As technology users welcome 2012 everywhere, it’s clear the year that had just passed was filled with no little controversy and memorable incidents.

From Steve Jobs’ death to the delay of the much-awaited iPhone 5, from the rise of Android devices to Nokia’s return with its Windows Phone devices, and finally, with the potent mix of mobile devices and social media that  helped ignite protests in the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street, but also encouraged the thuggery of the London riots, 2011 was a big year in technology.

The next 12 months look to be just as interesting, as existing technologies mature and grow, while other new trends emerge. Here are five things to look out for in 2012: …

How many months have I used my new Samsung C7000 LED TV? Just three months after it was installed on my wall, my 55-inch wonder is looking a little dated next to some of the new TV sets on show here at IFA Berlin.

In particular, the LG LEX8, which I got a bit of hands-on with at the LG bloggers’ forum, on the sidelines of the electronics expo here in Germany.

At just 8.8mm thin, this TV looks like a painting when placed in front of a wall. Unlike my Samsung TV, which is lit by LEDs on the edge of the screen, the LG LEX8 is lit with a full panel of LEDs, which LG calls Full LED (or Direct LED to neutrals). …

Now that contrast ratio and “black” levels have become too high to have any real attraction or meaning on paper, TV makers seem to have seized on another craze – slimness.

At this year’s ongoing IFA electronics show in Berlin, Korean manufacturers, in particular, are showing off future TVs that are as thin as a piece of paper.

The slimmest screens I’ve seen so far are LG’s OLED TVs on display here, which measure just 2.9mm. Yes, that’s the thickness of a piece of paper. …

The biggest bet for TV makers this year – 3D – is taking longer to take off than expected, despite fast becoming a mainstream feature, said Korean electronics giant LG, at the IFA electronics show in Berlin, Germany.

Sales have been slower than anticipated, due to high prices and a lack of 3D content to watch on these newfangled TVs that started shipping earlier this year, said the number two TV maker. …

As the World Cup got underway last month, I finally succumbed to a long-suppressed itch to buy a new TV – one that could be mounted on the wall to free up my TV console and one which provided better contrast and clarity over my entry-level Full HD screen.

Thus began a long afternoon at Audio House, where I tested and re-tested several TVs, changed my mind a few times, before finally settling on a 55-inch Samsung C7000 (UA55C7000WM).

The C7000 is part of Samsung’s new Series 7 entry-level 3D LED TVs and it comes with your usual array of Internet-based features, such as the ability to watch YouTube (over a wired Ethernet link or optional Wi-Fi dongle).

More importantly, for me, the C7000 provides excellent contrast and smooth, natural motion.

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I had expected the new Samsung C9000 TV to be expensive, but I still got a bit of a shock when the Korean electronics giant said last Friday that its “luxury” TV set will cost a cool S$12,888 (before retailer discounts) for a 55-incher in Singapore.

Needless to say, the price includes all sorts of stuff you may or may not need. Among the more practical, there’s what Samsung calls “800 Clear Motion Rate”, its top-end blur-reduction technology to keep things focused in those fast action movies.

The other big thing about this 3D-enabled TV: it’s just 7.98-mm thick with a built-in digital tuner, making it one of the slimmest, if not the slimmest, among anorexic LED TVs out there. The simple, brushed aluminium finish is one of the best I’ve seen of late. …

“Usually the June show is quieter than the March event, because people have already used up all their bonus money from the Chinese New Year,” said a PC hardware distributor friend, when I met him at the PC Show today.

Sure enough, if you walk around this quarter’s IT bazaar at Suntec City, which runs until this Sunday, you’d notice that there aren’t the usual big Sony booth or telecom operators taking up entire sections of a floor. These guys are still at PC Show today, but the show just seems smaller than the one in March.

So, what are the bargains? …

Does Singapore really need yet another consumer electronics show, besides the quarterly four — IT Show (March at Suntec), PC Show (June at Suntec), Comex (September at Suntec) and Sitex (November at Expo) — that we already have here?

Apparently yes, especially if there’s money to be made off tech-crazy Singaporeans.

It’s not a gaming-themed show like last year’s Licence2Play, but the Singapore Great Electronics Sale 2010 this weekend at Suntec city (9th to 11th April) was supposed to be about 3D-TVs. Even though it is not, it drew in 30,000 people on the first day.

The event, which took up one convention hall on the 6th floor at Suntec, turned out to be a pretty meh experience for me.

Besides a few tech vendors like Samsung, LG, Panasonic and AudioHouse, the event was full of non-tech booths. DBS credit cards, crystal fengshui stuff and spa massages were some of the booths I spotted in my quick tour around the hall. It was an eclectic mess.

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Get ready to put on your 3D glasses and watch Wayne Rooney leap up in 3D to score his latest headed goal. If electronics behemoth Samsung is to be believed, you will be watching 3D programmes that seem to jump off the screen instead of the current flat images we have known for decades.

So confident is the Korean firm that it will launch more than 20 TVs featuring the 3D feature this year. The first models, demo’d today at a regional showcase of its entire line of electronics, will go on sale here in Singapore this month.

Most of the 3D TV models will be out by 2Q 2010, and will include LED, LCD and plasma TV screens. …

You can actually walk through the halls without squeezing past sweaty people – well, in most parts – at this year’s Comex show at Suntec City.

At nearby Raffles City, there was even ample parking – many empty lots – at about 6pm on Friday when I visited this year’s third quarterly computer and electronics bazaar.

So, what are the good deals that Techgoondu recommends you check out? I’d say the usual stuff were in store – large-screen TVs and portable hard disks – but there were one of two surprises, like Audio Technica’s headphones.

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