To qualify for the Best Manufacturer
award, a company had to appear in at
least two categories with more than
100 votes in each.
This year, Canon won, thanks
to excellent results in Camera and
Printer categories, but it was closely
followed by Gigabyte and both rated
an impressive 6 stars overall. Apple, Asus
and Samsung all rated 5 stars.
Canon's Year
David Goldman, the Group Marketing Manager for Canon
Australia told us how Canon feels its year has gone in
printer and camera categories and we've added the
(edited) comments below:
"We've been very pleased with how well our
market share has held up across the board in printers
and cameras amid very strong competition in most
categories. 2008 has seen digital imaging become even
more important in Australian consumers' lives. High
affordability has made advanced technology that was
previously out of reach attainable for many, and we are
now seeing a creative revolution as a result of this broad
accessibility. We're confident that these factors combined
with our strong stable of brands will see us meet our
goals for 2008.
"Notable achievements for 2008 include producing
our 100-millionth digital camera worldwide and extending
our digital SLR camera range with the entry-level EOS
1000D. The EOS 1000D is significant for two reasons:
43% of digital camera purchasers consider a DSLR as
their next camera; and we now offer photographers two
cameras at each level of our range to suit their creative
needs as their skills develop.
"Our IXUS range of digital still cameras has been
a standout performer this year. As category leader,
we're very happy with our solid number one position.
Digital video has also achieved strong growth and we
expect this to continue with our market-leading range
of High Definition products, including winners of four
Camcorderinfo.com category awards and Camcorder of
the Year in 2007.
"We've seen Canon make some exciting product
developments this year. Our PIXMA inkjet printers and
imageCLASS and LASER SHOT laser printers include
environmental features such as drastically reduced
standby energy consumption of up to 86% and body
size reductions of up to 46% in some models. Other
developments include our quality range of flash memory
digital video cameras and the highly anticipated EOS 5D
Mark II digital SLR camera, which enables outstanding
low-light performance and the unique ability to shoot full
HD video."