PC Show 2006
The quarterly pilgrimage of geeks and gadget-freaks starts today at Suntec Convention Hall 6. Join us as we valiantly squeeze among the crowd to bring you the best buys and bargains from the frontlines of the 16th PC Show.
Let the Show Begin
It's that time of the year again. When the Great Singapore Sale opens with a bang and shopping madness descends to wreak havoc among the purses of Singaporeans and foreigners alike. And what better way to spend away the warmest days of the year than in a cool shopping mall? Well, you could travel to Suntec Convention Hall 6, where the longest running showcase of computer and electronics equipment, the PC Show, began today at 11am and it continues right through the weekend.
Into its 16th year, the PC Show promises more of the same formula that has attracted flocks of people to part with their money - gadgets and gears galore. Packed with big brand names in the PC industry (Dell and HP among others) as well as consumer electronics giants (such as Sony, Samsung and many more players), this is one exhibition of technology that you won't want to miss (at least for the bargains they offer). Of course, we had to be there first to bring you the highlights and save you some legwork. So sit back, relax, and get ready to be dazzled.
Acer's Booth
Acer already has a deal with Ferrari for a line of notebooks so it's no surprise that this has extended to their LCD monitors. The limited edition Ferrari-branded Acer 17-inch LCD here costs S$399. Not exactly a bargain for a 17-inch screen, but if you like the motif, why not?
The Acer Aspire 5562WXMi comes with the latest Intel Centrino Duo T2300 processor and 1GB of DDR2 RAM. ATI provides very decent graphics with a Radeon X1600 and there's also a 100GB SATA hard drive. And the price? A very 'affordable' S$2598 and Acer will even throw in a 1GB USB storage drive.
Aigo's Booth
Aigo had a decent range of MP3 & MP4 players at the show. If you purchase any of these players at the show, you can also top up $10 - $30 to get Aigo's external speakers tp go along.
ASUS's Booth
As usual, ASUS has a considerable presence and with a motto like that, you can rest easy that your ASUS products will last the distance.
Another famous sports car brand makes its presence in IT products, with ASUS tying up with Lamborghini's design expertise for this stunning yellow notebook. The specifications for it may be mundane but it certainly looks a million.
Another highlight at the ASUS booth is its new and stylish leather laptop, which we've also highlighted not long back in our First Looks section.
If you don't like to have an external webcam sitting around, ASUS has a solution for you. Visit the ASUS booth and get a sneak preview of this posh looking 20.1-inch ASUS PW201 LCD monitor that comes integrated with a 1.3MP camera and will be launched next month for S$999.
ATF's Booth
If you are looking for a small and portable backup device for your notebook, here is an affordable solution from Maxtor. It even supports encryption for your confidential documents.
Protect your PC from viruses and spyware with Panda Internet Security Platinum 2006 which is available at ATF's booth.
Store all your movies, music and other data onto these very affordable Maxtor external hard drives with up to half a terabyte capacity. Prices range from S$299 to S$499.
It is a good time to replace your wired keyboard and mouse with the Logitech Cordless Desktop MX3000 Laser which is on offer at S$169 now.
This basic USB webcam from V-Gear supports Mac OSX and it can be yours for only S$39.
Benq's Booth
This 19-inch BenQ monitor with 4ms response time is on offer for S$475 at the PC Show only.
One of the more affordable 20.1-inch widescreen LCD monitors at the PC Show is this cool black BenQ at S$599 only.
Grab a large LCD TV for your bedroom with this very affordable BenQ 32-inch LCD TV at only S$1688.
Ban Leong's Booth
Ban Leong has a big booth at the PC Show with a lot of products on offer that you won't want to miss.
This retro-looking speaker comes with a USB port that lets you plays music directly from a flash drive, SD card, etc for only S$59.
Besides the retro-looking speakers that come in different colors, Ban Leong is also offering Altec Lansing iPod compatible speakers at an attractive price.
Be converted and use the Razer Pro|Solution mouse and mouse pad for only S$99.
Brother's Booth
Brother has a wide range of multi-functional products based on laser printers from S$588 to sub S$1000 depending on your requirements.
The Brother MFC-640CW 9-in-1 Color Inkjet Printer is most suitable for SOHO environments. It comes with a 3-year carry in warranty and cost only S$478.
Canon's Booth
The S$679 Canon Pixma MP830 is the last all-in-one printer that you'll need, with fax and auto duplex copy functions. You'll also get a free USB desk lamp and fan with every purchase of a Canon printer or scanner at the show.
Chamoxa's Booth
One of more well-known 'brands' at Sim Lim, Chamoxa is at the PC show too, selling its usual variety of PC components.
External hard drives and enclosures are one of the hot items nowadays and Chamoxa has quite the range for you.
Courts' Booth
One of the largest retailers in Singapore, Courts has taken up quite a lot of floor space here. Selling all kinds of electronics products, Courts has even arranged lucky draws to entice shoppers. Winners can drive away with this Jeep.
For the fashionista, Motorola has tied up with designers Dolce & Gabbana to glam up its mobile phones.
Some of the Canon cameras on sale at the Courts booth. It's freebies galore as you can see from the accessories thrown in.
Creative's Booth
Creative just launched its new in-ear headphones, the Zen Aurvana. They are so confident of its audio quality that they even provide competing headphones from Shure for your audio testing.
The new Creative DiVi CAM 525 is a 5.0-megapixel video camcorder, still camera, voice recorder and webcam altogether. It has a large 2.5-inch LCD and is available for S$349 only.
The whole complete range of "Fatal1ty" gaming products by Creative. The latest line-up includes the Fatal1ty flat keyboard and headphones with microphone.
Cybermind's Booth
Longing for a large LCD monitor? The Samsung 19-inch LCD monitor can be yours for only S$379 at Cybermind's booth.
Store all your data into these little 1GB USB 2.0 flash drives from Imation for only S$55 each.
At Cybermind's booth, be sure to check out the small photo printer by Samsung which is perfect for overseas holiday use.
Cybermind's booth had plenty of attractively priced products from a wide range that not only include input devices, graphics cards and several Samsung products, but others as well. Do drop by and have a look at their exhaustive range of products on offer.
The talk of the town has to be the latest NVIDIA Geforce 7950 GX2 graphics card which is basically two cards sandwiched as one. Still under NDA till this week is over, they are already up for sale! Talk about advance availability...
XFX is offering a wide range of XFX graphics cards including the newest dual GPU based GeForce 7950 GX2.
Dell's Booth
Selling at S$1,599, the Dell Inspiron 640m is quite a decent budget notebook, what with its Core Duo processor, 80GB SATA hard drive, 1GB of DDR2 RAM and DVD burner.
For those seeking more performance, Dell's Inspiron 9400 notebook is just barely over 2k at S$2049 but packs in free upgrades to 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a DVD burner, a 80GB SATA HDD and uses an Intel Core Duo T2300 processor.
Digital Hub's Booth
This cute teddy bear from Genius is actually a webcam that you can hang over your monitor. Sweet!
Extend the range of your wireless devices when you replace its original antenna with these long range antennas that only cost around S$45 from Digital Hub's booth. Do check for compatibility first of course.
At Digital Hub's booth, you can grab this Planex 108Mbps wireless router that supports both 802.11b and g standards for only S$69.
Check out the assortment of well priced Edifier speakers that vary from entry-level to high-end at Digital Hub's booth.
D-Link's Booth
Networking vendor D-Link has tons of wireless routers at their booth at attractive prices. You can trade-in your old routers for a brand new one using the latest protocols and get a discount. Good buys include the excellent DGL-4300 108Mbps SuperG wireless gaming router at S$199.
Dopod's Booth
If you are looking for a PDA phone, do pop over to Dopod's booth where they have the first 3G Windows Mobile 5.0 PDA phone, the Dopod 900 and more.
The Dopod S300 is possibly the thinnest clam-shell PDA phone in the market today.
The Dopod 818Pro comes in different colors and this pink edition will surely appeal to the ladies.
This is the entire family of Dopod PDA phones which include the Dopod S300, 818Pro, 838 and 900.
East Gear's Booth
You can find a wide range of GPS devices and PDA phones at Eastgear's booth offered at very attractive prices.
The Mio A201 GPS PDA comes with built-in SiRFstar III GPS. It is bundled with free MapKing application (Singapore map) and you can opt to add S$70 more for either a Lexar 2GB SD card or an SDIO Wi-Fi card.
The Mio A700 PDA phone is possibly the smallest GPS PDA phone in the market and it can be yours for only S$1088.
Ennyah's Booth
At Ennyah's booth, you can find these very affordable multi-function 6.0-megapixel video camcorders that range from S$249 to S$329.
Add a smile to your kids by purchasing these cute soft toys which are actually stereo desktop speakers from Ennyah's booth.
Fujitsu's Booth
Fujitsu's idea of a home entertainment PC is big. Very big. The Deskpower TX costs S$4,888 but for that price, you'll get a 32-inch widescreen LCD display. You may even overlook the PC portion, which is integrated flawlessly into the unit and runs Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005.
For those with dainty hands, the Fujitsu LifeBook P7120 is both compact and mobile. Fingerprint recognition technology and integrated BlueTooth make this a very suitable business-oriented offering.
Fujitsu is offering a free upgrade to 1GB of RAM, a free second battery and a Lapmate optical mouse for its LifeBook E8210, which is priced at S$3,488.
An assortment of LapMate mobile products on display. In fact everything from LapMate was so small that only little space was needed to showcase their entire range of products.
Hipfill's Booth
Save some money by getting this alternative D-I-Y EasyRefill kit from S$68 only.
HP's Booth
The latest iPAQ smart phone from HP has its traditional built-in WiFi and runs on Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0. The 18-bit color 240x320 TFT LCD display makes for a truly colorful experience but S$1199 may sound a bit steep to some. It may cost less if you get it with a plan from a service provider like Starhub.
At S$1,499 the nx6110 is HP’s star buy of the show. With a Pentium M 730 (1.6GHz) processor, 60GB HDD, DVD-RW, 512 DDR SDRAM and freebies, the nx6110 is certainly something to keep a look out for at such a price.
Its dazzling array of multimedia capabilities pack a punch, not to mention that a Free iPAQ Pocket PC rx1950 worth S$599 is thrown in free to knock you out. Don’t miss HP’s Pavilion m7390d Media Center PC at S$2,999.
HP's sleek dv2002 is an eye catcher with its smooth glossy coating and sexy curves, last reported to cost only S$2,499.
JVC's Booth
JVC throws a gauntlet at its competition with its 32-inch LCD TV only at S$2299.
Yet another LCD TV from JVC, this 37 incher is available at S$3799 with a DVD recorder and other freebies thrown in. The 0% installment plan with OCBC credit cards could come in handy for this one.
A JVC 42-inch plasma TV spotted for a jaw dropping S$2499 only. Check out JVC’s booth for more great deals as they are certainly going all out for this battle of the big screens.
Kingston's Booth
Kingston branded memory is one of the more reliable and affordable ones around and of course you can find its popular ValueRAM products at the PC show.
Kingston flash drives and cards are available everywhere at the PC Show and you can get these CF, SD and MicroSD cards at all time low prices.
Lenovo's Booth
The workhouse of the Lenovo ThinkPad line, the X60, was displayed at the Lenovo booth and it goes for S$3,099 up to S$3,499, depending on the configuration. It's guaranteed to last you a while thanks to the additional 8-cell battery thrown in for free.
LeMon's Booth
A wide range of MP3 players by LeMon greeted us at the PC show. Affordable and trendy looking, these iPod alternatives should appeal to the budget conscious.
LeMon's Cube speakers are handy additions to enhance your MP3 listening experience.
If you need more audio power, these new DiVoom speakers from LeMon are priced at a low price of just S$65. But strictly for casual listeners only as we doubt any decent audiophile will spare these a second glance.
LG's Booth
Life's good for LG, ever since they got one of Korea's hottest actress to be its spokeswoman.
LG's LCD TVs are red-hot and we are not just describing the red decor for this Flatron TV.
More LCD TVs on display at the LG booth. With prices ranging from $579 - $629 for these models, expect them to pop up in the bedrooms of families soon.
Linksys' Booth
One of the biggest players in wireless networking solutions, Linksys makes quite an impression at the show with its cool looking booth. They have never failed to show up without tasty offers or funky new products.
With the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) rage catching on, Linksys demonstrates its VoIP phone, the SPA-941.
A mix of new Linksys products with the WRT300N as the main attraction showing off its Wireless-N capability.
Logitech's Booth
Get the complete set of Logitech G15 gaming keyboard and G5 mouse at only S$119 each.
Logitech showcased a series of gaming accessories such as the G5 laser mouse along with its G15 gaming keyboard with LCD panel.
NEC's Booth
This nice looking 15.4-inch NEC Versa P8100 notebook with an Intel Pentium M 1.73GHz CPU, 512MB RAM, DVD super-multi drive and a 40GB HDD is on offer for S$1599 only.
The performance NEC Versa P8210 that is armed with a Mobility Radeon X1600 and comes with freebies that include a free upgrade to 1GB DDR2 RAM and 100GB SATA HDD for only S$2,999.
The NEC PowerMate DL T8000 w makes very little unwanted noise thanks to its unique water cooling technology. This premium PC also comes with Bose speakers for those who demand the best in audio.
Nokia's Booth
Nokia’s huge booth complete with an events stage attracted large crowds with its contests that gave away plenty of Nokia prizes throughout the day.
Teasing the crowd was the soon-to-be-released Nokia N93 clamshell. It comes standard with a 3.2MP Carl Zeiss lens capable of 3x optical zoom.
The spectacular Nokia N93 from another view.
O2's Booth
The white Xda Atom Pure is so limited an edition that all the glass displays at the O2 booth only had plastic replicas to show.
Panasonic's Booth
Panasonic has a large booth, packed full of people and gadgets ranging from digital cameras to its bestselling DVD recorders.
An ultra compact digital camera that punches above its class thanks to the wide-angle Leica lens, the Lumix DMC-FX01 is yet another achievement by the relatively new kid on the block.
We can't help resisting the urge to show this video camera (and the Gold Award from our fellow publication, HWM). S$1,499 sounds like a good price for a video camera, don't you think?
Panasonic's line of large displays include both LCD and plasma models. Expect the latest models to come with HDMI connectors for the upcoming HD era.
OSIM beware, for Panasonic's massage chair looks just as comfortable, including Japanese shiatsu massage options. The price for such comfort - S$7599.
Pioneer's Booth
It is time to replace your VHS with these DVD recorders with extra 160GBs of HDD capacity for less than S$1000.
The Pioneer 43-inch plasma TV makes an excellent display for viewing DVD movies and TV programs in the living room. This HD-ready TV costs S$5599.
A demo setup to show what a big screen Pioneer Plasma TV could do to the entertainment value of your living room.
Pluto's Booth
Targeted at gamers, the aggresive looking Pluto Ultimax Xtreme comes with a high-end Radeon X1900 XT graphics card and a 250GB SATA hard drive. Therefore, don't be shocked by its S$3,118 price tag.
A Mac Mini lookalike, the Pluto mc2 is meant to be a media center and costs only S$1,388.
Samsung's Booth
Widescreen LCDs are growing in popularity and Samsung has the models to meet your needs.
There's no way you can miss these attractive prices for Samsung notebooks, unless you happen to be blind.
Samsung's SlimFit line of TVs are all attractively priced at the show, with the 29-inch at S$899 and the 32-inch at S$1,299.
Is that a babe we see over there? No, that's just our colleague playing with a babelicious Ultra Mobile PC from Samsung. It's not available locally yet till later this year but it sure looks alluring with its petite form factor.
A closer look at the UMPC from Samsung.
Seagate's Booth
Seagate was touting its portable and external hard drive selection and top of our pick is the S$299 300GB Pushbutton backup drive, including software like Ulead Photo Express and Video Studio valued at S$200 - all bundled in.
Shiro's Booth
MP3 players, wireless routers, speakers and even walkie talkies are some of the products offered by Shiro and its stable of related companies, like Aztech.
Coming in all shapes and sizes, there should be a Shiro MP3 to fit your budget and needs.
Slashed prices make everything seem like a great offer, though that's standard marketing tactics. So do your comparison shopping first.
Sennheiser's Booth
A small rack of Sennheiser headphones caught our eye. The latest model like the PC150 costs around S$139 and comes with a free pair of earphones.
Some of the freebies given by Sennheiser when you purchase their products at the show.
Singtel's Booth
Offers at the Singtel booth were for its mobile and broadband deals. There were quite a few takers too for the competitive packages.
It's not all wheeling and dealing at Singtel's booth. This is a demonstration of a future video phone using VoIP technology. Aren't we already supposed to have gotten such gadgets by the year 2000?
SMC's Booth
SMC also made an appearance with its range of networking products to put up a fight with its competitors.
SMC's addition to the feeding frenzy of the white Mac-look with their Skype ready Wi-Fi phone at S$339.
Sony's Booth
This HD capable video recorder is on display at the Sony booth. Too bad it wasn't ready when we were there, though we believe that there should be an upcoming review from HWM on it soon.
The Chinese character 'qing', meaning light, is a very appropriate screensaver for the ultra portable VGN-TX26GP. It weighes a mere 1.26kg but a hefty S$3,299.
Prices for the accessories sold at the Sony booth for digital cameras.
The Sony VGN-FE15GP is a powerful desktop replacement notebook with a decent 15.4-inch wide TFT display. A GeForce Go 7400 graphics chipset powers it and the resultant price is S$2,799.
Sony's CyberShot line of digital cameras looks suitably glamorous.
Sony-Ericsson's latest Walkman phone, the W810i continues to bring music to the mobile phone and in style.
StarHub's Booth
As usual, Starhub’s booth was crowded and there was a long queue that snaked out to the hall walkways. Offering a lucky-dip which promised prizes such as digital cameras and Xbox consoles didn’t help the problem either.
The new LG KG800 'chocolate phone' up on display at the Hub - absolutely delicious.
Starhub even had Sony Ericsson’s latest WALKMAN phone, the W810i showing off its grooves at the booth.
An option to record your favorite cable shows - Starhub’s Digital Video Recorder Set-Top Box on display.
Toshiba's Booth
The Qosmio line from Toshiba is one of the better multimedia laptops in the market now and starting at S$2,999, it's a relative steal.
The Toshiba G30 is the first HD DVD-based product to arrive on our shores. This multimedia notebook that features a NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600, 17-inch WUXGA display, built-in TV tuner and a 200GB HDD is available at a premium price of S$5293.
For the die-hard World Cup fans, the Toshiba A100 2006 FIFA World Cup limited edition notebook with a gold trophy design front cover is available for S$2599. Not bad actually.
Viewsonic's Booth
Viewsonic definitely didn’t want to be left out in the battle for the big screens. Their booth emphasized a large display (pun intended) of monitors and large screen TVs, which were all available at great prices.
Viewsonic's 37-inch HD LCD TV with HDMI is going for a bargain price of S$2999. They've even thrown in a Snazio Net DVD CinemA HD player as well at absolutely no charge.
The 20-inch widescreen VX2025WM with a native resolution of 1680x1050 pixels, 1000:1 contrast ratio and 8ms response time was impressive. Available for only S$679 including a DVI cable, demand for this unit was fast and furious.
A 19 incher with only 2ms response time, the VX922 is quite a deal at only S$549. On top of that, a free 1GB thumbdrive and DVI cable is thrown in free.
The Xbox 360 Booth
The Xbox 360 booth was a hit with the kids, every station was occupied with children eagerly trying out the latest games like N3 and DOA4.
Hmm, wasn't the Xbox 360 launched at S$699? At least they added some freebies to sweeten the deal.
Other Sightings
This handy device is a must for photographers. It lets you store all your photos and even charges four AA batteries for your external flash. It is retailing for S$299 and S$399 for the 80GB and 120GB version respectively.
The Shimon video phone from Japan is one of the more affordable alternatives for SMBs and home users which is expected to launch in Singapore later this year. Do check out the live demonstration at the booth where you can even chat with someone from Japan!
These retro looking speakers from Sonic Gear are priced between S$219 to S$359 depending on whether the model is designed with or without a vacuum tube.
A reputed brand from the land of the rising sun, Eizo may not be the biggest names locally in the LCD display business but it has its fair share of fans. It's good to find Eizo still going strong here due to the quality of its displays. This 21-inch display here for example has a 5 year warranty.
Girls of the Show
What's an IT show without some models? Here's some that we caught on camera.
Coming to the end of our coverage of the PC Show 2006, we hope that we have helped you find your 'targets'. There are probably more bargains waiting for you to unearth out there so take the time to walk around, jostle the crowd and keep a lookout for the models. Alternatively, you could also wait till the last minute before you make your move, just when the exhibitors start slashing prices. Be sure to also visit our dedicated PC Show forum to get the latest updates from fellow visitors.
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