The year 2011 brought about a lot of technological innovation in terms of products and new technology launched to the market.

Some of these new additions to the market brought about positive changes for users while some of the gadgets that were launched were a big disappointment considering the hype surrounding these products. Now that 2012 is here, let's take a look back at the top tech products that made an impact for the year 2011.

Top Tech Products of 2011

Amazon Kindle Fire

Amazon Kindle Fire is one of the best tablets released in the year 2011. It is a 7-inch tablet which mainly functions as an e-reader but could still support a lot of features. Kindle Fire weighs around 414g and a dimension of 7.5 x 4.7 x 0.45 inches. It has 1GHz dual-core processor, 512 MB of RAM, and 8GB storage capacity (6GB for user content). This tablet utilized Android 2.3 Gingerbread as its OS, Wi-Fi capability, and USB 2.0 (micro-B connector). Amazon Kindle Fire also offers free cloud storage as well as access to Amazon's media library which means that users could choose from a wide selection of music, movies, books, etc. Another major selling point for Amazon Kindle Fire is its selling price of only US$199. Its price is considerably lower than other tablets in the market but it still has the essentials of an "effective tablet". Amazon has not yet released any official confirmation about the availability of Amazon Kindle Fire in the Australian market.

Android 4.0/ Android ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich)

Android 4.0 or Android ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich) is the latest version of Android to be released in the market which could be utilized in different devices namely phones, tablets, and more. Most people were anticipating the release of Android 4.0 because Google was able to implement a lot of positive changes for this OS. One of the most note-worthy changes that were implemented with this version is its interface because it is designed to work without the use of buttons. It also offers new home screen folders, resizable widgets, new lock screen options, quick response for incoming calls, re-designed gallery app (with photo editor), versatile camera capabilities, and more. Android 4.0 was first introduced in the market through Samsung Galaxy Nexus but other Android-based smartphones could also update its OS to Android ICS. Some of these devices include Asus Eee Pad Series, LG Optimus 2X, LG Optimus 3D, LG Optimus Black, Motorola Droid Razr, Motorola Razr, Samsung Galaxy S II, Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket, etc. Most of the updates will be implemented by early 2012.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Samsung Galaxy Nexus is considered as one of the top tech products due to two major factors. One factor is that the Galaxy Nexus was the first phone to run with Android 4.0 which is also known as Android ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich). Another factor why it is considered as a top tech product is because of its phone specification and the features that it offers to users. It has a 4.65-inch high resolution screen (1280 x 720 pixels), 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, and 16GB of internal storage (no expendable memory option). The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is also the first Android phone that offers NFC (Near Field Communication) Technology. NFC is described as a "very short-range secure wireless system that lets devices communicate either by touching or being placed within a few millimeters of each other". This is useful in terms of receiving payments though the infrastructure to do this technology is still under construction. This smartphone is already sold in Australia and users can get an unlocked Nexus for AU$789 with a two-year warranty at Mobicity and at Kogan for AU$799 with a 12-month warranty.

iPhone 4S and Siri

The launch of iPhone 4S was a big surprise for everyone considering that there were strong rumors about the possible launch of iPhone 5 in the market. Despite the initial surprise, many users were still satisfied with iPhone 4S and one of the reasons for such response is Siri. Siri is the artificially intelligent voice-recognition system which is featured in iPhone 4S. Siri acts as a "personal assistant" that lets users utilize their voice when sending messages, placing phone calls, arranging schedules, and more. Siri still needs to undergo a lot of improvement so that it could do more tasks. Aside from Siri, iPhone 4S also utilizes the newly released iOS 5 which comes with 200 new features 8MP camera with 1080 HD video recording, better battery performance (8 hours of 3G talk time), dual-core graphics, A5 processor, and more. iPhone 4S is already offered in Australia since it was released last Oct. 2011.

Windows Phone 7.5 Mango

Microsoft has been a missing player in the smartphone industry due to the fact that other players namely Google's Android and Apple's iOS have dominated the market. Microsoft's latest attempt through Windows Phone 7.5 Mango was received with positive reviews. One of the reasons why this OS was favorable to users is its clean and clear interface which is also evident in other Microsoft ventures such as Windows 8 and Xbox 360. It also has a total of 500 new features that completes this whole new experience with Windows Phone. Its e-mail and messaging capability also had considerable improvement and it is one of the strengths in this OS. One notable feature is the linked e-mail inbox which lets users combine several e-mail accounts and store it into a single yet consolidated tile. It also has multitasking features, better social networking capability, voice search, and a lot more. This offering from Microsoft was unexpected which also contributed to making a solid technological impact for the year 2011. This update is already available in the Australian market.