CommunicAsia 2008 - The Showfloor Coverage
In our closing act for CommunicAsia 2008, we present the devices galore and happenings that has made its presence felt over at the Singapore Expo from the 17th to 20th of June. And of course, our ending coverage will be loaded with images that should be visually pleasing on the eyes, so come on in, and complete your CommunicAsia 2008 tour with us!
CommunicAsia 2008
June has got to be the busiest and perhaps the most exciting period in tech journalism and the tech industry itself with events like PC Show wooing consumers with great IT offers and bargains, while overseas in Computex the latest in the PC components trends, technologies and products around the world are shown. The yearly CommunicAsia affair also quickly follows suit in mid-June bringing together the major players of the telecommunications and broadcast industries under one roof for trade collaborations and unveiling new products, services and conveying industry moving alliances and memorandums.
So as you can see, June is an important milestone for the tech industry not only for reaching the half-yearly mark, but also because of the multi-faceted developments taking place. As always, the Hardware Zone editorial team was in the thick of CommunicAsia if you've noticed the flurry of article updates we've lined up today. In this last article, we've covered a variety of interesting booths and products that caught our attention at the show floor, but if you've missed any of our previous articles, check out our final coverage for CommunicAsia 2008, starting with the Samsung booth!
Samsung
One of the largest booths at CommunicAsia, Samsung showed up in force, showcasing their variety of phones and devices, including their latest addition to the family, the Omnia.
The highlight of the booth is the Omnia. Due to be released commercially next week, the Omnia is the first Windows Mobile 6.1 device from Samsung. Featuring a full touchscreen interface, 5-megapixel camera and 8GB internal memory, watch out for it.
In collaboration with Bang and Olufsen, the Serenata was borne. Featuring audio tweaked by B&O, an equalizer, loud speakers and a 4GB internal memory, this is the phone for music lovers.
Samsung's UMPC SPH-9200 features Mobile WiMAX 2.3GHz, 30GB HDD, Full QWERTY keyboard and Windows XP Home OS.
Yet another UMPC offering from Samsung, the Q1 offers a 7-inch SVGA LCD Touch Screen, 1GHz CPU, and Windows Vista Home. It also has a 40/60 GB HDD.
The Omnia may be Samsung's latest phone, but let us not forget about the Samsung Soul. Featuring Touch by DaCP, 5.0 Megapixel Camera and ICEpower technology by B&O, this phone holds its own too.
This will hit the stores soon. The Samsung M150 may not have a touch screen, but it simplicity, 12.7mm stylish slim frame and metallic finish means you mean business.
We will round off Samsung with yet another phone that�s has not reached our shores. The L700 is a 12.8mm slim bar phone with a 2 Megapixel camera, FM Radio with RDS and multi-format music and media player.
Blackberry
Epivalley
Docomo
Garmin
Garmin's known for their ever useful and popular GPS navigation devices. We take a look to see what's going on at their booths.
Lots of Web 2.0-ish icons were found at their booths that seemed familiar...
Ah that's right, the icons were last spotted on Garmin's nuvifone featuring tri-band 3.5G, quad band GSM, WiFi, 3.0-megapixels camera, 3.5-inch touch screen, 2GB internal memory and most importantly, GPS navigation with preloaded maps.
Garmin's nuvi 205 is designed for the budget seeker with its 3.5-inch touch screen display and features preloaded street maps with traffic alerts. You can also search using Singapore postal codes!
Drivers that find themselves stuck in traffic jams due to rush hour traffic will love the nuvi 900, which features a 4.3-inch display with preloaded street maps. And to relieve your boredom during the jam, well the nuvi 900 does MP3 and TV too!
Lastly, also spotted at Garmin's booth was the nuvi 5000, 5.2-inch widescreen display, preloaded streetmaps, 3D digital elevation base map, trip log function for route viewing in Google Earth and DVD video input.
Mio
Not to be confused with Singtel's Mio TV, Mio is a familiar sight for our eyes. Last seen at Computex 2008, Mio makes an appearance here at CommunicAsia 2008.
Seen here is the TIBO V-4150 GPS device that comes with a 4.3-inch touchscreen, has a resolution of 480 x 272 pixels and supports up to 4GB of SD storage.
The TIBO A-1550i is a smaller 3.5-inch touchscreen model, has a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels and similarly supports up to 4GB of SD storage.
Mio's Leap G50 features the latest Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system, a 2.8-inch touchscreen, a 400MHz processor, MioMap 2008 interface for navigation and supports quad band GSM.
This dual-faced phone is the Mio Leap K, which features both phone and GPS functionality. Dual face you ask? Take a look at the next picture.
The flip side is revealed to be the interface for the GPS system and features MioMap 2008.
Panasonic
Showcasing its "toughness", Panasonic had a booth a CommunicAsia as well.
The CF19 is a tough cookie. Shock and vibration resistant, water and dust resistant with 8 hrs of operating times, this notebook can take the pain yet perform. Ideal for those on the go in extreme environments.
Quantum Telecoms
Aztech
Over at the Aztech booth, the first thing that caught our eyes was the Aztech VDSL2/ADSL2+ Digital Residential Gateway, an all-in-one ADSL2+ modem that comes with 4 ethernet ports, supports 802.11n (Draft 2.0) wireless connectivity and is also a VoIP hub with its two FXS plus an FXO port for both PSTN and VoIP calls. Moreover, it is also a USB2.0 Host that allows one to utilizing printer or network storage device sharing, which definitely is a central hub for everything one wishes for in a networking device.
And next, we have the Aztech HL109RN, a 802.11n draft wireless router that comes with four Ethernet ports. The One-Touch connection will definitely give you a much easier time connecting you to the fast speed 200Mbps network.
The usual HomePlug lineup from Aztech made their appearance over at CommunicAsia. From left: the HL109E, the HL109EP and finally the HL105EW.
ASUS
ASUS showed off its M930 at CommunicAsia. A Windows Mobile Device, it features a full QWERTY keyboard, an ultra wide screen and full speed and connectivity with 3G.
How small can small really get? With more and more devices micro sizing, ASUS thinks it has the answer with its P320, a mini GPS PDA phone.
If you love your cars and phones, you will also love ZX1, an ASUS and Lamborghini collaboration. It looks pretty sleek and since its limited edition, collectors may want to take note.
The P750 doesn't offer any fancy car collaborations but offers you the fast data input and high speed transfers with 3.5G.
Last on our ASUS list is the P527, which has a built in GPS feature and a complete suite of business applications for the wandering businessman.
SanDisk
Sandisk wants you to "Wake Up Your Phone"! No prizes for guessing what they want you to wake your phone up with though.
The Sandisk booth was mainly focused on their range of Ultra Mobile memory cards, for both their SDHC and M2 memory cards.
Seecode
Seecode touts its Bluetooth devices as the world's first Bluetooth Headset for Push to Talk devices, such as walkie-talkies. Pictured is Bluetooth PTT Special.
This is the Bluetooth PTT Explorer. It is a Bluetooth headset with internal microphone type earphone which makes conversation in noisy circumstances easier.
Malata
Malata Mobile is a Chinese Mobile phone company founded in 2004 and has grown ever since then. This is their MT199, a compact candy bar phone, with 262K QVGA display, 0.3 camera and touch panel.
Malata's MZ300 is a sleek dual band phone with dual SIM standby, a 262K QVGA screen and 2.0 Mega pixel camera.
Malata's phones do really look compact and elegant. The MG609 is a prime example with 262K QVGA, MP3/MP4 player and a touch panel.
SingTel
Singtel's presence at CommunicAsia 2008 was felt through its racing simulators and flashy life-sized F1 racing car. Also making an appearance was Singtel's Mio TV on Mobile offerings.
Can't wait for the F1? These people couldn't and took the opportunity to race at breakneck speeds at Singte's booth.
If you feeling even more adventurous, then you could even hop inside this life-sized F1 car simulator to get an even better feel. Vroom!
Singtel's Mio TV on Mobile offerings look set to bring mobile entertainment right to your pockets, especially since they will be streaming real time content straight from their TV partners.
Other Sightings
Soon you might be able to a lot more with your mobile phone. Taisys has developed the KingSub duoPass, a (U)SIM card which can be appended on a SIM card. This allows you to use one's mobile phone as a loyalty card, e-purse etc�
Another booth that was albeit unique was the Viwawa booth. Well as fans of mahjong would know, Viwawa offers online social gaming with a your own custom avatar.
There was an interesting booth at CommunicAsia that promoted a Chupa Chups/ Mentos game machine. It was a little out of place in this trade fair but a welcome and refreshing sight.
Here is an interesting innovation by Modotronix. They have come up with a rear view mirror that allows you to see who is calling you in your mobile phone as well as gauge the distance between the your car and the wall when parking.
From Moneual comes this innovative cylindrical HTPC. The Moneual701 allows you to customize the internal HDD, Graphics Card etc. to your own specifications and needs.
The CommunicAsia Eye-Candies - Part 1
The CommunicAsia Eye-Candies - Part 2
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