• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, December 3, 2012

The fanboy fervor surrounding the released of the long-awaited iPhone 5 in September made the signature Apple device one of the most searched terms in 2012. According to Yahoo’s annual list of top searches, the iPhone 5 was second only to “election” as the most common overall search this year, and one spot ahead of perennial celebrity search favorite Kim Kardashian.

The iPhone 5 also topped the list of pop culture “Obsessions” as determined by Yahoo, which also included topics such as political polls, megamillions, “The Hunger Games,” music videos “Call Me Maybe,” and “Gangnam Style.

Not surprisingly, the iPhone 5 was also the most searched for gadget this year. But Apple claimed half the top 10 gadget searches overall, with the iPad 3 and iPad mini at Nos. 2 and 3, and the iPhone 4 and iPod touch further down. Rounding out the top five were the Samsung Galaxy S III and the Kindle Fire. Android was also represented in the top 10 by the Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Note.