Time magazine has made the Motorola Droid its number 1 gadget of the year while our beloved iPhone ranked in at number 4 behind the Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader, and the Dyson Air Multiplier. What pushed the Droid to the top of the heap of these gadgets was the combination of its Motorola hardware and Android 2.0 software.

“A smartphone operating system isn’t all that satisfying without an actual kick-ass smartphone wrapped around it. Now Android has one: The Droid is a hefty beast, a metal behemoth without the gloss and finish of the iPhone, but you don’t miss it. The Droid’s touchscreen is phenomenally sharp and vivid, it has an actual physical (not great, but good enough) keyboard, and best of all, the Droid is on Verizon’s best-of-breed 3G network. It’s Android’s first credible challenge to the iPhone.”

The reason why the iPhone 3GS ranked in at number 4, well to put it simply, was the lack of new features.

“Take the iPhone. Make it faster. There, you’re done. Yes, the 3GS has a better camera — with video. And it has a compass and voice control. Those are all improvements over the original.”

So there you have it folks, in the past the iPhone and awards have gone hand and hand. As it stands now, the iPhone is no longer an award winner. Hopefully that all changes come this June/July.

What do you think? Should the Droid have gotten the nod?

Apple’s iPhone 3G wins “Gadget of the Year” according to readers of Stuff Magazine. Ok, are you really that shocked??? Not me. (Of course there were only 2% of all iPhone 3G owners having some issues… right?) The UK’s Stuff Magazine deemed the iPhone 3G as being a:

faster, cleverer version of an already remarkable phone

The devices that competed against the iPhone 3G were as follows: Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console, Nintendo’s Wii Fit, and B&W’s Zeppelin iPod speakers. All of the products up for this honor were judged in categories including performance, design and value, as well as “cool factor”.

Congratulations to the iPhone 3g!

[Via MacNN]