iXBT.com editors decided to institute three kinds of awards in order to encourage producers of hi-tec equipment:

Reviewed by iXBT.com

The "Reviewed by iXBT.com" sign is made to mark products that have been tested in the iXBT.com lab. It is only given to producers of those devices that have been reviewed either in the iXBT.com journal or on sites iXBT.com and Digit-Life.com.

Original Design

Today's computer market is rife with clones. A product's lifetime has become shorter, and most manufacturers prefer not to waste their time and resources on their own developments taking instead a so-called "reference design" and only changing the brand and the package. Thus, the "Original Design" award is meant for those manufacturers that create something new and different from the reference design.

This reward may be given to a product that has an original design, i.e. is greatly different from the reference design. The product must have been tested in the iXBT.com lab and have been reviewed either in the iXBT.com journal or on sites iXBT.com and Digit-Life.com.

"Original Design" is given not more than once a month and must have links to the reviews of the awarded products.

Awards in "Periphery. Manipulators"

A manipulator — keyboard, mouse, joystick, or any other device or a set of devices of this kind— can be awarded with "Original Design" if:

• It has a set of functions which is unique for the given moment;
• It is shipped with an outstanding set of software;
• It brings something revolutionary to the market of similar devices or is an absolutely new thing for the market;
• It has prominent ergonomics not at the expense of functionality;
• Or something else not included into this list.

March 2004 awards

Cherry CyMotion Master XPress multimedia keyboard

Microsoft Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer 2.0

Awards in "Portable computers"

A portable computer (a laptop) can be awarded with "Original Design" if:

• It has an original construction^*;
• It has non-standard dimensions and/or functionality^*;
• It just looks good;
• Or something else not included into this list.

^* the mentioned features must not worsen consumer qualities

March 2004 awards

iRU Stilo 1514

Awards in "Printers"

A printer may be awarded with "Original Design" if:

• Its mechanism is an original engineering solution and has been developed by the same company that ships it to the market;
• Either the whole construction or one of the original engineering solutions are used in this particular model for the first time;
• It is much more functional than other available solutions;
• It has an original design or is made of original materials;
• Or something else not included into this list.

March 2004 awards

Samsung CLP-500 colour laser printer

Awards in "MP3 players and multimedia combines"

A player or a combine may be awarded with "Original Design" if:

• It has a set of functions which is unique for the given moment;
• It brings something revolutionary to the market of similar devices or is an absolutely new thing for the market;
• It ensures an outstanding playback quality of the multimedia contents;
• It is a masterpiece of designing art (concerning its appearance, compactness, or ergonomics);
• Or something else not included into this list.

March 2004 awards

MP3/WMA player Digitalway MPIO FY200

Excellent Package

It is nice to buy a product and find something else besides it in the package, be it optional equipment, software, games, souvenirs or whatever. It is pleasant to be aware that the product is worth its price, but it's much more pleasant to buy a product with a magnificent package at a low price. In real life, however, some manufacturers tend to economise on everything, even if an additional item put in the package will only raise the prime cost by less than 10 percent. Therefore, we would like to encourage manufacturers who don't sell their products in bleak boxes with nothing else but a minimal set of drivers inside, but who offer bright packages with wonderful contents. It is for them that iXBT.com editors have instituted the "Excellent Package" award.

The award may be given to a product that has a unique complete package and an original box. The product must have been tested in the iXBT.com lab and have been reviewed either in the iXBT.com journal or on sites iXBT.com and Digit-Life.com.

"Excellent Package" is given not more than once a month and must have links to the reviews of the awarded products.

Awards in "Printers"

A printer may be awarded with "Excellent Package" if:

• It is shipped with an outstanding set of software;
• Or something else not included into this list.

March 2004 awards

Samsung CLP-500 colour laser printer

Awards in "MP3 players and multimedia combines"

A player or a combine may be awarded with "Excellent Package" if it has the following differences from rival developments:

• an original box;
• software that is developed by the manufacturer and has a unique functionality;
• optional software included into the package;
• the complete package enables the optimal use of the product without the need to buy any additional components;
• souvenirs or useful and/or pleasant trifles included in the package;
• or something else not included into this list.

March 2004 awards

MP3/WMA player Digitalway MPIO FY200

Additional information

A product can't be given the same award twice.

A product can be given several different awards.

A poligraphic variant of the award can be provided at a written e-mail request sent to: pr@ixbt.com

Article navigation:

blog comments powered by Disqus