Situated in the popular computer and electronics shopping district of Taipei is the new Syntrend electronics shopping mall. And this is where Intel has setup their fairly new Intel Experience Store to provide the mall shoppers a hands-on experience with their latest technologies. There's no sales at this store, so you can be sure the storekeepers are there to help you experience and share what's happening in the tech scene :)
One of the first things that would grab your attention at the store is this realistic racing simulator, complete with tri-screen surround monitor setup, a good audio system, bucket racing seat, racing steering wheel and pedals! The driving simulator is of course powered by a high-end retail gaming machine (like Acer and ASUS) that’s equipped with Intel’s Core i7 processor.
But wait, there’s actually two such setups side by side! Intel reps mentioned that they are highly popular with the mall shoppers over the weekend and both racing stations are usually occupied.
Remember Intel’s RealSense 3D camera technology that’s enabling new leading edge capabilities in drones, robots and other devices? Don’t forget that there’s a selection of notebooks that also integrates this camera to enable more fun experiences, especially in the education and gaming segment. Intel’s Experience Store had gladly stocked some of these models for shoppers to experience them.
What intrigued us most was a new take on the age-old claw machine that you would often see in arcade stores. At the Intel Experience Store, the RealSense 3D camera system was employed to analyse your hand movements to control the claw machine, rather than the joystick handle in conventional machines. Make “V” and the claw would dive in to grab an Intel bunny suit plushie.
Speaking of collectibles, there was a small showcase of some of the variants of the Intel bunny suit mascot that have made their appearance in the past.
The maker movement is a growing niche that had its own corner too, complete with a 3D printer.
Here’s the home automation corner to simulate a smart home and show people the conveniences that come with such a setup and the ease of control. How is this relevant to Intel? That's because Intel is a big enabler of IoT devices.
Notebooks of all variety and form factors were on showcase at the experience store.
We couldn’t help but notice a 10-inch HelloKitty 2-in-1 notebook that’s based on the Intel Atom processor.