What I’d Like To See in 2012 – The Geek Girl Report

It's a brand new year for the Geek Girl Report, and a new year means new gadgets and devices. With this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicking off tomorrow, we'll be getting a preview of the hottest new devices and tech toys coming out in 2012. But there will be a lot more to look forward to than just new gadgets. Here's what I'm hoping we'll see pop up in 2012:

New Video Game Consoles

At last year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, (E3) both Nintendo and Sony announced they would be releasing new video game consoles. Sony will be rolling out the Playstation Vita, a new hand-held video game system with lots of social networking features to connect players to their friends, their games, and to the world. Meanwhile, Nintendo is coming out with the Wii U, a console with an innovative touch screen controller that has to be seen to be believed. Both of these systems are due to come out in 2012, but what I hope to see is Microsoft join the party with a new system of their own. Whether it be a brand new home console, or if they finally release their own hand-held system, I expect Microsoft will at least make an announcement of a new system this year.

The Next Big Thing from Apple

With the passing of CEO Steve Jobs, everyone is wondering if Apple will be able to stay on top of the consumer electronic world. It seems this year they will be focusing on the Apple iTV, a new television that will, of course, allow compatibility with the iPhone, iPad, iCloud, and all those other i-devices. This year, I hope to see the long-awaited iPhone 5 make its debut to the public. There's been plenty of rumors swirling around about this phone for a while. Maybe this year we'll actually get the iPhone 5, instead of another slightly better iPhone 4.

New and Improved Downloadable Services

Forget Redbox and Netflix/Quikster/whatever they're calling themselves now. It's all about getting your TV shows and movies downloaded straight to you. More and more people are relying on their computers to get their favorite shows and movies on the go. And with services like Steam and Origin, you can also download popular video games straight to the computer, no game disc needed. These services are fast, extremely convenient, and could be on their way to replacing CDs and DVDs altogether. I'm hoping to see more of these download services improve and expand onto televisions and video game consoles.