Yup! It’s that time of the year again. I am headed for Las Vegas, to scan the halls of the #1 annual electronics bonanza – CES – short for Consumer Electronics Show.

Probably the key highlight for this year’s show – more electronics OEMs find religion in portable mobility. As far as exhibitors’ new devices announcements go, the excitement is virtually palpable.

Especially with 4G connectivity helping to better connect them all.

No less than 70! new “slate” tablets are set to showcase. That’s a bunch, even for CES standards, with Apple’s category-leading iPad hovering above them all.

Ensuing geek talk is likely going to ricochet from tablets’ varying size, battery life, and processing power, over to touch screen innovation, cool new apps and next-gen connectivity.

As to the latter, US carriers readied their next-generation “4G” mobile networks for all sorts of CES announcements. Ultimately, this is all about providing new speedier bandwidth to best connect the plethora of new digital devices soon coming on line.

CES also set the springboard for a string of key mobile handset and OS announcements, with Google Android likely at the center of it all. (As in the past, Apple will not exhibit at CES).

What Android v.2.2 and v. 2.3 was missing, “Honeycomb” is expected to fix in terms of new and improved support for the slew of Android-powered slates and tablets just about to hit the shelfs.

Among my own personal CES favorites this year, the AMOLED announcements from Samsung’s Mobile Display team.

No matter whether turned on of off, this is the first 19″ see-through display with 30% transparency to project video while allowing whatever is behind to show through.

What’s the use-case you ask? Think next-gen TV sets, car windows or portable gadget screens. Think next-gen video calling or advertising displays.  When you build it, they will come.

Of course, as in the past, from TV, in-car, smart-home and photography OEMs – CES will again also be home to plenty of other new product announcements.

Still, as consumer electronics increasingly become an “anywhere anytime” portability and utility story, this year’s CES exhibitors seem set to make especially mobility and connectivity the centerpiece of their new electronic strategy.

Did they even have a choice?

PS: Hungry for more CES 2011 announcements, rumors, and innuendos?  Here’s a few of the better highlights summaries. Enjoy:

• VentureBeat:                  A roadmap to CES 2011: parties, gadgets, apps, and exhaustion
• SlashGear:                     The importance of CES and what to expect in 2011
• PCMagazine:                CES 2011 – What to Expect
• TechNews:                    CES 2011 Approaching: What Do We Need to Look Forward To?
• Standard Examiner:    To buy or not to buy; new technology to arrive in 2011
• DigitalTrends:               CES 2011 rumor roundup
• eWeek:                           Android Tablets, Smartphones to Rule at