Engadget

Engadget
Type of site	Blog
Available in	English
Editor	Dana Wollman
General manager	Sarah Priestley
Parent	Weblogs, Inc. (2004–2011); AOL Inc. (2011–2017); Oath (2017–2019); Verizon Media (2019–2021); Yahoo! Inc. (2021–present);
URL	www.engadget.com
Commercial	Yes
Registration	Optional
Launched	March 2004; 20 years ago
Current status	Online

Engadget (/ɪnˈɡædʒɪt/ in-GAJ-it^[1]^[2]) is a technology news, reviews and analysis website offering daily coverage of gadgets, consumer electronics, video games, gaming hardware, apps, social media, streaming, AI, space, robotics, electric vehicles and other potentially consumer-facing technology. The site's content includes short-form news posts, reported features, news analysis, product reviews, buying guides, two weekly video shows, The Engadget Podcast, The Morning After newsletter and a weekly deals newsletter. It has been operated by Yahoo! Inc. since September 2021.^[3]

History

Engadget was founded by former Gizmodo technology weblog editor and co-founder Peter Rojas. Engadget was the largest blog in Weblogs, Inc., a blog network with over 75 weblogs, including Autoblog and Joystiq, which formerly included Hackaday. Weblogs Inc. was purchased by AOL in 2005.^[4]

Launched in March 2004, Engadget was one of the internet's earliest tech blogs. It built a reputation for posting about gadget announcements, as well as rumors and leaks about upcoming products. In its early days, the site frequently offered opinion within its stories. Early leadership also launched the weekly Engadget Podcast, which covered tech and gadget news stories that happened during the week.^[4]

On December 30, 2009, Engadget released its first mobile app for the iPhone and iPod Touch.^[5]^[6] It was relaunched in 2017,^[7] but has since been discontinued.

Overnight, on July 15, 2013, Tim Stevens stepped down as the editor-in-chief, placing gdgt's Marc Perton as the interim executive editor.^[8] In November 2013, a major redesign was launched that merged gdgt's features into Engadget, such as the database of devices and aggregated reviews. The changes aimed to turn Engadget into a more extensive consumer electronics resource, similarly to CNET and Consumer Reports, aimed towards "the early adopter in all of us".^[9]

In April 2014, Michael Gorman was named the editor-in-chief of Engadget, alongside Christopher Trout as executive editor.^[10] In April 2017, Trout was announced as the new editor-in-chief, with managing editor Dana Wollman promoted to executive editor.^[11] In September 2018, it was announced that Dana Wollman would take over as editor-in-chief.^[12]

On December 2, 2015, Engadget introduced a redesign, as well as a new editorial direction with a focus on broader topics influenced by technology; Gorman explained that "the core Engadget audience—people who are very much involved in the industry—pay attention to it closely, but the new editorial direction is really meant to make it approachable for folks outside of that realm."^[13] The site's broader focus beyond hardware and short-form blog posts continues to the present day. As of 2023^[update], the site publishes upwards of two dozen stories on an average weekday, with content including short-form news posts, longer-form reported features, product reviews and buying guides, news analysis, and "hot takes." Engadget also produces The Morning After newsletter, which runs Mondays through Fridays, a weekly deals newsletter that usually goes out on Thursdays, and The Engadget Podcast. The podcast is currently hosted by deputy editor Cherlynn Low and senior reporter Devindra Hardawar. New episodes drop on Fridays.^[14]^[15] In 2023, Engadget launched two weekly video series, The Morning After starring UK bureau chief Mat Smith (who also writes the newsletter of the same name) and an as-yet unnamed gaming-related series hosted by senior reporter Jessica Conditt.^[16]^[17]

Awards and honors

Awards

In 2018 Engadget won a Webby Award for "Best Writing" in the "Websites and Mobile Sites" category.^[18] The site also won honors three times from the Society for Features Journalism from 2019 to 2020, including two features by then staffer Chris Ip and one from contributor Megan Giller.^[19] ^[20]

Official Best of CES Awards

In 2013 it was announced that Engadget would be the new judge of the official Best of CES Awards. Engadget's partnership with the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the group that organizes CES, continued through CES 2021.^[21] ^[22] For CES 2022 and CES 2023, Engadget issued "Best of CES" awards independent of any partnership with the CTA.^[23]^[24]

Controversies

William Shatner and Twitter verification

On June 21, 2014, actor William Shatner raised an issue with several Engadget editorial staff and their "verification" status on Twitter. This began when the site's social media editor, John Colucci tweeted a celebration of the site hitting over one million Twitter followers.^[25]^{[better source needed]} Besides Colucci, Shatner also targeted several junior members of the staff for being "nobodies", unlike some of his actor colleagues who did not bear such distinction. Shatner claimed Colucci and the team were bullying him when giving a text interview to Mashable. ^[26] Over a month later, Shatner continued to discuss the issue on his Tumblr page,^[27] to which Engadget replied by defending its team and discussing the controversy surrounding the social media verification.^[28]

The Verge

In early 2011, eight of the most prominent editorials and technology staff members left AOL to build a new gadget site with the CEO Jim Bankoff at SB Nation. On leaving, Joshua Topolsky, former editor-in-chief, is quoted having said, "We have been working on blogging, technology that was developed in 2003, we haven't made a hire since I started running the site, and I thought we could be more successful elsewhere".^[29]

References

^ "What to expect at Apple's WWDC 2022 | Engadget Podcast". YouTube. June 2, 2022. Archived from the original on June 3, 2022. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
^ Some speakers pronounce the name as /ˈɛnɡædʒɪt/, /EN-gaj-it/.
^ "Verizon Media". verizonmedia.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Rachel Rosmarin (July 18, 2008). "The Gadget Guru". Forbes. Archived from the original on July 29, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
^ Lavey, Megan (December 30, 2009). "Engadget releases iPhone app". The Unofficial Apple Weblog. Archived from the original on March 26, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2011.
^ "Downloads – iPhone". Engadget. November 30, 2011. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
^ "Introducing the new Engadget app!". Engadget. February 2, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
^ "Tim Stevens Out at Engadget, Marc Perton To Take Over". TechCrunch. July 15, 2013. Archived from the original on July 8, 2017. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
^ "Engadget Makeover Folds In 'All The Best Things' About Gdgt As It Fields More Mainstream Readers". TechCrunch. November 18, 2013. Archived from the original on May 29, 2015. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
^ "Engadget Names New Executive Editor, Editor in Chief". Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
^ "A letter from your editor: Changes ahead". Engadget. April 20, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
^ "A letter from the editor: Engadget's next chapter". Engadget. September 11, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
^ Alpert, Lukas I. (December 2, 2015). "Engadget Unveils Redesign Focused on Technology's Effect on Society". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on December 16, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
^ "Engadget Podcasts". Engadget. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
^ "Engadget | Technology News & Reviews". Engadget. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
^ "The Morning After: Google's geothermal power plant in the desert and more". Engadget. December 2, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
^ "Engadget | Technology News & Reviews". Engadget. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
^ "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". NEW Webby Gallery + Index. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
^ "Society for Features Journalism". Society for Features Journalism. December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
^ SFJ (July 9, 2020). "Megan Giller of engadget wins the honorable mention prize in the Food Writing Portfolio (Division 3) category at WeAreSFJ's 2020 Excellence in Features Awards!". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved December 13, 2023.
^ "Engadget is proud to be the home of the 2014 Best of CES Awards". Engadget. May 20, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
^ "Congratulations Engadget Best of CES 2021 Winners". www.ces.tech. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
^ "The best of CES 2022". Engadget. January 7, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
^ "The best of CES 2023". Engadget. January 6, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
^ Alan White (June 23, 2014). "William Shatner Went On A Massive Rant About How He's Sick Of "Nobodies" Getting Verified On Twitter". BuzzFeed^{[unreliable source?]}. Archived from the original on June 28, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
^ Ulanoff, Lance (June 24, 2014). "William Shatner: My Problem With Twitter's Verified Accounts". Engadget. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
^ Shatner, William (July 29, 2014). "Abusing Verification – Segueing with Shatner". Engadget. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
^ Lee, Nicole (July 31, 2014). "The perks of being 'somebody' online". Engadget. Archived from the original on September 13, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
^ Carr, David (April 3, 2011). "No Longer Shackled by AOL". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 7, 2011.