Top 10 Gear Live stories of 2010

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Apple, Smartphones, Editorial, Features, Software

We've come to the end of another year, and as we wave goodbye to 2010, we figured it was only fitting that we share the most popular stories published on Gear Live in 2010, as determined by our readers (we've also got the top ten most read stories regardless of publish date!) These are the ten stories that were read the most, and when you consider that fact, it's pretty surprising to see what made the list. Let's kick it off with our most read story of the year:

Fring App Brings Skype Video Calling to iPhone 4 over Wi-Fi and 3G:
Sure, Skype just formally announced video calling in the Skype 3.0 iOS app, but Fring brought us Skype video calls months ago! The thing is, Skype pulled that feature from Fring with the quickness, but that didn't stop this from being the most read story we published in 2010!

Hulu Plus coming to Xbox 360 at E3 2010:
This was a popular one, and we had solid word that Microsoft would be introducing Zune music, ESPN live video, and Hulu Plus as part of their E3 press event. However, Hulu was pulled because the necessary agreements weren't in place, and we ended up being incorrect on this one. For what it's worth, Hulu Plus was announced for the Xbox 360 a few days later, but it won't officially appear on the console until early 2011.

First iPad review:

Check out this article, and it's easy to see why it was so popular. It was the very first video review of the Apple iPad! Of course, once you see what we mean, you quickly realize that it really wasn't--but you also understand why this was so popular. iPads and puppets?

Wal-Mart, Radio Shack, Best Buy to sell iPhone 4 at launch:
With the iPhone 4 set to create more long lines at Apple Store and AT&T retail locations, many readers were relieved to find that they could also go to a Wal-Mart, Radio Shack, or Best Buy to pick up the new Apple smartphone--until they realized that stores like Radio Shack would only get 2 phones per store in some cases. Yeah, this didn't really help that line situation much.

Samsung Captivate to launch on AT&T for $199 on July 18:
This one kind of surprised us--after all, who knew that AT&T customers would be so excited about the first real Android smartphone that would be available on this carrier? I mean, they've got the iPhone, right? Well, it turned out AT&T customers were pretty darn excited, as this was our fifth most read story of 2010. 

Sprint launches 4G iPad case:

We loved that Sprint put out an iPad case, for free, that actively promoted their 4G wireless hotspot, the Overdrive. Customer could head on over to Best Buy and get a free case with the purchase of an Overdrive, and some stores even let customers buy them for a penny without the Overdrive!

Gear Live and Friends Haiti Donation Drive:
On a more serious note, early in 2010 after the devastating earthquake that rocked Haiti, we put out a call to some of our friends around the web, as well as our readers, and we had a full on donation drive going to do our part in helping the victims of the catastrophe. As it turned out, people were more than happy to help, and when it was all said and done, we raised over $12,700. We thank everyone who helped with the effort.

Android 2.2 Froyo update brings tethering, Wi-Fi hotspot features:

Google really heated things up with the release of Android 2.2 Froyo. You may be on the current Gingerbread train, but there are still a lot of handsets out there waiting for their 2.2 update, and this one was a biggie, with tethering and mobile hotspot features being two long-awaited, and much appreciated, features.

White iPhone 4 will not be available at launch:

Apple's had a tough time getting the white iPhone 4 ready for primetime, and when we got word that AT&T (and then, Apple) wouldn't have any of the white model to go around at launch, we got quite q few upset readers. Now, here we are six months later, and the white iPhone is still not available from any official retail channels (although, we do have one of our own!) The latest? Apple says it'll finally be available "this Spring."

AT&T Samsung Captivate review:
Okay, hang on...the AT&T Samsung Captivate made our top 10 list twice? This is our full review of the smartphone, where we noted "What you are looking at in the Samsung Captivate is a highly customized, but highly functional, Android device. You are also looking at the best Android device that AT&T has to offer, and that’s kind of a big deal. It took a while for AT&T to jump on the Android bandwagon, and we think that the Captivate is a worthy handset for the task of taking some attention away from the iPhone 4." We're just surprised that such a huge amount of AT&T customers were so into this!

So, there you have it, our most popular stories of 2010. Any surprises? Anything you expected to see make an appearance?