GADGETS TO LOOK FOR IN 2012

EVERY January, the tech world's eyes turn to Las Vegas where the annual Consumer Electronics Show kicks off the year's tech agenda. This year will be no different, as the world eagerly searches for the next big thing. Some of the biggest trends this year will be:

FACEBOOK HITS A BILLION

Facebook, the internet's intranet, will hit one billion users this year, having reached 800-million in 2011. Rumours of a Facebook phone pop up every year, but it's a moot topic as an estimated 300 million of its users access the social website from their phones anyway.

ULTRABOOKS

This is the year of Ultrabook, Intel tells us. The name is copyrighted by the world's largest chip-maker and to qualify, these ultraportable laptops must have five hours of battery life, a solid-state hard drive and weigh very little. Similar to the MacBook Air, but running Windows, these light devices are great for mobile workers or people who just want a lighter, but no less powerful, laptop.

ICE CREAM SANDWICH

If you aren't familiar with Android's habit of naming versions of its operating system after desserts, Ice Cream Sandwich is sure to make you sit up. Android is like Windows for smartphones, given away by Google to phone makers, and was reporting 700000 activations a day by December. Simpler, faster and more consumer-friendly, Ice Cream already runs on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

iPAD 3

Nothing but rumours at the moment, but given the product cycle Apple adheres to, expect an upgrade to the top-selling tablet in March (as was the case in 2011). No, I don't know exactly what features it will have, but every new model of every new device always has a faster processor, better screen and bigger camera. And more fans. And it's thinner. And lighter. And yes, you'll want one.

APPLE TV

While we're on Apple products, the rumour mills have been churning about an entry into the TV market since the late Steve Jobs said "I've finally cracked it!" in his biography. He was talking about the television interface and everyone assumes it's the Siri voice-recognising assistant. Instead of using a remote control, it will be an upgrade to the age-old habit of talking to your TV - except conceivably the TV will now respond when you say "show the latest episode of Dexter" or "find me a decent game of rugby".

NATURAL USER INTERFACES

This is a fancy term to describe using our voices or bodies as input devices, instead of keyboards or mice. Nintendo popularised it with the Wii remote. Now Microsoft and Sony have brought out their equivalents. Microsoft's Kinect holds significant promise for a range of things - not just gaming, but everything from smart houses to controlling computers - and we'll see clever examples of this in 2012.

TABLETS

Once again there will be a rush of enthusiasm for tablets, as they look to be the replacement to other computer formats. Outside of the iPad, which holds two-thirds of market share, the Android tablets failed to make any significant impact. This year, by sheer force of numbers, Android tablets are expected to make a difference - especially because Google chairman Eric Schmidt said this week the search giant would make its own tablet "of the highest quality" in the next six months. With Google having bought Motorola, this will be interesting.

KINDLE

The one Android tablet that appears to have broken from the masses is Amazon's Kindle Fire. Although the video- streaming service doesn't work in South Africa, like Apple it is the only other tablet tied to a media store. It's a good device but stunted without the video. The Kindle reader itself though is a winner. I just got the new entry-level model and love it.

COMPACT DSLRs

Compact DSLRs are a new category of camera that has grown in the last few years and will only get better this year. Like the larger cameras used by professionals and hobbyists, they also have removable lenses and allow you to control every part of the photography. Nikon recently launched its V1 and J1 models.

TELEVISIONS

Televisions are getting "smart" - the new phrase used to denote that your TV can connect to the internet, play YouTube, see Facebook and Twitter and run apps.

Oh, and they all play 3D, but most new buyers haven't bought into the whole 3D hype.