June 10 - 11:30am EDT   As a part of the ongoing Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple has announced the winners of its 2009 Design Awards. The Best Mac OS X Student Project award has gone to Pieter Omvlee's Fontcase, which manages fonts in an iPhoto-like interface. The first of four Leopard Developer Showcase awards belongs to Marketcircle's Billings, described by Apple as having a simplified interface that exposes elements only when necessary. [full story]

May 19 - 4:30pm EDT   Apple's senior VP of industrial design, Jonathan Ive, has placed first in a Fast Company list of the 100 most creative people in business. Despite being in an executive position Ive is said to be personally responsible for the look of Apple's most important products, including the iPhone and the iPod. The designer's greatest contribution is claimed to be the original iMac, which helped to revive Apple in part because it jettisoned the staid box casing still used by many PCs. [full story]

March 3 - 5:35pm EST   Apple has won four International Forum Design (iF) gold awards at the CeBIT computer expo held in Hannover, Germany, according to setteB.IT. The second-generation iPod touch, fourth-generation iPod nano, iPhone 3G and MacBook Air were among the 50 products considered worthy of the gold award, while an in-ear headset accessory for the iPhone was included in the overall group of design awards. [full story]

February 23 - 9:15am EST   Pixar's WALL-E won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at Sunday night's Academy Awards ceremony, defeating competition from Bolt and Kung Fu Panda. The movie -- about a robot left on Earth after an environmental apocalypse -- was also nominated for Original Screenplay, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Song awards, but lost to movies such as Milk and The Dark Knight. The dominant title at the Oscars was Slumdog Millionaire, which took home Best Picture and Best Director trophies among others. [full story]

December 9 - 9:40am EST   The iPhone has fallen two spots in TIME Magazine's annual Top 10 Gadgets rankings, the latest issue reveals. Having taken the top position in 2007, the iPhone now sits in third for 2008, in its second incarnation as the iPhone 3G. The magazine praises the phone for having "launched the era of mobile computing," with over 10,000 applications available, linked to features such as on-board GPS. [full story]

October 13 - 9:25am EDT   Apple has earned an award for its chain of retail stores, a magazine has announced. TWICE (This Week in Consumer Electronics) has handed Apple an Excellence in Retailing Award, specifically within the category of Best Vendor Retailer. Apple Stores give visitors a way to test a variety of products, TWICE comments, and the products are segregated into different areas that encourage experimentation. [full story]

October 10 - 9:45am EDT   Apple has, for the second time this month, won "Gadget of the Year" in a British awards competition. T3's second-annual T3 Gadget Awards ceremony was held on Thursday evening, and included awards chosen by both readers and T3. Readers cast over 54,000 votes to pick 11 of the prizes, which included the Gadget of the Year award, won by Apple's iPod touch. [full story]

October 8 - 9:20am EDT   Apple has won five prizes at this year's British Technology Awards, sponsored by a regional publisher. Four of these are for the iPhone, which earned Apple Gadget of the Year, Best Mobile Technology, Most Stylish Technology and Technological Innovation of the Year. The fourth is for the iTunes Store, which won under the aegis of Best Music Technology. The distribution of awards was based on public voting. [full story]

September 17 - 9:10am EDT   The iPhone 3G has been voted Gadget of the Year by readers of Stuff magazine, says Reuters. The device beat out a number of rivals, including Microsoft's Xbox 360 console, the Wii Fit add-on from Nintendo, and B&W's Zeppelin iPod speakers. Products were rated in categories including performance, design and value, as well as "cool factor;" in this regard the iPhone 3G is described as a "faster, cleverer version of an already remarkable phone," referring to the original iPhone's award last year. [full story]

July 2 - 11:50am EDT   The Mobile Data Association has presented an award to Apple's lead designer, Jonathan Ive, according to an announcement. Ive -- who is technically the senior VP of Industrial Design at the company -- has received a Personal Achievement Award, given in recognition for his design not only of the iPhone hardware but aspects of the touch-based user interface. The combination has "redefined the mobile phone as we know it," the MDA comments. [full story]

June 12 - 9:15am EDT   Apple has announced the winners of its 2008 Design Awards, meant to encourage development for its different product lines. Highlights include Vara Software's ScreenFlow screencasting software, which won both the Best OS X Application and Best OS X Graphics and Media Application awards; Aspyr's port of Guitar Hero III, which won for Best OS X Game; and Omni Group's OmniFocus, which won for Best iPhone Productivity App. Pangea's Enigmo, used to demonstrate iPhone 2.0 apps, took home Best iPhone Game. [full story]

May 16 - 4:55pm EDT   Apple's iPhone recently won two prestigious black pencil design awards at the D&AD Awards in the UK, bringing the company's total to six since first winning the award in 1999. According to The Guardian, this makes Apple the most successful participant in the awards ceremony's 45 year history, this time taking home recognition for the design of the iMac and iPhone. Apple was among five companies who won the black pencil, with 64 yellow pencils also being awarded across 30 categories. [full story]

April 16 - 9:50am EDT   Apple is one of the winners of this year's red dot awards, given to the designers of a number of products from around the world. Some 50 awards were given out this year, from a pool of 3,203 submissions submitted by 1,253 companies; Apple secured two awards, for the iMac in the computer category, and the iPhone as best mobile device. Apple has also received red dot quality markings for several other products, namely the iPod touch and nano, the iPhone's Bluetooth headset, and both the cabled and wireless aluminum keyboards. [full story]

February 28 - 5:40pm EST   The Coen brothers -- the creators of 'No Country for Old Men' which won five Oscars at this year's Academy Awards -- have discussed how Apple hardware and software were influential during the editing process of the film's creation. "They [Apple] made it really easy for us — we cut now much the same way we cut on film [using Final Cut Pro]. It's hugely faster," said Ethan Coen. 'No Country for Old Men' won 'Best Picture' this year and is the first movie edited with an entirely digital workflow on a Mac to win the Oscar, according to Macworld. [full story]

December 6 - 9:55am EST   As announced in late August, Apple CEO Steve Jobs last night received his medal for entry into the California Hall of Fame, an institution meant to promote the state's history and culture. The award was presented personally by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, and as Jobs came to the stage, The Beatles' "Revolution" played in the background. [full story]