CES 2011: Trends to Watch

As attendees and press begin to arrive for CES 2011 (starts Jan. 6th), show officials are upping their attendance estimates from 120,000 to more than 140,000.  At last year's CES, 3-D TVs and e-book readers were some of the show's big highlights. However, in the last 12 months, much has changed.  Android's growth skyrocketed and Apple launched their iPad to huge success.  So what will everybody be buzzing about at CES 2011? We've had an early look at the CES Unveiled press event held last night and put together a list of trends to watch for at this year's show.

1. The Year of the Tablet 

e-Readers were big last year, but only a few companies showed off tablet prototypes.  Thanks to the iPad's success in 2010, the tablet market has been validated, and countless companies will attempt to make a splash in this market and become true competitors to Apple's wildly popular device.  Tablets to watch for this year include:

* Blackberry Playbook (as seen at-right)
* Motorola's Android tablet
* 10.1-inch tablet from Toshiba
* 8-inch device from Vizio
* Lenovo's IdeaPad Slate
* HP
* Asus
* Dell
* Motorola
* Samsung

2. Video Games Invade CES

Last year's CES saw 3D TV's steal the spotlight.  This year, 3D comes to gaming, and motion control is also big. As usual, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo will all have a presence at this year's show. Nintendo 3DS. Sony PlayStation Move. Microsoft Xbox Kinect. Can't wait to take these for a test drive!

3. Connected Everything

"Connected" will be a big buzzword at this year's CES. Connected Cars (think Ford SYNC, OnSTar), connected TVs (Google TV, Apple TV, Roku) which allow you to surf the Internet on your TV, and connected "everything (from appliances in the kitched to in the bedroom). Some say this is the next big frontier.

4. Finally, Android

While much of the press is touting 2011 CES as the year of the tablet, there is an underlying theme: Google Android. Android tablets. Android phones. Android appliances. There will be so many devices running on Android at this year's CES that you're going to need an actual android to help keep track of it all.  Analysts believe it's the only credible counterweight to Apple and iOS.