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Retro satnav, 3D TV, and networks made flesh at show rivalling Cebit
Rumour has it that the organisers of Cebit, the annual IT show in Hannover, Germany, are worried about a drift of exhibitors to the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin. IFA, which closed on Tuesday this week, has been getting larger year by year. It has a narrower focus, but Cebitters are right to be worried if the history of the old US Comdex show is anything to go by. That was killed off partly by exhibitors defecting to the US Consumer Electronics Show. Another factor, also faced by Cebit, was a trend towards small specialist shows where exhibitors believed they get a better business focus.
Cebit is still huge, though, and it remains peerless for the breadth of its IT coverage. Most computers at IFA are disguised as devices like satnavs, media players, and set-top boxes. Fujitsu-Siemens showed a couple of new notebooks and a box called Scaleo (left in picture above), using Microsoft's soon-to-be-released Windows Home Server operating system.
This is basically a low-spec PC acting as a resilient file and media server for a home network, and if it lives up to its promise it could eliminate some of the problems asoociated with network-attached storage devices offering similar functions. HP is about to release a similar product.
Pictured here is Sung Weon Kang, of Korea's Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, and you may think he ought to be looking a little shocked because the data for that TV picture is passing through his body. But, as I reported earlier this week, the current amounts only to a few millionths of an amp. The system, which he calls a BAN (Body Area Network), can also be used to exchange ecards on the shake of a hand.
Sandisk's stand was interesting for two reasons: the incredible rate of increase of storage capacity of tiny memory cards, and because they had examples of Intel's sub-$250 Classmate notebook designs for developing countries. They use special 2Gbyte or 8Gbyte modules from Sandisk instead of a hard disk - apparently 2Gbyte is sufficient for the version of Windows XP used. 
They come in blue and pink versions for boys and girls - though whether all cultures associate those colours with the two sexes is debatable.
IFA was predictably awash with high-def screens in sizes few can afford, and Samsung followed LG's lead in demonstrating a player supporting both Blu-ray and HD-DVD formats. More impressive was a demonstration of 3D HDTV using a Samsung monitor built around Texas Instruments' Digital Light Projector (DLP) chip. You need to wear special glasses to see the effect but, unlike some 3D technologies, more than one person can view at a time.
The 3D looks very good, though it might prove wearing on the eyes if you watched it for a long time. Apparently Samsung is enabling all its DLP models in the US for the technology, and it remains to be seen whether 3D services will become available.
I was taken to the show courtesy of the German company Becker, which is number two for satnav devices in its home country and is now entering a crowded UK market. You may have seen Becker satnavs without being aware of their source, as they are fitted to many high-end vehicles. I'll post a more detailed breakdown of its offerings next week but they include the retro-styled Becker Mexico, a combined radio, satnav, hands-free phone, and audio player (right).
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