T3 Gadget Awards 2013: The Winners

Smartphone and Gadget of the Year: HTC One

HTC's been on quite the rollercoaster over the last few years. It rose from nothing to be crowned our Brand of the Year in 2010. Then it very nearly whooshed back to obscurity with a string of strong but overly samey, under-sold smartphones. Now it's emerged from the doldrums to take the most coveted prize of all. The HTC One mixes fantastic design with innovative features to make the ultimate smartphone. HTC has gone for quality all over this tremendous handset, from the bold move of including a camera that employs “fewer but better” pixels, to the Beats Audio speakers.

£479 | Link: HTC

TV of the Year: Sony Bravia KD-65X9005A

As 3D quietly shuffles towards the file marked “yesterday's next big thing” 4K is on the up – more adult, more stylish yet with just as much wow factor. Sony's 4K set is its greatest standard bearer to date.

£5,999 | Link: Sony

Entertainment Gadget of the Year: Sky+ HD 2TB

Now with an amount of storage fit for the HD age and a host of brilliant new features this remains THE essential home entertainment gadget, with superb apps, wireless connectivity and the embarrassment of riches Sky has to offer live, online and on demand.

From £149 | Link: Sky

Headphones of the Year: Sennheiser CX 890i

The headphone market's explosion has been driven by over-ear headphones; in-ears need to be truly special to compete. These are. With great bass and detailed mid-range allied to rugged build and comfortable fit, the CX 890i's have sound to rival over-ears with greater convenience, at a lower price.

£93 | Link: Sennheiser

Tablet of the Year: Apple iPad Mini

Steve Jobs said Apple would never make a small tablet, but the Mini has become our favourite iPad ever, and an indispensable part of our lives. It's got all the great things that are packed into the full-size iPad, but doesn't make your wrists ache after hours of use. For gaming in particular, it's perfect.

£269 | Link: Apple

Computer of the Year: Apple MacBook Air 11-inch

By super-charging the MacBook Air while simultaneously jacking up its battery life, Apple made one of the best laptops you could buy into THE best. With bags of power and those unmistakably svelte lines, this year's Air has it all.

£849 | Link: Apple

Innovation of the Year: Google Glass

A once-in-a-generation leap forward, these connected specs zoom towards a wild frontier of new tech. Putting wearable tech and always-on connectivity literally in people's faces, Glass has sparked a fierce debate about privacy. If Google can get it right, this won't just change the world of gadgets, it'll change our society.

£TBC | Link: Google

T3 Tech Life Product of the Year: GoPro HD Hero 3

Whether you're heli-skiing off K2 or capturing your kids' formative moments, the compact size and incredible video capabilities of the GoPro mean it's up to the task. Waterproof, shockproof and able to shoot at incredible definition, it's as reliable, rugged and skilled as you are.

£335 | Link: GoPro

Digital Media Service of the Year: Netflix

Post Breaking Bad this movie and TV streaming service has gone from cult outlier to front-room essential and watercooler conversation-maker. It's available on every device short of your toaster, and the range and quality of films and shows continues to improve.

£6 per month | Link: Netflix

T3 Design Award: HTC One

A hard, shining diamond in the midst of a bewildering array of dull, plastic clones, the HTC One is up there with the iPhone 4 and the Samsung Galaxy S3 as one of the most stylish smartphones ever. Beautifully shorn from a solid hunk of aluminium, it admittedly takes cues from Apple's design ethos but actually improves on it with a look that's minimal, industrial and chic.

£479 | Link: HTC

Fitness Gadget of the Year: Nike+ Training

Nike's Fuelband ushered in the wearable tech revolution. It's no surprise the sport-'n'-fitness giant then plonked similar tech in its trainers. The first such device to be aimed at gym bunnies rather than runners, the Nike+ Training Trainer logs the number and intensity of every rep and step, syncing with your phone via Bluetooth so you can upload your stats and track your journey to iron thighs online.

App: Free, Trainers: Around £125 | Link: Nike

App of the Year: Xbox Smartglass

As the world gears up for the next-gen consoles, here's a vision of the future you can hold today. Built for iPad and Android, it's a second-screen experience for console gamers that equals that of the Wii U, but for free. The potential of this versatile add-on has barely been scratched at so far.

Free | Link: Xbox

Car of the Year: Audi A8

A tech-head's dream motor, the A8 features everything from built-in internet connectivity to a satnav that hooks up to Google Earth to suspension that lowers itself when you hit the autobahn. Meanwhile, unrivalled entertainment systems in the front and rear help you eat up the miles. Well, like the Germans say, “Vorsprung durch technik.”

£56,930 | Link: Audi

Camera of the Year: Sony NEX-6

We've seen enough great compact system cameras in recent years to know that pro-grade photos don't require huge units, but the 24-megapixel NEX-6 raises the bar for both quality and compactness. Its stills and video blow us away time after time, there's Wi-Fi built in and it can house a huge range of lenses. It's a snapshot of the future.

£835 | Link: Sony

Tech Brand of the Year: Samsung

Turning out stunners from mobiles to TVs, computers to vacuum cleaners, Samsung's gone from strength to strength this year. People used to say the Korean giant had the sales volumes but would never be cool. With smartphones like the Galaxy S4, TVs like the retina-searing Series 8, its NX camera range and the DA-E750 dock, nobody's saying that anymore. It's the brand to beat.

Link: Samsung

Tech Moment of the Year: Felix Baumgartner's Space Jump

Talk about boldly going where no one's gone before. Felix Baumgartner's gut-wrenching plunge from the edge of space was a generation-defining event and, thanks to the power of tech, the world was able to stream every second of it via YouTube.

Link: Felix Baumgartner

Tech Personality of the Year: Jason Bradbury

The UK tech scene is a transient thing. People come, people go; few stand the test of time. Jason Bradbury is one of those few. Now the last surviving member of the original Gadget Show crew – arguably the most influential consumer show of its kind – and popping up as a pundit on screens and at the biggest events all year, Jason's contribution to tech in 2013 is without compare. A worthy winner.

Outstanding Contribution to Technology: Michael Acton Smith

Mind Candy CEO, Moshi Monsters creator, gadget entrepreneur, Twitter elite member and leading voice of the UK's silicon roundabout, Michael Acton Smith's contribution to the world of tech has been huge. Firebox.com redefined the way tech is sold online and his name has gone on to make regular appearances in power lists. It's all happened in just 15 years for this boy from Bucks. His name's etched in tech lore already, but this is just the start...

T3 Tech Legend: Chris Anderson

In the 1980s Chris Anderson founded Future, the publishing company that brings you T3 every month. As if that wasn't reason enough to celebrate him, he also came up with magazine cover disks – and before that, cover cassettes – mixing the paper and “online” worlds decades before iPads. In 2001, he launched TED Talks, with a simple mantra of “Ideas worth spreading”. Talks have since been given by visionaries from Bill Gates to Jamie Oliver, capturing the imagination of millions. TED now hosts more than 1,500 free videos online, which have been viewed over a billion times. That's why Chris Anderson is the first ever T3 Tech Legend.