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Las Vegas - The 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas opened its exhibition floors on Thursday with an explosion of new product announcements from Google, Sony, Microsoft, Lenovo, LG and countless other technology vendors.
The trend at this year's show: tablet computers à la iPad and the proliferation of connectivity into every corner of life.
A whopping 1.6 million square meters of floor space has been committed to the event that will be attended by over 120 000 people. Pre-empting the exhibition, many vendors made announcements at a special press day on Wednesday.
Chinese computer manufacturer Lenovo showed off its LePad tablet computer running Google's Android operating system, which can be transformed into a Windows 7 laptop when clipped into a special dock.
Lenovo said the product will launch in China soon and derivatives are expected in global markets before the end of the year.
The company also showed its breakthroughs with Microsoft Windows that allows some of its laptops to boot into the operating system in under 7 seconds.
Google used the CES to announce version 3.0 of its Android operating system, codenamed Honeycomb. Google said this was the first version of the system designed with new tablet computing devices in mind.
Motorola was the first vendor to announce a tablet based on Honeycomb with its 10" Xoom that has Apple's iPad clearly in its sights.
Motorola also showed off its new 4G handsets that will be available on the AT&T and Verizon networks in the USA, using next-generation LTE cellular technology.
The company has docking stations for its new smartphones that allows them to be transformed into desktop or laptop computers, which caused a stir with technology journalists.
Japanese electronics giant Sony unveiled a plethora of new products including 3D camcorders, computers and televisions that do not require special glasses to create 3D imagery. Wireless sound systems were also in the mix.
Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer used his keynote segment to showcase the company's consumer electronics offerings and new laptops running Windows 7.
Along with other Microsoft representatives, Ballmer showed home entertainment centred on the Xbox console and the new Kinect motion-gaming system.
With Kinect users can control media playback - including movies and music - by speaking, waving and pointing at the Kinect without the need for controllers or remotes, and extending use of the device beyond just gaming.
Ballmer also announced a new version of Microsoft's Surface touch-based computer, and announced that Windows 7 will soon be available for portable devices running ARM processors.
Smaller device manufacturers at the show attempted to steal some of the limelight, with everything from intelligent ovens to car stereo systems that use your iPhone as the head unit.
Other popular announcements included Universal 3D glasses, laser toys and audio equipment made from organic materials like wood unveiled by a new company called House of Marley, "in the spirit of Bob Marley".
