The Deloitte Technology Fast 500 has made its 18th annual appearance, revealing that 2011 is a great year for many companies but not for the overall tracking of these statistics. The average growth of these 500 soaring companies is 1,736 percent, compared to the report’s highest year, 2002, in which the average growth reached 6,772 percent.

Gartner Inc. analysts have determined the top ten technologies and trends that will have a significant impact for most organizations in 2012. The three main criteria for inclusion are high potential for disruption, the need for major financial investment, and the risk inherent in not adopting quickly enough.

A third of consumers use their mobile phones while they’re at home, not just when they’re out and about. And one in five watches video on their phone at least once every day, according to a Yahoo! and Ipsos study.

Despite a slowdown in the primary mature markets, International Data Corp. reports that the worldwide smartphone market grew 42.6 percent in the third quarter of 2011 as compared to the same period in 2010, with Samsung now out in front as market leader.

When Americans listen to music, they’re most often doing so in their car. And even with all of the Bluetooth and docking gadgets in the marketplace, they’re still likely to be listening to an AM/FM radio or CD. But that may not be the situation for much longer, according to a new report from The NPD Group.

Intel Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. have launched an initiative to develop the next generation of in-vehicle entertainment and information systems, with particular attention to mobile device connectivity and minimizing distractions through intuitive user interfaces.

New research from music business association NARM and market research company The NPD Group examined the discovery process for music consumers, revisiting a topic the two organizations last studied in 2007, before the mainstreaming of digital music services.

Updating research from 18 months ago, PopCap Games found that 118.5 million people now play social games at least once a week, 71 percent more than the previous report. Out of everyone online in the U.S. and the U.K., 41 percent of them have played a social game during the previous three months.

In a move to expand the research capabilities and value of its digital properties, NBCUniversal has named Jonathan Gibs to the newly created position of senior vice president of Digital Research for NBCUniversal’s Entertainment & Digital Networks and Integrated Media division.

Cyber Monday was the heaviest online shopping day in U.S. history, according to new figures released by comScore. Online spending reached $1.25 billion on the day, topping last year's figure of $1.03 billion by 22 percent.