CeBIT 2008: the big wrapup
William Maher
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May 22, 2008 6:19 PM
We rolled up our sleeves, put on our boots, and trawled the halls of IT's massive trade expo in Sydney looking for tasty tech delights.
CeBIT 08 attracts more than 35,000 registered visitors and 750 exhibitors, and it's also a place for business to discuss VOIP, broadband, and other businessy things. But you're really here to find out what tech was on show. Here are the highlights.
Look what we found...
Over at the Westwell stand, we spotted this very utilitarian-looking Blu-Ray player (see pic below)- no great surprises there, but the specs grabbed our attention. It's a Version 1.1 player, which means it's theoretically capable of picture in picture. The unit we saw was a handbuilt demo model, but Westwell say the real deal will be on sale by end of August. Oh, and the price will be around $499.
"But wait!" we hear you say, "what about Blu-Ray version 2.0?". It's true, the Blu-Ray version issue camp has had tech watchers in conniptions over compatibility. The general consensus at this stage is that buying a 1.1 player is a safe bet. Version 2.0 promises Internet connectivity, and has increased hardware requirements, so it's true you will probably be locked out of those features if you go with a 1.1 player now. But you'll still be able to play the discs. Version 2.0 Blu-Ray players have begun to appear overseas, including the Panasonic's DMP-BD50.
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| Westwell's Blu-Ray 1.1 player: should be a safe bet, though version 2.0 is on the way |
We're also reliably informed (thanks to our resident Blu-Ray guru Nathan Taylor), that early compatibility problems were mostly a result of bad Java implementations anyway in first gen players. So be careful of 1.0 players.
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| Sony's BDUX10S - Blu-Ray playback you can afford at $299 |
Of course, if you're happy to use an existing PC to watch your movies there's a slightly cheaper option. Over at the Sony stand we found internal desktop Blu-Ray drives (players, not burners) going for $299 (though the discs will still set you back more than $20). Pictured above is the Sony BDUX10S Blu-Ray player, with Serial ATA and AVCHD playback. Still no internal notebook burners, but Sony tells us to stay tuned.
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| Mmmm, Blu-Ray burning. Sony's BWU200S does dual layer 50GB discs, but it'll take nearly an hour |
If you're considering Blu-Ray as a storage option, it's still very much an exercise in thumb-twiddling. Sony's rep tells us their 4x burner takes approximately 50 minutes to burn a 50GB disc. Pictured here is the BWU200S Blu-Ray burner, which burns to both single and dual layer discs and costs $899.
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| Altech Maestro Pro: High-Def movies on your TV, no thanks to Windows Media Centre |
Speaking of Blu-Ray, the absurd lack of native Blu-Ray support in Windows Media Centre continues. We visited the Altech stand, who were showing off their latest Maestro Media Centres (including a touchscreen version) - if you buy a Maestro, you'll get PowerDVD in order to play the discs, which gets the job done, but does detract from the whole promise of using Windows Media Centre for all your entertainment (Media Centre does support third party players, but that's not the same thing). Yep, and Vista Home Basic also doesn't include native DVD playback out of the box either. The future is . . . here, sort of.
The pitch-black and aluminium-finish Maestro boxes on show at CeBit certainly are getting closer to lounge-room friendly styling, though they're still big and chunky. The touchscreen version is the Maestro Pro, and is equipped with Core 2 Quad Q9300, 2GB RAM, ATI HD3850, and Sony Blu-Ray (reader only).
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| Altech's 128GB SSD (desktop version shown): fast, fast storage for your PC |
Laptop users will also drool over Altech's 128GB solid state drive. SSD is rapidly becoming the storage flavour of the month thanks to notebooks like the Eee PC, though it doesn't automatically mean amazing performance, as our tests have shown. The version shown is Altech's 32GB model, though they also had 128GB desktop models on show. Now, if those prices can come down…
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| AMD Phenom Black Label 9850: It's black (well, the box is), it's fast, and it stops AMD being embarrassed |
Our benchmarks of AMD's Phenom chip have left us underwhelmed (see our in-depth report here), but there is one CPU to get excited about. We glimpsed the CPU that Altech proudly points out is the fastest chip from AMD on the market - the Black Label 9850. The quad Phenom 64 CPU clocks in at 2.5GHz (with 4MB cache), but with some gentle prodding can be pursuaded to hit the 3GHz mark. Above that and you're in liquid cooling territory.
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| DigiSlide's tiny pocket projector - we'll skip the "is that a projector in your pocket" jokes this time (image source: digislide.com.au) |
We're able to confirm that portable projectors so tiny they literally fit in your pocket do exist, and not just in grainy YouTube videos. We saw one in operation at CeBIT, and it looks promising, if a little less than home theatre resolution.
The DigiSmart Pocket Projector is about the size of a really, really chunky mobile phone (ok, we couldn't think of a similar sized gadget), and can supposedly project an A3 image in ambient light (the image we saw was not that big).
It's for showing off Excel spreadsheets, and Powerpoint slides, but the company is not blind to the possible gaming and video potential, mentioning home theatre, iPods, and even the Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 in its press release.
But here's the kicker - the projector's light source is LED, so there's no replacement bulbs or fans. The demo unit we saw was an engineering sample, and we're told will run anything with composite video, and has a VGA port for connecting to laptops. It will be interesting to see if it shapes up to be anything like the pico-projector, or the PicoP cell-phone projector. Movies on the back seat of the bus, maybe?
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| Is this the future of radio? The Edifier iF366 Digital Radio, with iPod dock |
Is digital radio the next big thing in portable music? If you haven't heard of it, don't confuse it with Internet radio - it's the digital equivalent of over-the-air stations you listen to in your car (though you'll need a digital radio receiver). DAB+ digital broadcasts will begin in January 2009, according to this site, and promises "crystal clear" sound, and things like traffic updates and in some cases pause and rewind. Cities slated for digital radio are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart.
The concept has its skeptics, but if you're waiting for a play, you won't have to wait too much longer. Edifie had this clock radio (above) with digital radio on show at CeBIT - dubbed the iF366, the black and red number will set you back in the order of $299 when it goes onsale later this year, and includes an iPod dock.
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| Big boy of iPod speakers: The Edifier iF500 |
Edifie has some design mojo under its belt, with a rep telling us the company now has two BMW designers in its stable. The company does a range of audio gear, but it was the iPod speakers which caught our eye. The biggie is the iF500, a large rounded dome shaped black speaker, which was vaguely reminiscent of the uber expensive Zepplin, but a damn sight cheaper at $399.
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| Edifier E20: USB 2.0 speakers, but made with a solid cast alloy base |
We also spotted these USB 2.0 PC speakers at the Edifie stand. Unlike the light and cheap feeling speakers being flogged by so many component manufacturers, this pair have solid cast alloy in the base, and they're heavy enough to do serious bodily harm if thrown. The E20 speakers are 25 watt RMS per speaker and are priced at $199.
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| Big Brother is watching . . . your files. SilverStone's hard drive enclosure with RFID |
We're in two minds about this super-secure portable hard drive enclosure from SilverStone. It comes with RFID security - after slotting in a drive, you'll need to pair up the separate key with the unit. Then, whenever you plug the drive into your PC, you'll need the key to "unlock" your files. Great idea, but even SilverStone admit there's not much you can do if you lose the key (except profuse swearing).
Magellan may not be the first name that comes to mind when you think of in-car GPS, but they're claiming to be the first in one area - voice activation. Their reps claim that the Maestro line of in-car GPS devices such as the 3250 and 4250 will recognise basic commands like "Go Home", which is great news if it works properly, because we've frankly got the #$%T# with Mio's less-than-user-friendly menu systems.
We've also been on the lookout for the first appearance of GPS with gyro sensors, something which got some press in the US during CES this year. The idea is to give you some extra location-tracking when you're in tunnels - but there's nothing local in this area to report yet, from Magellan at least.
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| Yes, that's broadband on your dashboard - the Gizmosis Infill G4 |
Not many products at CeBIT 08 blew us away, but the Gizmosis Infill G4 in-car computer entertainment system was one. It's questionable on several levels (we'll explain why in a second), but in terms of sheer ambition, these guys are not holding back. They've developed a Windows XP system that promises to bring the thousands of Internet radio stations into your car via 3G wireless broadband, plus offers email, Web, WiFi, and integrates engine diagnostics, iPod support, GPS . . . you get the idea.
The system is a Windows XP PC, with 120GB hard drive, driving a multimedia in-dash touchscreen head unit, for playing music files, radio etc. Plug in a 3G card (the demo unit was using a Next G USB stick), and you get the online stuff - Web browsing, weather reports, Internet Radio.
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| How the webified Infill G4 car system interface looks |
We're not exactly excited by the prospect for paying wireless data charges for music, but the Gizmosis people claim it won't break the bank - by their calculations, an hour of Net radio should only chew about 30MB of data.
With WiFi enabled, you can even "pull up in the driveway and easily transfer files to and from your home network". See, who else on your street can say they sync their car every day?
Rumblings about a third GPS mapping data provider are also beginning to be felt. We visited the Laser stand, who were excited to tell us they'll be moving to a mysterious new GPS mapping supplier in the future, who they can't name, but can tell us it won't be Sensis or Navteq. If you're on a budget, their GPS for Dummies could be a good option - we're told it's $279.95.
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| The HK 2088 has spots for two SIM cards |
Finally, take a look at this touchscreen phone. The HK 2088 is a dual SIM phone, which means travelers can stick 2 SIM cards inside - one for home base, and the other for when you're overseas on business. We also spotted a phone with MP4 playback at the same stand.
Chinese manufacturer Huntkey is moving on the Australian scene, and if the models we saw on CeBIT are any indication, we might be seeing a rash of touchscreen phones at prices hopefully cheaper than big name brands.
The phones on show at CeBIT, including the HK 2088, aren't on sale yet, but we're told they're being shown to carriers like Telstra and Optus for consideration.