Finishing up our coverage on the Digital Experience event we’ve got a closer look at products from Altec Lansing, Alienware, Novint, and Palm. We also got a chance to learn about a new concept/website called Swaptree where people meet online to trade things like Cds, books and DVDs, and of course we have more pictures from the event.
Digital Experience Part 2
Coverage by: Tomas Ratas
Now what is the fun in going to one of these shows, besides seeing all the newest gadgets and toys? It is also nice to meet people, especially famous people. While I was talking to one of the PR reps at Sanyo, I turn around and see a very distinctive looking gentleman. His name is Dick DeBartolo, but he is better known as the GizWiz (http://gizwizbiz.com/homepage.html). He has been seen on ABC News, TechTV(RIP), and many of the This Week In Tech (http://www.twit.tv/) podcasts. Now back to our regularly scheduled retrospective of Digital Experience.
Plantronics and their subsidiary, Altec Lansing had a nice set up featuring their latest set of headphones and iPod accessories. Their latest iPod speaker setup, Altec Lansing inMotion iMV712 ups the ante by adding an 8 inch display for video viewing.
The Altec Lansing inMotion iMV712 features crystal-clear sound delivered by two specially engineered, 3-inch neodymium speakers and a built-in, 4-inch, side-firing subwoofer plus a large, 8.5-inch high resolution widescreen display. Its really convenient for charging your iPod video. It features an enhanced wireless remote for iPod navigation. And its compatible with any dockable iPod or most other portable media players with the included adapter. Experience your iPod video in a whole new light with the iMV712.
Altec Lansing has also released a new line of headphones call the Upgrader series which cater to specific users and their audio needs. The Upgrader Series features both a UHS line (headphones with a microphone) and UHP line (headphones only). The ones with the headphones can be used with the iPhone. Using materials inspired by specialized sporting goods and eyewear, the Upgrader headphones are designed for a wide variety of environments and lifestyles, including:
Audio Enthusiasts: For consumers that want clear, crisp sound with no outside distractions, the Upgrader line includes headphones with SnugFit designs that provide noise-isolation and high-fidelity, including phenomenal bass. The UHP 306, UHP 336, UHP 101 and UH 301 all feature in-ear designs with silicon tips or pads that conform to the unique shape of ears and provide all day comfort. The UHS 306 offers the same sound quality and custom fit, and also features an inline volume control and microphone for switching between phones calls and music.
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For those who like over-the-ear headphones, the Upgrader Series includes the UHP 405 that features booming surround sound (optimized for gaming) and UHP 805 that includes active noise-cancellation technology, perfect for airplanes.
* Active Users: For avid joggers, bikers and others that enjoy active sports, the Upgrader series includes headphones with AirFit designs that provide great stability and sound, while allowing users to monitor external noises, such as traffic and workout partners. The UHP 303 includes a moisture-resistant design, breathable ear pads and a flexible titanium neck band for a great fit. The UHP 302 is also moisture resistant and features a spring steel ear hanger for a snug fit. The UHS 307 features a spring steel ear hanger design along with washable silicon ear tips and an inline volume control and microphone with mute switch.
* Casual listeners: For those who enjoy listening to music at work or during public transportation commutes, Altec Lansing offers AirFit headphones that go on the ear for rich, full stereo sound. Both the UHP 302 and UHP 303 feature breathable micro fiber ear pads and moisture resistant designs the UHP 302 is an ear clip fit. The UHP 304 uses an over-the-head fit featuring a dual titanium headband design for ultra style and flexibility. The UHS 302 includes an inline volume control and microphone with mute switch.
The next booth featured a fairly new startup call Swaptree (http://www.swaptree.com/), which is in beta at the moment, but goes live on July 4th. They were even so kind to offer special advance access to our loyal DragonSteelMods.com readers with this link -> http://www.swaptree.com/press.htm. I spoke with Greg, who is the president of the company and seems truly excited about the concept. Basically the site involves trading books, CDs, and DVDs. The user creates a wish list and a have list and Swaptree uses some special algorithms to determine trade possibilities. They can even arrange indirect trades. There is no cost to the user and preprinted mailing labels can be done from the website, since they know the weight of all the products. They make their money through user targeted advertisements. No different than Google. In fact they are using Google for their ads at the moment.
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Right next door to the Swaptree booth was Pricegrabber . They were there to promote their new Shop Green website (http://shopgreen.pricegrabber.com/) which features environmentally friendly products. The site features products that promote smart, sustainable, eco-friendly living. They also give 5% of all profits to a green charity of your choice. This is a site, even Al Gore would love.
Since this site deals with PC building, I was especially interested in meeting the folks from Alienware. When Dell bought out Alienware, there was concern that Alienware would get absorbed into the entity that is Dell. After speaking with Chris, the Technical Marketing Manager, I was happy to learn that Alienware is running independently from Dell. Other than getting components at a cheaper rate because of Dells buying power, Alienware is running just like before down in Florida.
I was able to check out the Area-51 m9750 laptop, which is the uber gaming laptop from Alienware. This beauty weighs in at 8.5 pounds and features Dual Graphics Cards –512MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 GTX GDDR3 NVIDIA nForce 100 with NVIDIA SLI technology. The best part is that these are replaceable. So now your really expensive gaming laptop of doom will not be obsolete in six month, if you want to buy the next model of graphics card, of course.
We also spoke about the Alienware P2 Barebones Kit, which features the trademark Alienware PC case and a 700-watt Multi-GPU-approved power supply. Up close, that is a sexy looking case, with plenty of room for dual 8800GTX cards. Just look at that wire management. Utterly fantastic!!!!
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Now, I will talk about my favorite product of the whole show. It is from a company known as Novint. They are makers of haptic technologies (Wiki:Haptic). The Novint Falcon gaming device basically adds a sense of force feed back unlike any you have ever felt. Here is a description from the site:
Users hold onto the Falcon’s interchangeable Grip (or handle) which moves left and right and forwards and backwards, like a computer mouse, but also moves up and down. The Grip can come in many shapes and forms and includes a quick disconnect feature which lets users change handles for specific uses or types of game play. As the Grip is moved, the computer keeps track of a 3D cursor. When the 3D cursor touches a virtual object, the computer registers contact with that object and updates currents to motors in the device to create an appropriate force to the device’s handle, which the user feels. The computer updates the position of the device, and updates the currents to the motors a thousand times a second (i.e. at a 1 kilohertz rate), providing a very realistic sense of touch. The three electrical motors are connected to the three arms extending out of the device, with one motor connected to each arm. The three arms are connected to the device’s handle. At any given cycle, or 1/1000th of a second, the device can create a force on the handle in any direction of any magnitude, up to the maximum force.
For example, when a 3D cursor touches a virtual sphere, there is a force normal (perpendicular) to the surface. The device reacts and pushes in the radial direction away from the center of the sphere, proportional to how hard the user pushes against the sphere. The computer keeps track of the direction of the force (based on the position of the cursor) and the amount of the force, 1000 times a second which lets the user slide the 3D cursor across the surface of the sphere, giving it a consistent smooth feel. The effect is that the cursor, and therefore device, physically cannot move through the sphere, and it is actually a virtual solid object. When one looks at the Novint Falcon itself (rather than the cursor and sphere graphics on the computer screen), one can see the "invisible" sphere in the haptic workspace where the haptic device cannot move it is really there, and you can really touch it! Additionally, other forces and algorithms can be used to give the sphere texture, dynamic properties (i.e. it can bounce like a ball), deformability, or a variety of other effects.
I was able to play Half-Life2 using the Falcon, and after a few disorienting minutes, I was able to feel the recoil of the shotgun, feel the effects of explosions from the front, rear and sides of the controller. It was really an immersive experience. I could see this technology incorporated into many first person shooters in the future.
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One of the last booths I was able to spend some time with was with the people from Palm. As a long time owner of Palm devices, it was nice to speak to them about their products. First off they refused to answer when the new version of the Palm OS will be out. Despite my best investigative reporting I was unable to get the answer to that question.
However, they did let me play around with their newest device, the Foleo. The Foleo is touted as a mobile companion device for the Treo line of phones.
The Foleo mobile companion has a large screen and full-size keyboard with which to view and edit email and office documents residing on a smartphone. Edits made on Foleo automatically are reflected on its paired smartphone and vice versa. Foleo and its paired smartphone stay synchronized throughout the day or at the touch of a button. This powerful combination is for productivity-minded business people who want a more complete mobile solution for email, attachments and access to the web.(1)
The Foleo mobile companion turns on and off instantly and features fast navigation, a compact and elegant design, and a battery that lasts up to 5 hours of use. Its applications include email, full-screen web browser, and editors or viewers for common business documents such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files. The Foleo stays synchronized via Bluetooth wireless technology and uses the smartphones radio or the Foleos built-in Wi-Fi radio for general Internet connectivity.
Initially when Palm announced the device to the world, I was skeptical about its utility. After playing around with the Foleo for ten minutes, I was fairly impressed by this device. It is feather light, powers on in less than a second and can do most of the basic computing jobs the average business person will need to perform.
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The Foleo performs tasks such as email, which is synced from the Treo via Bluetooth, surfing the web using either your phones data network through Bluetooth or from a wifi access point. Documents to Go is also featured; allowing Word, Excel and Powerpoint reading and editing. Although I love my MacBook Pro, I could definitely see the luxury of carrying a device like this, portable, quick to access, multi-functional, around the office.
The Digital Experience lasted about three and a half hours and provided lots of stimulation and information for this press/trade show neophyte. I would like to thank Pepcom for allowing myself and DragonSteelMods to attend. I would also like to thank Kris for giving me this opportunity to check out some of the latest and greatest new consumer electronics products.
Here are a few more pictures from the event. Thanks for reading.
