearest Boris Bike is, and where you can drop it off. Vital if you’re running late for a meeting and need to hot foot it across the West End.

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E-Awards 2009

In Awards on December 29, 2009 at 11:26 am

The final instalment of my awards this year is for services for entertainment new technologies.

Facebook status update of the year comes from someone I forget, but they wrote: X thinks if you give a person a fish you feed them for a day, teach a person to use facebook and they won’t bother you for weeks.

i-phone application of the year is awarded to the trainline app, for changing my life (partly due to the i-phone itself) and always making sure I know when trains to East Dulwich are running. It even runs faster than the main trainline website.

The Self-Employed Homeworkers’ Daytime TV Award goes, in this first year, to Jeremy Kyle for services to waterproof mascara and out-and-out public humiliation.

Finally, the Special Sit-ups Award is awarded this year to Marvin from JLS for keeping us smiling all year.

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Eating and Travelling Awards 2009

In Awards on December 28, 2009 at 10:19 am

The second instalment of my awards for 2009, charting my best bits of the year, relates to transport and catering.

Motorway of the year has to go to the M4 for always being clear and for having lots of service stations with M&S food outlets. Always a pleasure when you’re on the move.

Bus of the year – the 176 is always a high contender for its regularity and 24-hour service, but this year it was just pipped at the post by the 40. This route had a new fleet of vehicles in 2009, making it smell a lot less like fried chicken.

Sandwich of the year has to go to Pret a Manger’s Crayfish and Rocket sandwich which, even though it has 370 calories, is a quite a treat on any day.

The inaugural Ruining Christmas Eating Award goes to Morrisons supermarket who have placed adverts this year featuring their festive Wensleydale with apricot and amaretto. Who on earth thought that was a good idea?  That said, they did go some way to re-establishing their brand with me when they launched their online cheeseboard creator. Try it out!

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Museum Awards 2009

In Awards on December 27, 2009 at 12:11 pm

It’s the time of year for award ceremonies, so I’m instigating here the inaugural, annual awards from Steve Slack HQ. 2009 has been a great year for museum visits. Here are my highlights

Museum visit of the year is awarded to SS Great Britain in Bristol for their excellent interpretation and choice of audio guides – visitors can choose whether to listen to the perspective of a first class passenger, someone travelling in steerage or the ship’s cat.

Exhibition of the year goes to the futurist show Rodchenko and Popova at Tate Modern. I’m not always a fan of TM shows, but this one really did it for me, with some excellent pieces being gathered from far and wide for the display. And great exhibition branding too, which really fit with the show’s concept.

Interpretive device of the year goes to the Antwerp Fashion Museum for their exhibition on Belgian handbag design house Delvaux. I particularly liked the display of how to make a handbag, and also some great mock-ups of advertising and promotional material from the last 150 years. I blogged about it here.

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