Apple still impresses when it comes to gadget craftsmanship, according to Time Magazine, and for the near-to-end 2012 the highly-respected weekly publication bestowed its highest honour to the tech giant's popular smartphone - the iPhone 5.

Released October this year, the iPhone 5 easily bested products from rival firms by capturing the title 'Gadget of the Year'. Samsung's Galaxy Note 2 managed to crash the top ten by securing the eighth spot while Microsoft entered the list on number seven.

But the software giant's ticket to the circle was not on the account of any Windows-powered phones currently circulating in global market. Microsoft earned the attention of tech experts from Time thanks much to the Surface tablet, which runs on the stripped-down version of Windows 8, the Windows RT.

This signature Microsoft tablet is "one of the sleekest, most ambitious devices ever to run Windows. The magnesium case looks and feels good and the integrated kickstand is beautifully done," Harry McCracken wrote for Time.

"The device itself is so slick that it leaves you rooting for RT to take off," which Mr McCracken notes would happen once Microsoft gets around into prodding developers to lob more interesting apps to the relatively barren Windows ecosystem.

The Note 2, Time said, is both snappy and roomy, stressing that Samsung must be duly-credited for cramming "all that screen real estate into a slightly svelter case that fits hands and pockets more comfortably."

The result is a tech toy that is a sight to behold and a gift to productivity on-the-go, due mainly to the phablet's companion S-Pen stylus, which "you can use for note-taking, sketching and generally pointing your way around the interface," Mr McCracken said.

However, 2012 is an Apple year, owing to the tech titan's indisputable role of triggering "the tech industry's great leaps forward."

This feat is best amplified in the incredible success of the iPhone, the first edition not only landed the top spot of the same list in 2007 but also redefined the smartphone business and the terms of competition among the major tech players, tech experts said.

The new iPhone is a solid statement of Apple "fussing over the tiny little details other companies ignore," which Mr McCracken said is one of the fine ingredients contributing to the company's incredible run that actually started when the late Steve Jobs returned in the late 1990s.

"There are lots of nifty smartphones out there, including the iPhone's impressive archrival, Samsung's Galaxy S3. But when it comes to melding hardware, software and services so tightly that the seams fade away, Apple still has no peer," Mr McCracken declared.

Rounding up the list are the following: Nintendo Wii U at number two, Sony Cyber-shot RX100 at three, Raspberry Pi Model B at four, Lytro at five, Apple's15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display at six, Nest at nine and Simple.TV at number 10.

The S3, which recently dislodged the iPhone as the top smartphone brand in the world, failed to make the cut set by Time,