Apple skips Mobile World Congress, wins Mobile Device of the Year anyway

Apple doesn't do trade shows anymore, even popular ones that contain names of its products, so it's not surprising that the company skipped out on the 2011 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. But here's the funny part: even though the company itself didn't show up, one of its products won a major award anyway; Mobile World Congress judged the iPhone 4 as 2011 Mobile Device of the Year.

The judges cited the iPhone 4's "great screen, sharp design, fantastic materials, and phenomenal ecosystem for app developers" as the reason for the award, and further said, "In a tight race, the iPhone 4 built on the success of its predecessors to set the pace for smart phones."

Now hold on, I'm confused. The internet keeps telling me how bad the iPhone 4 is. What about Antennagate? Cracking glass? Camera issues? I mean, the antenna attenuation problem alone was "bad" enough that Consumer Reports couldn't bring itself to recommend the iPhone 4. As for that app ecosystem the judges hailed, I thought it was a "walled garden" that was bad for developers, bad for content owners, and bad for consumers? If the iPhone 4 is as terrible as the internet keeps saying, why does it keep winning awards (and customers)? What are you hiding from me, internet?!

All FUD aside, congratulations to Apple for a well-deserved award. I can't speak for anyone else, but the iPhone 4 is the best piece of Apple gear I've ever owned, so kudos to all the engineers who made it possible. Yes, even you.

[via Mashable]