Happy New Year everybody. Now that we're done counting down 2011, it's time to start counting down to that time when all the nifty tech gadgets that Santa left under your tree last week become obsolete. The countdown is now five days.

(No, you can't complain about it either. These days you're lucky if even two weeks pass without some company releasing a new device that transforms your current gadget into the technological equivalent of a sharpened rock.)

Next Thursday, January 6, marks the opening of the Consumer Electronics Show, better known as CES 2011, in Las Vegas.

The show has traditionally been a launching point for the next big thing in gadgets (provided the gadget isn't made by Apple, who usually make their own announcements about a month later.) The rumour mill is already spitting out predictions.

In the mix are new tablet computers by Motorola and — possibly — Microsoft; new Android-based smart phones including a 4G model by HTC; and even a new HP notebook featuring Intel's new Sandy Bridges processor.

Unfortunately, none of this is really new. New tablets and Android phones have been coming onto the market for months and a new notebook with a faster chip has been a staple at CES for almost 30 years — although calling the portable computers of the early ‘80s "notebooks" may be taking things a bit far.

Rumour mill

Apple fan boys and girls will see their gadgets get nerfed in February. The rumour mill has it that Apple will be releasing a new iPad in February with a built-in camera for video conferencing and smudge-proof glass.

There have been rumours that the iPhone 5 could be released in January.

But other than the glass (fewer fingerprints is something I'm happy to cheer for), there's not really much new technology-wise there either.

The only really new tech in everything I've listed above is the 4G HTC smartphone. Nothing says cutting edge technology more than a company pushing technology that is unusable to most of the world. It's still hard to get a decent 3G signal, so I'm not holding out much hope for an affordable 4G network launching near me anytime soon.

While 2011 may not be the year for 4G, it's shaping up to the year for near field communications or NFC.

NFC is all the rage these days.

The iPhone 5 is rumoured to have it and Samsung Galaxy S already has it, as do some others.

How it works

For those who aren't familiar with NFC, it's the technology that allows smart phones to connect with other devices, such as a point-of-sale (POS) terminal.

The idea is that you walk into your favourite shop, grab what you want, and then pay for it by taping your smartphone against a NFC-enabled terminal, which debits your bank account.

CES wouldn't be the place to get your NFC news, expect that to be more of a focus at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February.

But like 4G, NFC is still a little ahead of its time, especially when you ask yourself just how ready local banks and stores are for the new technology.

Etisalat has been working on an NFC payment system — the e-wallet — but that just means someone else you will now have to call in a panic when you lose your phone after a night on the town.

But new tech never came without some kinks to work out and a lot of swearing by early adopters.

Even that will be shortlived. Any devices we see launched in the next few months will probably to out-dated by springtime.