Here are some of the top technological trends that remained in focus during 2009.

1. Smartphones

These recently launched mobile phones have the capability to work as a computer as well, allowing users to plug in anywhere. Smartphone sales increased 24% worldwide in 2009, irrespective of the poor economic conditions.

2. Facebook

Facebook went through a significant demographic shift, becoming the most favorite social networking website for all age groups.

3. Blogging

Blogging gained much popularity in 2009 with the help of Twitter. This helped people to publicize certain issues, such as the protests in Iranian elections, which cause significant turbulence in the politics.

4. Digital Books

Digital book sales boosted by an incredible 235% during the third quarter of 2009, as compared to last year. The Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader and Barnes & Noble’s Nook, remained most favorite for many.

5. Twitter

During 2009, search engines Microsoft and Google made deals with Twitter to imitate the real-time search function and updates, giving twitter much more popularity and transferring Internet news to a whole new level!

6. Apps

After the iPhone’s release, there has been a constant bombardment of apps, where 2 billion applications have been downloaded during this time. Other smartphone manufacturers followed the trend, launching various new app during the year.

7. Mobile Games

Starting from less than a dollar, mobile games gained much popularity, generating millions in revenue, discarding the convention of using graphic-heavy games in offline machines.

8. Government Tech

The federal government held the country’s first online town hall meeting, and came up with DATA.gov, which is a clearinghouse of information on how the federal government works and how tax money is spent.

9. Search Engine Wars

Although Google still remains the king, many challengers came out this year with innovative ways to improve search technology. Out of these, Microsoft’s Bing got 10% of the search market share, through a “decision engine” which introduces new ways to sort online photos and search for products.

10. ‘Smart’ Electricity Use

Green electricity dominated the year, with the launch of “smart” meters and appliances, and promoting ways to save money on energy use. The federal government also invested billions in a smart grid that connects homes and apartments with power plants.