As 2011 comes to an end and our smartphones, tablets and thick, chunky laptops slowly lapse into obsolescence, we're forced to either refresh our hardware or fall behind.

Staying current is no easy feat. Today, tablets are quickly growing as widespread consumer devices. Having a monster stereo speaker setup is more common than ever. Our phones are even capable of talking back in subtly reassuring tones (though not entirely devoid of sass).

Rather than catch up to what's hip right now, here are our picks for top technologies for 2012.