10 most admired tech companies

Apple

Its stock may have come back down to earth, but Apple is still one of the most beloved brands in the world. Every launch of a new product is eagerly awaited. The company had tremendous success last year with the launch of the iPhone 5 as well as the iPad mini, which helped drive record sales in the year's final quarter.

Google

The search giant seems to be successfully adding hardware competency to its software dominance. It unveiled a host of exciting new products last year at CES. This year, one of the most anticipated releases will be for the recently patented Google Glass eyewear. It is expected to be available for under $1500 to ordinary consumers.

Amazon

The world's leading e-commerce company made a lot of investments last year that are expected to payoff in 2013. It went head to head with Apple's iPad with the release of the Kindle Fire HD, which is now the #2 ranked tablet in the market. The company is also expected to improve its product delivery times with the opening of several fulfillment centers across the country as well as in South America.

IBM

The tech solutions company gave a better than expected outlook for 2013 on the back of increased growth in emerging markets such as Brazil, India and China. It also announced a new suite of mobile products for its business customers and an expanded relationship with AT&T to increase its presence in the mobile market.

Microsoft

There was an underwhelming response to the latest version of Microsoft's flagship product, Windows 8. However, analysts believe it is only a matter of time before consumers get used to the new interface and its presence across multiple platforms. The company also continues to perform well with its Office and Xbox products.

Intel

The world's leading chip manufacturer is finally making a push into segments other than PCs by announcing a range of products designed to accelerate its presence in other personal electronic devices. It recently launched its high-speed, low power Atom processor aimed at the smartphone and tablet market.

Accenture

With a loyal client base that includes more than 3/4th of the Fortune Global 500, the global consultancy continues to enjoy healthy growth, generating net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year 2012. It also remains one of the top companies to be employed at, spending over $850 million each year on employee training and development.

eBay

Perhaps taking cues from Pinterest, the company recently launched a brand new homepage containing a highly visual, personalized feed of products specifically tailored for the user. The redesign comes on the back of eBay's remarkable recovery that had its stock up by 70% in the last year, beating out other ecommerce giants such as Amazon.

Facebook

The social media has managed to stabilize after a disastrous IPO last year and recently unveiled its latest product, the "Graph Search" feature that will allow users to search for results in their friends' online activity. Analysts say the new feature could compete with sites such as Yelp and LinkedIn in terms of comparative searches.

Cisco

It's all about the cloud at Cisco and it's made several acquisitions to compete in that market. The company recently unveiled several products from its Quantum software portfolio that will enable users to process data across their mobile and wireless networks.