Sneak Peek at Some of 2009's Hottest Gadgets

Gadget fanatics better start saving.

The year's two biggest tech shows, Macworld and CES, are in full swing and both are offering up plenty of wow-worthy consumer electronics slated to hit store shelves later this year. Just be prepared to pay up if you want to be among the first to get your hands on that cutting-edge technology.

“[CES and Macworld] aren’t a race to the bottom on price,” says Michael Gartenberg, vice president of market researcher Jupiter Media. “It’s always about bragging rights: Who has the biggest TV, the fastest computer. This year, it’s particularly about who has the biggest bang for your buck, whatever the price point.” (The silver lining for budget-conscious consumers: All of the new product launches that come out of these shows tend to help push prices for current models lower. For more on this, see our stories on gadgets to buy now, and those to buy later.)

Here are three announcements worth watching for in the week ahead:

Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens have a lot going for them. They’re super-thin and lightweight, contain organic compounds and are 40% more energy-efficient than LCD models. The problem is there's currently only one model to choose from: Sony's (SNE) $2,500, 11-inch XEL-1. “We’re anticipating more experimenting, more maturation of the technology,” says Vipin Jain, CEO of electronics price-tracking site Retrevo. Sony is expected to roll out more OLED models at CES this week, while Samsung is expected to unveil its first entrant into the market. But just because there will be more options doesn't mean there will be lower price tags. Both electronics makers are expected to announce larger OLED TVs than the 11-inch set currently on the market. Unfortunately, along with that bigger size come bigger prices.

Every company wants in on this hot category of lightweight, low-cost portable computers, so expect a range of announcements for devices that are even thinner, lighter or more feature-laden, says Gartenberg. Among them: Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) is expected to show off its new 10-inch Mini-Note 2100 with Intel’s (INTC) fast new 1.6GHz Atom processor that sells for a mere $499. And Sony has teased that it will unveil a “revolutionary new VAIO” on Jan. 9.

In the days ahead, gadget fans can expect to see a new generation of TVs that allow you to stream online content as easily as watching a cable show, says Megan Pollack, a spokeswoman for the Consumer Electronics Association, the trade group that hosts the annual tech show. One of the best things about these Internet-enabled sets: “You don’t have to find space to plug in another box,” she says.

LG’s CES lineup includes four models with Netflix’s (NFLX) software built in, while Samsung has several sets that include Yahoo (YHOO) widgets that let consumers access streaming news, stock performance and other Internet content. Both companies expect their televisions to be available this spring. Prices have yet to be announced.