Every technologist, marketer, industry analyst and reporter on a hunt for the next big thing is bracing for the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show scheduled less than a month away.

EE Times' global editorial team has done your homework for you--whether you're attending the show or you've just seen your travel budget get cut.

We have selected ten hot technologies and/or technology trends that will shape the consumer electronics market in 2009 and beyond.

They range from 3-D, energy harvesting, personal hospital and white spaces/femtocells to widgets, home network, gesture-operated TVs, Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, rollable/foldable/wearable displays and HD everywhere.

Notice, our focus is on "technologies" rather than specific gadgets.

Also notice a common thread here. A majority of hot technologies on this list are either devices connected to the network, or new network technologies themselves.

The terrain consumer electronics system designers must cover is expanding at unprecedented speed. The playing field is no longer just limited to next-generation home entertainment equipment.

It's also about a network of sensors, newly connected personal medical devices, 'perpetual' devices and using piezoelectric, photovoltaic and thermoelectric devices to convert ambient energy into electrical energy. A host of new portable communication products will also emerge by leveraging femtocells and spectrums that have just become available.

Imagine that. And imagine what we can all do with them.

CES Special: 10 hot technologies to watch for in 2009:
» The rumors of a format war begin
» Reading between the frequency lines
» Someday hospitals will make house calls
» This wonderful widget of ours
» Harvested energy unleashed
» Not getting the big picture(s) yet
» Sorry, I didn't mean to change the channel when I sneezed
» Scrolls of tomorrow
» The long road to 4G wireless
» Quad definition and the Emperor's new TV