What to expect at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show

It’s one of the most important industry events of the year – the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show. Each year the biggest names in technology come to show off their newest tech and to display what are likely to be the biggest trends in consumer tech goods.

Last year, 3D goods and tablets dominated the show floor, and this year it’s shaping up to be more of the same – although there may be a few surprises in store.

Certainly there have been a few shock announcements, such as Microsoft scaling back its presence, saying the show is out of sync with the company’s own product launch dates.

Over the next five days there’s sure to be hundreds of new products making the rounds. Here’s what tech fans should expect to see.

Ultrabooks

Bulky laptops are on their way out. In their place, manufacturers such as Asus, Samsung and Acer are creating ultrabooks – ultra thin laptops that pack a punch. They have longer batteries, faster processing times, don’t overheat as badly and more importantly – are incredibly thin.

Like many other product trends, this one comes squarely from Apple and its success with the MacBook Air. And everyone’s getting in on the action – Acer has already released a couple of models before the show has even begun.

Tablets

It’s safe to say there really wasn’t any tablet that managed to knock the iPad off its pedestal in 2011. In 2012 many are hoping that will change, and as always, the major tech companies will be working to gain their piece of the tablet pie.

One of the bigger changes this year in tablets will see many more adopt the Ice Cream Sandwich software, which is by all means a more coherent and powerful software.

There’ll also be a number of tablets made in the seven and eight inch formats, as opposed to the larger 10 inch formats, at least until the iPad 3 is released in the next few months.

Smartphones

Faster download times are sure to be on the agenda this year, with more manufacturers pumping out 4G models of existing phones, and completely new ones. It will be interesting to see if any tech companies can pump even more features into their phones.

As it stands, this year will continue to see faster loading times, better screens, higher quality cameras and general software upgrades, along with more Android 4.0 models.

eReaders

It’s been a few years since eReaders made a significant appearance at CES, as tablets have largely taken over. But this year the dedicated eReaders are set to make a comeback, with Barnes & Noble and Amazon expected to be showing off their devices. There’ll also be dozens of devices from minor manufacturers as well, all but confirming the dedicated eReader is far from dead.

Television

Each year at CES brings another round of television manufacturers who believe they can change the game. Whether that can happen remains to be seen.

Google is certainly keen on getting its television software out in the open, and will be plugging its use on a significant number of panels, while the usual players including LG and Panasonic will surely be seeing how thin they can make their screens.

There’s a possibility at least some of this activity could be spurred by rumblings of Apple’s investigations into the television market, especially after USA Today ran a story last week indicating the tech giant is indeed working on a TV. However, any such device is still awhile away and for now, the usual players will surely be showing off their new and improved wares over the next week.