Top 25 Tech of 2012

It took a while, but Microsoft blasted into the tablet market with Surface, which is not quite a tablet, nor is it a computer. In fact, it's a PC in tablet's clothing. While it's not perfect yet, we called it 'the tablet for Windows fans.' It won't win over Apple iPad owners, but for all those who hate Apple, find Android confusing and underwhelming, and are ready to enter the world of touchscreen computing, this is the alternative you've been waiting for. Photo via Windows

Click here to view this gallery.[More from Mashable: iPhone 5, iPad Mini and iPad 4 All Coming to China]

In a year punctuated by groundbreaking gadgetry, brand-new design and innovative technological achievement, how on earth do you go about picking the 25 best of 2012? For me, it was made easier by my weekly Top 10 Tech columns, pinpointing the innovations and products I thought were the most future-forward and world-changing. SEE ALSO: Top 10 Tech This Week

[More from Mashable: 10 Ambitious iPhone Apps, Accessories for Your Workout]

Each one of the devices, designs and ideas in the gallery above showed me something that can change the world, something that's different from anything that came before, or a product that has taken past ideas and refined them to an extraordinary level. So after sifting through hundreds of possibilities, here are my picks for the top 25 tech of 2012.

Photo via iStockphoto, courtneyk

This story originally published on Mashable here.



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