The End of Year Most Popular Posts post is a blogging tradition that goes right back to the digital dark ages (“when men were men, women were men and children were FBI agents”, as RBX excellently put it on Yahoo Answers). Not only is this approach a great way to look back over the past 365 days and find out what you’ve been up to, it’s also quite a lazily cunning way of recycling old content. Well, we’re not above that at 3mobilebuzz so here’s our offering…with a bit of a twist that befits our style…

2008 was the year 3 brought us the mobile dongle, the Skypephone S2 and (more recently) the INQ1. With affordable, social media-centric devices even on PAYG and tariffs that made a mockery of the £1 for 1MB nonsense that totally buggered the mobile internet in its early days, 3 continued to focus on making the untethered web accessible to all. This was all, seemingly, welcomed and sparked a lot of conversation – some of which ended up on here.

So, to usher in 2009, 3mobilebuzz look back on the year that was and ask, “What were the most visited links we pointed you towards in 2008?”

10. “Is the S2 Skypephone by 3 actually any good?” – Is it? Actually? That was the question asked to Mobile Shop, and one that was on your minds too. I won’t ruin the fun by giving away their verdict, just follow the link.

9. Manhandling the INQ1 – Electricpig’s review of the INQ1 got reader’s fingers clicking. Maybe it’s simply because of the use of the term ‘manhandle’? Or maybe James Holland’s excitement for the device is contagious?

8. INQ1 doing its thing! – Who can resist a shaky video of the INQ1 in action?

7. Skype Journal puts S2 through its paces – Number seven in the most popular links of the year is Jim Courtney’s comparison of the S2 with iSkoot on the Blackberry 8820, saying it’s the user experience that matters. If you’re tempted to buy a Skype-enabled device, don’t decide anything before taking into account Jim’s vigorous critique.

6. Pocket-lint gives the S2 8 out of 10 – The follow-up to the Skypephone appeared to tackle most of the criticism targeted at the original, as the guys at Pocket-lint point out, and proved to be a worthy successor. The review verdict starts by saying: “As a concept we love it. However, the S2 suffers the same problems as the S1, in that you’ve got to really want to Skype people to make this a worthwhile investment.” With this coming in at six in our list, that suggests there are quite a few people out there who do really want to Skype people.

5. INQ1 and the Time of Economic Doom – Portable Gadget spoke about this “time of economic doom” in this no-thrills review of the INQ1. Just the facts, but it seemed to capture your attention.

4. The INQ1 launch live-blogging – In at number four, we have Shiny Shiny’s live-blog of the INQ1 launch. Zara Rabinowicz talks us through all features and announcements from the day.

3. Seriously Social Party Competition – 3’s Facebook competition to win £25,000 to go towards a party for your friends caught everybody’s attention. Before you start thinking about what you would’ve done with the money, I should probably point out this stipulation hidden away in the T&Cs: “The entire prize fund may not be spent on alcohol.”

1 & 2. Using a 3 mobile broadband dongle with the Eee PC – The netbook that put netbooks on the map, the Eee PC, seems so perfect for the mobile broadband you’d think they were made for each other. You’d be wrong. Fortunately, Dale Lane and Liam Green-Hughes came to our rescue and posted these comprehensive guides, making it possible for all Eee PC users to surf the web while lazing about in the open air. Or, at least, they could’ve if last summer wasn’t the greyest on record. These links were the two most clicked of the year.

So now the question is, what will 3 be doing in 2009? We have no doubt that the network will continue to define itself as the one for 3G and mobile internet. Will another version of the Skypephone appear? We’re not sure. I’ll be surprised if the INQ2 is not released at some point, hopefully integrating even more social media tools but will 3 venture into touchscreen territory? It seems an obvious move but, if the Skypephone and INQ1 are any indication, this will probably only happen if the company can ensure the device remains affordable.

Since the early days of the network, 3 has been plagued by criticism about its customer service and coverage. It’s reached a point where even customers who have no personal experience of 3 are trying to deter people from signing up to the network. A big focus for 3 during 2009 must be to address these concerns by letting the customers know they’re being listened to and proving the naysayers wrong.

And what do you think, 3mobilebuzz reader? Post your thoughts on what the future holds for 3 customers in the comment section below.