When Ryan Block (our former Editor-in-chief) and Peter Rojas (founder of Engadget, Gizmodo, and RCRD LBL) announced last year that they were embarking on a new project together, alarm bells went off across the interblogs. Following nearly 12 months of rampant speculation, the duo's hard work is finally revealed. Combining the best of social networking, forums, news aggregation, and wiki-based sites, gdgt presents a fairly awe-inspiring range of tools for the hardcore gadget lover.

Imagine if Facebook, Wikipedia, your favorite forum, and Google Reader all got mashed into one gigantic, delicious smoothie, and you might begin to get the idea of gdgt. Instead of retreading territory in which they've already blazed a path, Ryan and Peter present a logical step forward for the gadget community -- a place where you can discuss, dissect, and grow your passion with other like minded individuals. It's an ambitious project with lots of really cool stuff to discover, like product comparison tools, the ability to track gadgets you own (or used to own, or want), news from top gadget sites (wink wink), and embeddable widgets.

Look, we've found the best way in life to learn about something is to scuttle the user manual and dive right in -- we highly suggest you do the same and take gdgt out for a spin. We think you'll like what you find.

Congrats Peter and Ryan!

As we noted when we heard about our nomination for this award, it's not about the prizes and plaques for us at Engadget. That said, when news came down the line that we'd won the EPpy Award for "Best Consumer Technology Blog," we did feel a pang of pride. It's always nice to be recognized for doing solid work, especially when that work is something you truly love.

We won't bore you with any sappy acceptance speeches, but we will say that we're psyched to be able to bring tech news to you guys every day. Next up for us? We're gonna keep on keepin' on -- and we've got some pretty cool stuff in the works.

Stay tuned... it's going to be an amazing year!

-Team Engadget

We don't really like to get self-congratulatory at Engadget -- we prefer to let the work speak for itself. Still, we thought it was pretty cool when we heard that we'd been nominated for an EPpy Award in the category of "Best Consumer Technology Blog." We're not alone, either -- the AOL family picked up the most nominations of any one company, with sites likes FanHouse and BloggingStocks getting nods as well. At the end of the day, we don't really care if we win or lose, but it's kind of nice to be recognized for doing what you love and doing it well -- so... thanks!

You know, we were as surprised as anyone to see a totally out-of-context quote of ours used on a Monster Cable site (without permission, mind you) to sell the company's "Beats by Dre" headphones (you can see the screen cap after the break). It's ironic, really, given that we currently have a blacklist in place for the overpriced cable-maker because of their rotten business practices (like regularly going after other companies that happen to use the word monster in their name, faking performance tests, and generally bilking customers out of their hard-earned dough). Regardless, if Monster wants to use a quote from Engadget, that's no problem. We suggest this one:

Monster Cable sucks.

Update: Monster has removed the quote from the site. Now that was fast. Power to the people!

[Thanks, Michael K.]

If you're like us, you're probably taking an ever-increasing interest in gadgets with an eco slant. If that's the case -- and we think that it is -- you'll want to check into Greener Gadgets, a day dedicated to the quest for sustainable consumer electronics and better solutions for our industry, launched by Jill Fehrenbacher, Editor-in-chief of Inhabitat. This Friday (February 27th, 2009), you can join "innovators, entrepreneurs, visionaries, and eco-designers" in New York City to explore some of those solutions, take a look at green gadgetry, and hear from a handful of speakers on the cutting edge of Earth-friendly electronics. Oh, and there's that killer design competition to round it all up. This year, our own Editor-in-chief, Joshua Topolsky, will be moderating a panel on gadget recycling called "Closing the Loop In Cradle to Cradle," so if you needed some added incentive to attend, you've got it. Today is the last day for registration, so follow the read link and sign yourself up!

Look, we don't normally talk about that wacky old medium -- the printed word -- but this is a special case. Our very own Chris Ziegler, whom many of us refer to around here as "the modern-day Hemingway," has just recently put pen to paper (er, finger to keyboard) and written the definitive tome on all things G1. Namely, T-Mobile G1 For Dummies. If you at all care about the state of our nation, world peace, finding the Ark of the Covenant, creating the perfect salsa, or just figuring out how to set the alarm clock on your phone: this is the book for you. In all seriousness, we're super proud of Chris' efforts here, and we hope -- if you're totally into the G1, like we know you are -- you'll take a peek at these totally boss pages.

Well, the year has come and gone, and with it, our 365 -- or in this case, 366 -- days of posting. We've seen some pretty amazing stuff, gotten to play with a stack of awesome gear, and watched the site grow by leaps and bounds (we just had our biggest day ever in October). We thought we'd cap the year off with a look back at the posts that got the most heat. One thing that's clear? People really love (or hate) Apple. Check out the top 20 of the year below, and be sure to truck over to Engadget Mobile and Engadget HD for their year-end round-ups!

Top 20 most trafficked posts of 2008 (in order)

1. Steve Jobs keynote live from WWDC 2008
2. Live from Apple's "spotlight turns to notebooks" event
3. Live from Apple's 'Let's Rock' event in San Francisco
4. Live from Macworld 2008: Steve Jobs keynote
5. Live from Apple's iPhone SDK press conference
6. iPhone 3G is finally official, starts at $199, available July 11th
7. The second-gen iPhone: 3G, GPS, only slightly thicker
8. iPhone 3G review
9. BlackBerry Storm review
10. Meet the T-Mobile G1
11. Sony Ericsson's XPERIA X1 QWERTY with Windows Mobile and HSUPA
12. Woman files $54m lawsuit against Best Buy for losing laptop
13. The HTC Touch Pro
14. MacBook Air review
15. Dell E and E Slim revealed, taking on Eee and Air in one fell swoop
16. Worst parents in the world punk kid into thinking he got an Xbox 360
17. T-Mobile G1 review
18. T-Mobile G1 first hands-on (updated)
19. iPhone firmware 2.0 hands-on
20. The Simpsons mocks (m)Apple

Top 20 most trafficked posts during 2008 (in order; non-2008 posts in bold)

1. Steve Jobs keynote live from WWDC 2008
2. Live from Apple's "spotlight turns to notebooks" event
3. Live from Apple's 'Let's Rock' event in San Francisco
4. Live from Macworld 2008: Steve Jobs keynote
5. Live from Apple's iPhone SDK press conference
6. iPhone 3G is finally official, starts at $199, available July 11th
7. The second-gen iPhone: 3G, GPS, only slightly thicker
8. HOW-TO: Get music OFF your iPod
9. iPhone 3G review
10. BlackBerry Storm review
11. Meet the T-Mobile G1
12. Sony Ericsson's XPERIA X1 QWERTY with Windows Mobile and HSUPA
13. Turn your PC into a Mac
14. HOW-TO: Get videos and DVDs onto your Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) for free
15. Woman files $54m lawsuit against Best Buy for losing laptop
16. The HTC Touch Pro
17. iPhone unlocked: AT&T loses iPhone exclusivity, August 24, 2007, 12:00PM EDT
18. MacBook Air review
19. Dell E and E Slim revealed, taking on Eee and Air in one fell swoop
20. Blu-ray vs HD DVD: State of the Division

Top 15 most trafficked posts of the year, sans Apple-only posts (in order)

1. BlackBerry Storm review
2. Meet the T-Mobile G1
3. Sony Ericsson's XPERIA X1 QWERTY with Windows Mobile and HSUPA
4. Woman files $54m lawsuit against Best Buy for losing laptop
5. The HTC Touch Pro
6. Dell E and E Slim revealed, taking on Eee and Air in one fell swoop
7. Worst parents in the world punk kid into thinking he got an Xbox 360
8. T-Mobile G1 review
9. T-Mobile G1 first hands-on (updated)
10. Little old lady suing Sony, Samsung, Nokia and everyone else for infringing on her laser patents
11. Sony gets official with PSP-3000
12. The PS3 Laptop: from Ben Heck to Engadget with love
13. Holiday Gift Guide: $1001+
14. Best Buy offers HD DVD owners $10 million in gift cards, trade in, shoulder to cry on
15. HP's UMPC 2133 revealed

A few other interesting numbers for you:

Total posts on Engadget in 2008: 11,878
Total number of comments: 697,672 (and counting)
Average comments per post: 58.7

Combined Engadget classic, HD, and Mobile stats:

Posts: 21,880
Comments: 853,044
Average comments per post: 39.0

If you've been wondering what former editor-in-chief (but current editor-at-large) Ryan Block has been up to since he left the site, wonder no more! He and Engadget founder Peter Rojas have just soft-launched their latest foray into the world of gadgets, fittingly (and simply) named... gdgt. Right now they're just getting off the ground, but they've got a new podcast up, and we expect some great content to follow. It should be noted that Peter and Ryan have reached out to various voices in the tech community (yours truly included, along with Gizmodo editor Brian Lam) to advise and input on the new property, which should provide for spirited mashups about all the technology you know (or don't know yet) and love. Hit the read link to check it all out!

As you already may know, today is Ryan Block's last day as editor-in-chief of Engadget, and, consequently, the beginning of my tenure in that same position. If you've ever met Ryan, read his work here on the site (and you'd better have), or seen one of his appearances on television, then you know that he's that rare kind of obsessive technology nerd who also happens to be incredibly erudite and funny. Along with founder Peter Rojas, he made Engadget what it is today, so while there's no question that he'll be missed here, we've got great expectations about his new project, and we're happy to say he'll remain on-board as editor-at-large for columns, advice, and picking up the tab when he's in town.

All of that said, however, I'm incredibly excited about getting started on what tomorrow brings: the next phase of Engadget's evolution. Stepping into the role that Ryan is vacating isn't just about emulating the accomplishments that he and Peter worked for, but building off of those successes and bringing something new to the table, and you can be sure that's what I plan on doing. Still, what's core to Engadget won't change, and we'll continue to be the definitive voice in tech journalism thanks to the tireless work of our team (the best in the industry), and the dedication of the legions of readers that visit this site every day (also the best in the industry). It's a huge honor and challenge to take the reins here, and I know it's going to be an amazing ride.

For most of us here, at some point the sensation of breaking the news takes hold and turns into something else, something much more like an addiction. It really gets into you, keeps you up at night, makes you stay in on weekends. It's in Engadget's DNA, and it's what's kept me glued to the site most waking hours of most days for over four years now.

But fresh challenges can also be addictive, which is why I've decided to step down as editor of this publication in late August so as to start a new company. I'm extremely excited -- but there's also simply no way I can give up working with Engadget that easily, so I'll remain on as editor-at-large, where I'll have a longer-term advisory role to the site (and do some writing from time to time, as well).

I'll be leaving Engadget in the immensely talented hands of Josh Topolsky, whose vision and voice will ensure the site lives up to its legacy as gadget publication nonpareil. Also, Engadget's current Managing Editor Joshua Fruhlinger will soon begin to formally oversee the AOL Tech network, including Switched, TUAW, Download Squad, and the Engadget network. With Josh Topolsky at the helm and Joshua Fruhlinger's stewardship, I have no doubt that Engadget won't just carry on, but will become even better than ever. Read on.

Whoa, hard to believe its been three years since the last internationalized version of Engadget launched, but we're back and have a number of new sites in the pipeline -- kicking off with Engadget in Polish!

Why Polish, you ask? Well, besides the fact that we had some amazing talent waiting in the wings to blow it out, it's also a smaller (dare we say underserved?) market to soft-launch in that allows us to work out the kinks as we prepare to do even more international versions of Engadget in the coming weeks and months.

So if Polish isn't your bag, just hang tight, you'll be seeing even more localized Engadgets soon enough. And if it is, head on over and welcome our Polish team to the fold!

As of a couple redesigns ago, Engadget's content column has been variable width, meaning the wider your browser, the wider the content. Readers with big widescreen monitors can feel the full effect, but we're also cognizant of the reading issues go along with having too much width, so we've been toying with the idea of going back to a fixed-width layout for the site. What do you think, how wide is wide enough for reading Engadget?

You nominated, everybody voted, and the results are in. The winners of the 2007 Engadget Awards are...

It's been well over a year since our last big redesign, which in gadget time means our last design was unveiled circa original Walkman. So we're freshening up the whole joint -- all seven sites -- with a brand new design. Oh, and we're also adding an eighth site to the Engadget network: Switched!

Our latest addition, Switched will be dishing out features for those with a more casual interest in tech, as well as highlighting fresh, hand-picked tech news from our network of sister sites. So expect to see hot stories from Engadget classic, Mobile, HD, TUAW, and Download Squad running over there, as well as news from other geeky Weblogs, Inc. sites like Joystiq, Xbox 360 Fanboy, and Wii Fanboy.

As for Engadget's new design, we went through and really cleaned up the joint, yanking out old modules and ads wherever possible. You might spot our new and improved photo gallery browsing and updated looks on things like comments and polls, but it's hardest to miss the new rotating carousel over on the right. Keep an eye on that thing, it's where we'll be plugging in our biggest stories and must-see features.

Of course, launching eight sites at the same time is bound to cause a few problems, so please tap that first adopter attitude and bear with us as we squish bugs and tweak styles. And definitely hit us up in comments to let us know what you think (or if you see anything wonky)!

P.S. -Big ups to the gang that worked tirelessly to make this happen: Matt, Mark, Erik, Gavin, Celly, Alex, Christoph, Charlie, Marty, and the rest of the crew!