After looking back at the biggest letdowns of 2010, we now turn our focus to some of the anticipated highlights of 2011: who or what is going to make it big next year? Be it a company, a phone, a technology, or an operating system, we’re interested in hearing your thoughts on the standouts of 2011. Although the volatility in this space precludes any us from predicting winners with total certainty, we can assume that next year will be even bigger for the smartphone market in general, with more choices and better handsets than ever before. We’ve also asked some of the editors to weigh in with their thoughts, so we’ll get you started with those.

Brandon

Samsung – Samsung is on a hot streak. Their “all carriers at once” strategy will pay off huge in 2011 when they release the second coming of the Galaxy S smartphones.

Evan

Android – There’s no bigger story this year than Android: survey after sales estimate after survey proved that the platform saw explosive growth in 2010, rivaling BlackBerry and even Apple in volume as well as desirability. 2011 will almost undoubtedly see more of the same.

Tony

LG – Been following LG for a while and I think the company has a great potential and dedication to the smartphone segment. Optimus One is a great hit and their future plans of dual-core devices plus VMWare, added to some great Windows Phone 7 apps (that go great with the Optimus 7 and Quantum) will make it a great player in 2011.

Geoff

Google/Android — It’s funny to look back at what Android was in January/February of this past year. Devices like the HTC Hero on Sprint had the most attention (from a mainstream carrier point of view), and have since been blown away. Android is now extremely popular and extremely well-known. I think this will continue incrementally until the iPhone is extended to more than on just AT&T.

Dan

Samsung – The Galaxy S line has brought so many new technologies to the smartphone industry it may be years before other competitors catch up (examples: Super AMOLED, Bluetooth 3.0, Intrinsity Hummingbird processor’s architecture). If Samsung is capable of continuing this trend I predict we will have 3D Super Super AMOLED displays with incredibly fast processors.

Stephen

4G – We got our first taste in 2010, but 2011 is going to see better coverage, a WHOLE lot more phones, and new mobile applications taking advantage of the increased data capabilities.

Image: ITCH