Samsung Galaxy S3 is the best smartphone of 2012, the Nokia Asha 305 is the best entry-level phone and the Nexus 7 slate is the best tablet — according to the 2012 Global Mobile Awards, the official awards of the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) trade show.

"Through these awards, we are proud to shine the light on the mobile industry's many innovators and leaders, from all corners of the world," GSMA Ltd. CEO John Hoffman touts in the press release. "This year's new categories reflected the industry's reach into many new sectors and we received more than 600 high-quality entries from across the mobile ecosystem. We would like to congratulate all Global Mobile Awards winners and thank the many hundreds of companies and organizations that support these awards by entering each year."

A total of more than 170 journalists, independent analysts, academics and topic experts, as well as 13 representatives from mobile operators worldwide, voted for the 2013 awards.

The shortlist for the "Best New Mobile Handset, Device or Tablet at Mobile World Congress 2013" will be announced between 10:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. (CET) Wednesday, on both Mobile World Live TV and the Global Mobile Awards website.

The complete list of Global Mobile Winners is quite extensive, but some notable award designations include "Best Mobile App for Consumers" to Facebook, "Best Mobile Enabled Consumer Electronics Device" to Samsung for its Galaxy Camera, "Best Smartphone" again to Samsung for its Galaxy S3, "Best Mobile Tablet" to ASUS and Google for their Nexus 7 slate and "Device Manufacturer of the Year" to Samsung.

Samsung was by far the runaway winner. Not only did it beat Apple's popular iPhone to snag the "Best Smartphone" for its Galaxy S3, but it also got several other awards not listed above.

The awards did not only recognize phones and devices, but covered everything from LTE technology to enterprise mobile services. Check out the Global Mobile Awards website for more details and the full list of winners.