Countdown to CES 2011, Las Vegas

CES 2011

As the official European media partner for this year's event, along with our colleagues at Stuff.tv, we'll be there in force, bringing you daily updates of all the breaking tech news, video show reports, blogs and analysis of emerging trends, plus pictures of the hottest new kit.

You'll be able to follow it all on our special CES news channel, as well as on our Twitter and Facebook pages.

The show kicks off on Wednesday, January 5th with all the major press conferences. Here's a list of the key ones we'll be reporting on live from Las Vegas:

• 8am (4pm UK) LG Electronics

• 11am (7pm UK) Pioneer

• 12noon (8pm UK) Sharp

• 2pm (10pm UK) Samsung

• 3pm (11pm UK) Panasonic

• 5pm (1am UK) Sony

Then on Thursday, January 6th from 7-8pm (UK time) we'll be running our first live CES forum here on whathifi.com when you'll be able to chat with the powers-that-be from Sony.

It's your chance to quiz them about the big announcements made at the Sony press conference the day before, which you'll be able to read about on our dedicated CES news channel.

We expect to hear about the latest 3D technology, streaming audio and video, OLED developments, Blu-ray updates and portable technology – will Sony unveil a rival to Apple's iPad?

On a more lighthearted note, here are some of our predictions for what we can expect at CES 2011:

• Every TV manufacturer will claim 3D TV will make its breakthrough into the mainstream market this year, and Panasonic/Sony/Samsung/LG (delete as applicable) will become the market leader

• There'll be a host of new 3D TVs, Blu-ray players and other 3D-enabled devices at ever-cheaper prices

• The industry will agree a single, global standard for 3D glasses (here's hoping!)

• The continuing decline of CD: 2011 will be the year streaming and digital downloads become the norm. Will Spotify finally make it to the USA?

• Samsung, Panasonic and LG will once again claim to have 'the world's largest plasma' at the show

• Google TV won't appear at the show due to early development problems

• There'll be much talk of OLED screens, but they'll remain quite small and expensive

• Wireless networking, both for audio and video, will be a huge theme. Expect lots more products capable of handling high-resolution music and movies without wires

• Manufacturers will be tripping over themselves to launch tablets to rival the iPad

• Apple doesn't exhibit at CES (Macworld 2011 takes place in San Francisco on January 27th-29th), but there'll be intense speculation about iPad 2

• Internet TV will become the norm on everyone's 2011 TV ranges with a flurry of new content deals and apps

• Glasses-free 3D TV will be on demo, but it will still be at the prototype stage and some years away from mass production, whatever anyone tells us

• The Korean manufacturers will be hell-bent on world domination, overtaking their Japanese rivals

And don't forget you can find out more about what's in store at CES 2011 in our special blog.

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