2011 in new technology

Technology has become the fashion trend of the new decade, which is why the Consumer Electronics Show of 2011 (CES) was held in Las Vegas last week.

The event gives manufacturers from around the world the opportunity to meet annually and show off their latest technology innovations. This year’s CES was packed with tablets, 4G enabled devices and 3D glassless technology.

Motorola stole this year’s show with their “Xoom” tablet running the new Android OS Honeycomb 3.0 made especially for tablets, winning CES Best of Show Award from both CES and CNET.

The tablet market has exploded over the past year after the introduction of the Apple iPad. Competitors have been working hard to make products that can compete with the iPad. Other honourable mentions at CES include RIM’s Playbook, which seamlessly integrates Blackberry features like mail, calendar and BBM from your Blackberry onto their seven-inch tablet.

Many major carriers in the U.S. will have 4G connectivity networks available in 2011. 4G has the capability to deliver broadband speeds anywhere where there is coverage on your mobile devices.

Verizon at CES introduced their 4G LTE network push in 2011 including a slew of devices like smartphones, tablets and laptops that are all 4G capable.

At last year’s CES there was a huge push for 3D content and televisions. But one can only view 3D content with 3D glasses, which was a major issue as consumers did not want to pay $100 for each pair of 3D glasses above their $2,000 3D television.

This year’s CES was all about 3D television that allows anyone to view 3D content without additional glasses. However, the technology is still in its early stages and may take another year or two before it can come to market.

In short, CES 2011 showed us that 2011 will be the year of the tablets and 4G connected devices. In a market where the mobile space is booming, Facebook will soon be an even larger distraction, along with maybe likealittle — if it becomes exciting again.