Apple, Amazon, Samsung fast becoming brand darlings, ousting crusty traditional label

Interbrand likes to give the world's top companies a brand value, or a mix of their on-the-ground fiscal performance with an estimate of the premium they can ask through name alone. While there are a lot of traditional names in the consulting company's 2012 list, the surprise this year is just how aggressively technology has invaded the top of the charts. It's a good year to be a part of the mobile ecosystem: a very profitable Apple was by far the fastest grower and clinched second place in the list behind only Coca-Cola, while Kindle Fire creator Amazon (20th place) and Apple's frequent rival Samsung (ninth) also shot past brands as big as Disney and Toyota. A special nod goes out to 69th-place Facebook, whose IPO this year and its recognition put it past companies like Porsche almost overnight. Not everyone in technology came out a winner -- Microsoft, Nokia and RIM were among those that took a bruising -- but Interbrand's rankings hint that it's better to be making tablets than designer handbags.