In January 2010, About.com asked readers to nominate their favorite smartphones and apps in six categories: Best Smartphone, Best Budget Smartphone, Best Free iPhone App, Best Paid iPhone App, Best Android App, and Best BlackBerry App.

Once the nominations were tallied, the finalists were announced, and voting began. From February 1 through February 24, readers were allowed to vote for the winners via online polls on this site.

Thousands of votes were cast, and the winners have been determined. Without further ado, here are the winners of the 2010 Reader's Choice Awards for Smartphones.

Click through this gallery to see the winner (and their margin of victory) in each category. Or click on the links below to jump ahead to a specific category.

Categories:

Best Smartphone

Best Budget Smartphone

Best Free iPhone App

Best Paid iPhone App

Best Android App

Best BlackBerry App

With an overwhelming 81 percent of the vote, Sprint's HTC Hero won the 2010 About.com Reader's Choice Award for Best Smartphone. It beat out several high-profile rivals to earn the crown, including Apple's iPhone 3GS, the BlackBerry Bold 9700, and the Motorola Droid.

While the HTC Hero may not be as well known as its rivals, its victory is not exactly an upset. This phone can match many of the bigger-name devices feature for feature.

When I reviewed it last year, I called it the "best Android phone yet." And even after testing the Motorola Droid and the Nexus One, I'd still call the Hero my favorite Android-based device.

For more information, read my full review of the HTC Hero.

The Runners-Up:

Apple iPhone 3GS: 6%

Motorola Droid: 4%

Nokia N97: 4%

BlackBerry Bold 9700: 2%

(Note: Because poll results are rounded, the voting percentage may not total 100 percent.)

Another of HTC's Android-based smartphones emerged victorious in the 2010 Reader's Choice Awards. HTC's Droid Eris -- a phone that is, in many ways, similar to the HTC Hero -- won the title of Best Budget Smartphone with 26 percent of the vote, narrowing out such rivals as the BlackBerry Curve and the Apple iPhone 3G.

Verizon Wireless launched the Droid Eris alongside the higher-profile Motorola Droid late last year.

While the Motorola Droid garnered many headlines and plenty of buzz, the Droid Eris also earned its own devoted following, thanks in no small part to its low price. At $99.99, the Droid Eris is $100 cheaper than the Motorola Droid.

For more information, read my overview of the HTC Droid Eris. And to see how it stands up to the pricier Motorola Droid, read my detailed comparison of the two phones.

The Runners-Up:

BlackBerry Curve: 23%

Samsung Omnia: 22%

Apple iPhone 3G: 18%

Samsung BlackJack II: 8%

(Note: Because poll results are rounded, the voting percentage may not total 100 percent.)

I have not yet tried PewPew, a free multidirectional shooter game for the iPhone. But now that this game has earned the About.com Reader's Choice Award for Best Free iPhone App, I'm going to have to give it a try. It earned 31 percent of the vote, outpacing rivals such as Slacker Radio and Google Maps.

More information is available on PewPew's developer site.

The Runners-Up:

Slacker Radio: 27%

textPlus: 25%

Flickr: 11%

Google Maps: 4%

(Note: Because poll results are rounded, the voting percentage may not total 100 percent.)

TomTom made big headlines last year when it announced that it would be launching a dedicated GPS app for the iPhone. After all, TomTom is one of the best-known and most well-regarded GPS makers around. That's just one of the reasons why this app, now available for $59.99, has earned the About.com Reader's Choice Award for Best Paid iPhone App. It earned 58 percent of the vote, edging rival Navigon's GPS app for the title.

For more information, read a full review of TomTom for iPhone from About.com's Guide to GPS.

The Runners-Up:

Slacker Radio: 27%

textPlus: 25%

Flickr: 11%

Google Maps: 4%

(Note: Because poll results are rounded, the voting percentage may not total 100 percent.)

The Android Market doesn't (yet) offer the almost unlimited selection of apps available in the Apple App Store. But it does offer some gems, like Slacker Radio. This free music-streaming application lets you listen to a variety of music genres, or allows you to create your own station that suits your music tastes. And, having earned 45 percent of the vote, Slacker Radio is now the winner of the 2010 About.com Reader's Choice Award for Best Android App.

More information is available on Slacker's Web site.

The Runners-Up:

TeleNav GPS Navigator: 27%

Google Maps Navigation (beta): 12%

Jetflicks! TV: 7%

Google Voice: 3%

(Note: Because poll results are rounded, the voting percentage may not total 100 percent.)

This is another application I haven't yet had a chance to try, but I look forward to testing it out. DriveSafe.ly is a free application that offers a safer way to use your BlackBerry smartphone while driving: It reads text messages and e-mails out loud to you, and lets you respond by voice, without ever touching the phone. DriveSafe.ly earned the 2010 About.com Reader's Choice Award for Best BlackBerry app with 77 percent of the vote, easily besting all of its competition, which included AOL's Instant Messenger, Vlingo, and more.

More information is available on .

The Runners-Up:

PodTrapper Podcast Manager: 7%

TeleNav GPS Navigator: 7%

Vlingo: 6%

AOL Instant Messenger: 1%

(Note: Because poll results are rounded, the voting percentage may not total 100 percent.)