As the mega-international-tech conference, CES, draws to a close, many new fascinating products have been announced for 2011. Organized by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the CES trade show, held every January in Las Vegas, Nevada, brings together most of its 2,700+ member companies so developers, corporations and the press can give and get the first glimpse of many new gadgets. While most day-to-day consumers won’t ever attend the CES, there are ways to learn about what went on there and what to watch out for in the coming year.

Topping the list is the ability to watch all the keynote speeches from the show. Speakers included Microsoft’s CEO, Steve Ballmer, Verizon’s CEO, Ivan Seidenberg, as well as Samsung’s President, Boo-Keun Yoon. Capping the event was the “Last Gadget Standing” contest, where product demos were reeled off live and at a fast pace to see whose product would reign supreme as “most likely to change the face of technology.” The contest can be viewed on the CES website.

So what new products are going to be hot this year? Making their debut were more than 80 different mobile tablets, wireless 4G LTE, connected TV technologies, smart appliances, and for the first time ever at CES, electric vehicles. A representative from Ford used CES to announce and showcase the company’s first fully electric vehicle, the Ford Focus Electric.

Awards either presented at or in conjunction with CES included Mashable’s “Mashable Awards,” CNET’s “Best of,” the 2011 Mobile Apps Showdown and the Tech & Engineering Emmy Awards. Most of the award winners can be found later this week on CESWEB.org.

Sony, Samsung and many other leaders in the TV manufacturing world were at CES, and the buzz words in home entertainment were clearly “3D” and “connected.” Everyone is competing to offer the most “real” 3D experience while also connecting together as many entertainment opportunities as possible in the same device. Want to raise up your TV from your TV lift cabinet to check Facebook or “tweet”? With most of the TVs showcased at CES, you can. Want to change channels, set up your favorite TV show to record while also adjusting the temperature in your home before you leave work? In 2011, that might be possible.

And not that we scooped the 2011 CES, but one Honorable Mention in the 2011 CES Innovations award category for “Home Theater Accessories” did go to Monster’s Universal 3D glasses, which we mentioned in our blog back in December. You can check out that post here.