2011 in review: The top 25 G&E moments from last year
Between our growth as a site, and the launch of three new amazing HTC EVO devices (I'm not counting the EVO Shift here), 2011 was a great year for G&E. Things are looking even better for 2012, but I thought it might be nice to take a quick journey through 2011 once again, recapping some of the biggest and best moments of the year.
This was originally going to be a top ten list, but I couldn't contain myself once I got started. It's also worth mentioning that this list doesn't really include any of our ROM, accessory, or app reviews. But I'm hoping you'll enjoy it anyway.
The top 25 moments from G&E in 2011:
25. CyanogenMod finally gets 4G WiMAX working on rooted EVO 4Gs.
24. Full HDMI mirroring is finally available to all EVO 4G owners, even those who aren't rooted.
23. The trickle-charge debate rages on.
22. The first EVO phone finally gets sold outside the US, with more soon to follow.
21. After way too many months of waiting, Netflix finally officially becomes available for the EVO.
20. Speaking of awesome apps that became available on the EVO in 2011, we can also add Skype video calling to the list.
19. And Hulu Plus.
18. Google officially announces Music Beta, challenging Amazon, Apple, and others.
17. Google also announces Google+, but we're more excited about the potential for unlimited photo and video storage.
16. Gingerbread officially comes to the EVO 4G.
15. Bloatware becomes a little easier to remove (or hide) on the unrooted EVO 3D and EVO View 4G.
14. The web-based Android Market goes live, bringing remote application installation to the HTC EVO, followed by a complete mobile redesign, too.
12. HTC also announces that it's no longer locking bootloaders - then backtracks and announces how it will help people unlock bootloaders.
11. Sprint changes the way it does business, starting by charging all smartphone owners the $10 premium data fee. Then it raises the smartphone ETF to $350. And then it does a whole bunch of other stuff that left a sour taste in the mouths of many.
10. To put salt in the wound, Sprint sends out its final issue of the Sprint Premier Connection.
9. It's not all bad, though, as Sprint revealed that they're hard at work improving current network coverage and capacity, and are even building out a 4G LTE network (and the first LTE cluster just went live in Illinois).
8. The Carrier IQ saga begins, and goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on … but we also tell you how to make sure your EVO is safe.
7. In a sad bit of news, the EVO 4G gets discontinued in the fall of 2011.
6. In better news, the EVO View 4G finally got its long-promised Honeycomb upgrade!
5. Unfortunately, Honeycomb is already outdated, as Google released Ice Cream Sandwich back in November, with an unofficial port available for the EVO 4G shortly after. At least we know that the EVO 3D will get an official upgrade to ICS sometime in early 2012!
4. The Amazon Appstore finally goes live and gives away a free paid app daily.
2. A month after getting our own forum, G&E announces that it's getting acquired by CrowdGather - a move that has gained the site more exposure and really just made it better. We even got a podcast!
1. Of course, we'll save the best for last: the EVO 3D and EVO View 4G are announced at CTIA in March 2011 – after some pics and specs were leaked ahead of time. And of course, G&E was quick to publish some official press shots shortly after, as well as provide an in-depth side-by-side comparison to the original EVO 4G. This is not to mention that the EVO 3D also won LAPTOP's Best in Show.
Happy New Year!
