For those who have acquired an exciting new gadget for Christmas, it might be a good idea to look away now: in a fortnight’s time it will almost certainly be obsolete.

Yes, stand by for laser televisions, invisible USB cables, miniature projectors that can fit inside mobile phones, 3-D screens that work without 3-D glasses, and the world’s smallest computer hard drive, measuring barely more than an inch. All are expected to be among the 20,000 gadgets of the future to be unveiled at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas — a vast, hugely influential event that attracts 140,000 delegates to a hangar in the desert.

Hype surrounding the CES begins months in advance, with technology companies desperate to unveil the newest and most impossible-sounding devices. The great irony of the event is that it comes directly after Christmas, essentially making any gadget-related holiday purchases redundant.

Of the 2,700 exhibitors at the show, Mitsubishi is thought to have the best chance of dominating the headlines with its laser TV, which some believe could eventually replace plasma and LCD technology. Laser TVs are essentially an evolution of projection TVs, using a trio of lasers — red, green, and blue — instead of an incandescent lamp. It is claimed that laser TVs will ultimately be lighter, cheaper and longer-lasting than plasma and LCD televisions, while also displaying more colours and using less electricity. If the technology takes off, it could result in huge profits for the few defence and medical contracts able to supply the lasers. Mitsubishi declined to comment until CES begins.

Other CES headline-grabbers are expected to include wireless USB and HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) systems — made possible with ultra-wideband technology — that could make expensive cables redundant, and handheld projectors, small enough to fit in a mobile phone, but sophisticated enough to beam relatively high-quality images on to walls.

As usual, huge advances are expected to be made in computer memory, with Samsung reportedly preparing to unveil the world’s smallest hard drive, which at 3.3cm (1 1/3in) allows a vast amount of storage in a device as small as a mobile phone.

The success of the iPhone is also likely to result in the announcement of new touchscreen developments, while the partnerships that make up the next generation of DVD formats could shift again, giving one of the formats an edge over the other.

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