The "Interbrand 2012 Best Global Brand report, "the definitive guide to the world’s most valuable brands," has been released. And the results look great for Apple.

Interbrand, the leading brand consultancy, publishes the report each year, ranking the top 100 global brands using its proprietary methodology. Much to the chagrin of its competitors, Apple (#2 on the Best Global Brand list) continues to redefine the consumer electronics sector by offering customers innovative retailing experiences and establishing what Apple looks like -- from its retailing and branding to retail sales staff training and industrial design.

Appropriately, Apple experienced the largest growth in brand value on this year’s report with 129% growth. With the recent launch of the iPhone 5, Apple continues to develop products consumers demand and build brand advocates across dissimilar, global retailing markets. The brand’s one misstep: the iOS Maps app, which is a complete failure and marks the first time the company has introduced a failed product, according to Interbrand.

When it comes to smartphones though, Samsung (#9) was the global market leader over both Apple and Nokia with 19.1% of the market share of smartphone shipments in 2011.

Technology brands continue to dominate the global economy as a five of the top 10 companies in this year’s report were technology companies: Apple (#2), Google (#4), Microsoft (#5), Intel (#8) and Samsung (#9). For Apple, Samsung and Amazon, consumer electronics is a continued focus in 2013 and potential for sales growth by entering emerging markets, according to Interbrand.

The Interbrand 2012 Best Global Brands report is available in full on www.Interbrand.com .