IFA 2010 - Press Day Highlights (+ IFA 2010 Summary & Galaxy Tab media Q&A videos!)
IFA 2010 - Highlights from Press Day
The annual IFA consumer electronics trade fair kick-starts with two full days of press conferences for journalists only. Known as Press Days, the idea is to give journalists a hands-on experience with new products to be unveiled at IFA as well as ask questions, prepare stories and get a first-hand peek at the latest before everyone else. The IFA show, now into its 50th show, takes place on the Messe Berlin fairgrounds in Berlin, Germany and officially opens on 3 September and ends on 8 September.
When Dr. Christian Goke, the Chief Operating Officer of show organizer Messe Berlin, went on stage during the official launch conference, he presented a quote that left a strong impression on journalists and attendees. The quote, spoken by Albert Einstein at the IFA show in 1930, represented what the IFA show has been all about throughout these years (the first IFA was held in 1924 but only became an annual show in 2007).
"When you listen to the radio, think also about how people have come to possess such a wonderful tool of communication...Remember too that it is the engineers who make true democracy possible. They make works available to us all and awake the nations from their stupor. Radio in particular has a unique function to fulfill, in terms of international reconciliation. Radio shows nations to each other in their most vivid form. It will contribute towards ending mutual feelings of alienness which so easily turn into mistrust and hostility."
For its 50th show, the IFA consumer electronics show continues the tradition first pointed by Einstein 80 years ago -- bringing a large number of people, countries, politicians and lobbyists together with the hope to solve real issues that plague the world, be it the ecology, our search for inspiration, to stay connected and to preserve our memories.
UPDATE 05/09/2010: Here's a summary video of what we saw at IFA 2010. At a glance, it summarizes some key announcements made by a few technology brands.
Here are some photo highlights of what went down over the Press Days:
UPDATE 02/09/2010: As promised, here's a video of the media Q&A with Samsung executives right after the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Tab, at the IFA 2010 Press Day conference on 2 September. This video was made on 3 September 2010.
Well, that's it for some highlights from the Press Day conferences at IFA 2010. We will be updating this article with additional highlights as the days progress, including upcoming videos of what we saw (plus, an intimate executive Q&A on the Samsung Galaxy Tab). Stay tuned.