Tech surprises in 2011

Washington: What's in store for innovation in 2011? Plenty. During 2010 saw the unveiling of hot products like the iPad and iPhone 4 - 2011 looks poised to build on the best of what the preceding year had to offer.

Apple's iPad was just the beginning. In 2011, expect an onslaught of competitors that want to take a bite out of Apple's nearly monopoly in the 'pad' market.

The first is accessibility

The first is accessibility. Internet access is close to ubiquitous in many areas but, so storing your data on some server that you can reach only when online is less of an issue than it used to be.

Even better, a plethora of 'three-stream' routers will hit the market, making it possible to stream different types of data across wireless spectrums, so your music listening and file downloading won't slow down your internet surfing.

USB 3.0 was unveiled in 2010, nevertheless hardly anyone noticed. Expect that to change in 2011, as a flood of new products are unleashed that take advantage of USB 3.0's tremendous speed advantage over USB 2.0, as so then as its bi-directional communication prowess.

Expect more choice and more tumult in the mobile space than ever previously. For the first time, the smartphone market won't consist of BlackBerry and iPhone and everyone else.

Google Android-based phones and even Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 will provide real competition for the market leaders from both a price and feature standpoint.