Digital Trends

While this was Designtechnica's first year at Comdex and we were overwhelmed with everything, according to sources attendance was way down versus previous years. Whether this can be attributed to the September 11^th attacks last year or due to the fact that CES is just around the corner we are uncertain of. Rumors circulated that this would be Comdex's last year, but a quick reply from Key3Media, the company which owns Comdex put to rest those rumors; there would continue to be Comdex in years to come.

Upon entrance to the show, it was very apparent that LCD displays, Tablet PC's and MP3 players were a very dominant presence at Comdex. Samsung had a large show presence with a full LCD display, Plasma and mobile phone product lines present for display. Another show surprise was BenQ who had a very dominant presence both inside and outside the show, with a large floor exhibit and multiple billboard and taxi ads.

We have compiled a list of what we thought were some of the shows most innovative. This is both from a design and a technology standpoint. We hope you enjoy what is appearing on the technology horizon.

 

The fastest gaming machines on earth?

VoodooPC has a lot to brag about with the introduction their new M-class laptop computer and their new E-class intercooled desktop. The M-class mobile gaming machine features Voodoo PC's high-gloss automotive finishes and Intel Pentium 4 processors at up to 3GHZ with a 533 MHz front side bus. The fan blows the heat produced by this laptop out the left side of the computer, preventing heat build up under the system itself. The E-class Intercool uses a hybrid liquid-air cooling system. Their system on display featured a liquid-cooled Radeon 9700 Pro video card.

Another show surprise was BenQ who had a very dominant presence both inside and outside the show, with a large floor exhibit and multiple billboard and taxi ads.

HTPC for the Car and home

HTPC Works has developed an HTPC called the Toba RV specifically for the mobile, recreational and boating community. Although the specifications listed do not mention what type of processor the Toba RV uses, the motherboard is listed as the VIA Eden EPIA mainboard running at 800MHz and using the Apollo chipset. The Toba RV comes standard with 256mb of RAM, a Pioneer DVD/CD ROM, Seagate Barracuda IV 60 GB with two partitions, an ATI TV Wonder VE TV Tuner Card and a Gyration Wireless Keyboard and mouse. The Toba RV comes with Progressive Scan DVD Playback, a GPS receiver and power inverter. All the software needed to take advantage of this system is included. While we admit that a home version constructed to standard home theater component size would have been our recommendation, this is certainly a good start. How would you build this different?

And what do we have here?

These were located over by the VIA display. Here you can see a gas can modified into a computer system. Make sure you use a clean gas can before trying this at home folks. We are still a little unsure as to what this computer with the case off is claiming to be. There was no product material available other than the display sign. We dig the slim keyboard though.

BenQ, the mystery unraveled?

BenQ had an enormous presence at Comdex this year. From LCD displays to networking equipment, cell phones and digital cameras, we had no idea this company produces so many products. This LCD monitor has some huge front firing speakers. Notice the anti-glare screen on the monitor as well; we were very impressed with the picture quality.

These little add-ons are for your PDA giving you a key pad for your games or a QWERTY keyboard for those that do not like to peck with a stylus. Other pictures include some very sleek looking LCD displays, and a digital camera from the numerous cameras available at the show. We somehow lost our pictures of BenQ's cell phone line, but we did notice that some of their models looked very close in design to those used by Nokia, Motorola and Sony/Ericcson. According to the BenQ representative, they manufacture OEM phones for major companies.....and we thought Nokia's designs were original!