Although the journalists handing out the award withheld judgment until they could get a look at offerings from Archos and Microsoft, consumers had already made up their minds, buying twice as many of Apple’s “funnest iPod ever” in the company’s fourth fiscal quarter as the same period as 2008. However, if you want an iPod touch, too, but have an aversion to paying the full MSRP there are hot deals to be had.

Although the mothership gets endless grief for their byzantine app vetting process and for barring some apps, there’s no question the iPhone’s the smartphone to buy for the biggest selection, both in terms of quantity and quality, of mobile software. Still, those issues linger, though the FCC and Verizon seem to be pushing Apple and AT&T in the right direction.

The iPhone and iPod Touch have turned into major gaming platforms, and it should come as no surprise that people want to kill as much time as possible with their favorite mobile device. Welcome to the world of the all consuming role-playing games.

The same lovely fellow who got himself banned from the iPhone App Store for creating more than 900 mostly useless applications, as well as over 100 complaints from competitors about stolen software code, is back in the news. This time around it’s the feds making the accusations and they’ve filed an indictment accusing Khalid Shaikh of using DOS attacks against a company he once headed.

Microsoft’s hype-driven search decision engine interface has now been optimized for the iPhone and iPod touch, as well as a bunch of the usual touch-based suspects, including the Zune. Features include easy tabbed homepage navigation and tabbed search results organization.

Although I’ve yet to put it to the test, there’s a lot to like just reading through the changes made to this open source project. Have a look at what’s been added and, just as important, what’s been fixed in this milestone release.

Four years and much snarky criticism after Apple began using handheld point-of-sale (POS) terminals running Windows CE, the company has finally turned a corner and is now in the process of rolling out an iPod touch-based system. Same software, but the new hardware is much more capable and, surprisingly, one heckuva lot less expensive.

The Mac tablet breadcrumb trail now leads down under with media companies in Oz, off the record of course, reporting that the mothership’s been round to pitch their phantom device. This latest report adds weight to rumors that the Cupertino, California-based Mac, iPod and iPhone maker is preparing to remake the publishing business, bringing it into the 21st Century.

Are you annoyed that your iPhone includes many records with no phone numbers? Here’s a sweet little trick — including a ground floor primer on copying, compiling and running an AppleScript — to synchronize only Address Book entries that include telephone numbers.

If you’re a space junky, and we know you’re out there, it’s no longer a question of keeping up with and in touch with National Aeronautics and Space Administration news and happenings — it’s how close you can be and the continuity of the contact. Here’s a free tool for keeping your finger on the pulse when you’re away from a traditional or Wi-Fi internet connection.