Inside the big shows
Inside the big shows
Two of the most awaited events in the 2012 geek calendar took place simultaneously last weekend. Computex (in Taipei, Taiwan) and Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3 (in Los Angeles, US)—some of the biggest exhibitions for electronics and gaming—are where new product announcements are made and demonstrations take place, and this year had a lot of particularly good exhibits. Both the shows could be viewed online—we’ve picked the highlights for you.
• Computex 2012
There were a number of big announcements about products that will be making their way to the market sometime soon:
Asus Taichi: Asus announced the Taichi, a laptop/tablet hybrid with a screen on either side of the lid. Close the lid, and you have a tablet; open it, and the machine is a laptop with a keyboard.
With an Intel Core i7 processor and 4 GB RAM, it’s going to be powerful, and you can run different applications on the two screens simultaneously.
Senseye:A new technology demonstrated at Computex, Senseye allows people to control smartphones/tablets with eye movements. It tracks the point on the screen you are looking at, which was demonstrated by using the popular Android game Fruit Ninja.
This could open the device up to a number of uses. Doctors and other professionals who need their hands free could use a tablet for information on the job. It’s not ready for commercial use yet but Senseye could make it to our devices in a year or so.
Wireless charging: Wireless charging isn’t new, but Intel’s demo showed a phone being wirelessly charged from an ultrabook. This means that even if you forget your charger and data cable, your laptop could make sure you don’t run out of battery. Intel is putting a lot of emphasis on wireless charging this year—it wants All-in-One computers to charge Bluetooth keyboards wirelessly, without changing batteries.
• E3
E3 saw a number of great-looking demos of video games, but only a few were close to completion.
Tomb Raider: The gameplay footage that we saw looked great. The tiny clothes and disproportionate body are a thing of the past. Lara moves from being a sex object to a real protagonist in a game which promises to be better than before.
Assassin’s Creed 3: The game looks gorgeous, and the new setting will add many new gameplay elements as well. This is great news for a franchise that was starting to get a little stale.
The second screen: There were a few things that were less exciting though, and they all involved second screen experiences. Microsoft gave us Smartglass, Sony showed Wonderbook and Nintendo showed the new Wii U console. People will complain about calling any of these disappointing, particularly the Wii U, but frankly, they seem more gimmicks than anything else. All three have interesting possibilities but we’re predicting that they’ll gather dust quickly.
gopal.s@livemint.com
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