Top-10 tech gadgets of 2012 via year-end Google search data

When it was announced, everyone went bonkers over the iPhone 5 (When does everyone not go bonkers when Apple announces anything new?); however, there's been quite a bit of grief expressed by seasoned iPhone users, including the way many apps look on the new screen, a new connecter that's incompatible with all previous Apple hardware, an astronomical price tag, and more. Even with that being the case, it should come as no surprise that the iPhone 5 made it onto a list comprised of the 10 most searched-for tech gadgets in 2012.

Source: iPhone 5

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• 20 awesome gadgets and gift ideas for techies!
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• 20 of the coolest gadgets and must-haves for your office!

2012 was a great year for smartphones, and though the Galaxy S II was released last year in various forms throughout the year, it's since enjoyed a vast, enthusiastic following. To date, the Galaxy S III has been released, with rumors and predictions of the Galaxy S4 launch date now beginning to circulate.

Source: Samsung Galaxy S2

Need gadgets or gift ideas? Check out the following galleries!

• 20 awesome gadgets and gift ideas for techies!
• 10 stress-relieving gadgets everyone needs
• 20 awesome office gadgets and must-haves
• 10 awesome and unique USB flash drives
• 10 excellent iPhone and iPad gadgets and accessories
  
• 20 of the coolest gadgets and must-haves for your office!

Samsung had a stellar year in 2012 for tech gadgets, with the Galaxy S2 before this, and one more coming farther down the list! The Galaxy Note 2 is a smartphone/tablet combo (colloquially known as a "phablet") that has been quite well-received by its user base. It's great for business application, as well as those looking for an all-in-one solution for tablet and phone needs. And rumor has it that the Galaxy Note 3 is underway and will sport an even larger screen than the Galaxy Note 2!

Source: Galaxy Note 2

Need gadgets or gift ideas? Check out the following galleries!

• 20 awesome gadgets and gift ideas for techies!
• 10 stress-relieving gadgets everyone needs
• 20 awesome office gadgets and must-haves
• 10 awesome and unique USB flash drives
• 10 excellent iPhone and iPad gadgets and accessories
  
• 20 of the coolest gadgets and must-haves for your office!

Perhaps the most polarizing tech gadget of 2012 (primarily due to opinions of Windows RT and Windows 8 Pro) is Microsoft's Surface tablet. There seems to be no in-the-middle with how people feel about Surface: they either love it or they hate it, and it mostly has everything to do with the operating system running on Surface. Clearly, this top-10 list demonstrates how searched-for the Surface was in 2012, but how has it sold? The jury is still out on that one at the moment...

Source: Microsoft Surface

Need gadgets or gift ideas? Check out the following galleries!

• 20 awesome gadgets and gift ideas for techies!
• 10 stress-relieving gadgets everyone needs
• 20 awesome office gadgets and must-haves
• 10 awesome and unique USB flash drives
• 10 excellent iPhone and iPad gadgets and accessories
  
• 20 of the coolest gadgets and must-haves for your office!

The Nexus 7 tablet, an Android-powered tablet offered by Google, is one of the more recent additions to the ever-growing abundance of tablets on the market. So far, it has been quite well-received, with reviewers speaking highly of the tablet after putting it through its paces -- including how well it runs Android. Oh, and if Google happens to roll out Google Fiber to your town next, you'll get a Nexus 7 tablet for free as a remote control if you order the Fiber+TV package. Not too shabby!

Source: Nexus 7

Need gadgets or gift ideas? Check out the following galleries!

• 20 awesome gadgets and gift ideas for techies!
• 10 stress-relieving gadgets everyone needs
• 20 awesome office gadgets and must-haves
• 10 awesome and unique USB flash drives
• 10 excellent iPhone and iPad gadgets and accessories
  
• 20 of the coolest gadgets and must-haves for your office!

The Kindle Fire was Amazon's entry into a richer tablet experience from their end of the tablet spectrum. Since its release, Amazon has brought to market the Kindle Fire HD, which kicks their Kindle Fire offering up a notch or three via a high-res display, audio enhancements, various-sized models, and more.

Source: Kindle Fire

Need gadgets or gift ideas? Check out the following galleries!

• 20 awesome gadgets and gift ideas for techies!
• 10 stress-relieving gadgets everyone needs
• 20 awesome office gadgets and must-haves
• 10 awesome and unique USB flash drives
• 10 excellent iPhone and iPad gadgets and accessories
  
• 20 of the coolest gadgets and must-haves for your office!

Released in mid-2012, the Galaxy S3 took things to the next level for Samsung's smartphone offerings, and to this day, it remains one of the best high-end phones on the market. However, with phones like the HTC Droid DNA now hitting the market, the Galaxy S3 is beginning to show signs of needing an upgrade. Good thing those S4 rumors are steadily picking up...

Source: Samsung Galaxy S3

Need gadgets or gift ideas? Check out the following galleries!

• 20 awesome gadgets and gift ideas for techies!
• 10 stress-relieving gadgets everyone needs
• 20 awesome office gadgets and must-haves
• 10 awesome and unique USB flash drives
• 10 excellent iPhone and iPad gadgets and accessories
  
• 20 of the coolest gadgets and must-haves for your office!

Coming in at number 2 is the iPad mini. It's received great fanfare, but I, personally, found it to be the most lackluster offering to come out of Apple in quite a long time . It's basically a shrunken-down iPad 2, sporting the hottest features of yesteryear. Despite my opinion, this tech gadget has been quite a hot little number, considering it was just announced in November and it's showing up as the 2nd most searched-for tech gadget of 2012!

I bet you can't guess what's coming up in the number 1 slot...

Source: iPad Mini

Need gadgets or gift ideas? Check out the following galleries!

• 20 awesome gadgets and gift ideas for techies!
• 10 stress-relieving gadgets everyone needs
• 20 awesome office gadgets and must-haves
• 10 awesome and unique USB flash drives
• 10 excellent iPhone and iPad gadgets and accessories
  
• 20 of the coolest gadgets and must-haves for your office!

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Although the iPad 4 was announced, and released, in November of this year , the iPad 3 reigns supreme as the most searched-for tech gadget in the US in 2012, according to Google! This shouldn't come as a surprise, seeing as it was the first tablet to bring Retina-display-quality visuals to a tablet. It was quite a beautiful sight to behold when first using one (especially for individuals, like me, who have been using an iPad since before the iPad 3 was released), and I'm not sure the iPad will ever see a greater upgrade than what its 3rd-generation iteration received.

Personally, I think I would choose the iPad 3 as my top tech gadget of 2012, too. Either way, this is a fitting end to a list that clearly demonstrates a year rife with tablets and smartphones dominating the tech gadget battlefield. Which tech gadgets will make the cut in 2013? I've a feeling this tablet/smartphone trend will continue; but if someone manages to dethrone the great Apple in the tablet war, that will be a story in and of itself!

Source: iPad 3

Need gadgets or gift ideas? Check out the following galleries!

• 20 awesome gadgets and gift ideas for techies!
• 10 stress-relieving gadgets everyone needs
• 20 awesome office gadgets and must-haves
• 10 awesome and unique USB flash drives
• 10 excellent iPhone and iPad gadgets and accessories
  
• 20 of the coolest gadgets and must-haves for your office!