The Samsung Galaxy S II beat Apple's iPhone 4 for the coveted title of "Phone of the Year" at the fifth annual T3 Awards, presented by U.K.-based tech blog T3.
According to T3, this is the first time in three years the coveted award hasn't gone to HTC or Apple.
Among the Galaxy S II's features are a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, a 4.3-inch display, wave-and-pay (aka NFC) technology and 4G download speeds. T3 heaps praise on various other features, writing, "[T]he S II also features the best camera on any smartphone to date, great integration with Samsung’s TVs and other kit and a screen that matches the iPhone 4’s, without aping it."
Available overseas since earlier in 2011, Samsung's flashy handset debuted this fall in the U.S. on T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T.
For the last two years, HTC has been the big winner in the "Phone of the Year" category, winning in 2009 with the HTC Hero and in 2010 with the Desire.
In 2008, Apple took home the "Gadget of the Year" award for the iPod Touch and "Commuter Gadget" award for the iPhone, among other accolades, as reported by Reuters.
This year, T3 seemed ready to forgive runner-up Apple for the iPhone 4's antenna problems, writing, "With reception issues seemingly a thing of the past, we can once again salute Apple."
Perhaps Apple's new handset, the iPhone 4S, will fare better against competitors in next year's T3 Awards. Apple recently announced that customers reserved over one million new iPhones during the device's first 24 hours on sale.
Apple, who has been locked in a patent dispute with Samsung since April, recently tried to get the Galaxy S II banned in Japan.
