LAS VEGAS -- Giant American flags flying, security personnel frisking and poking, and people parading in unnecessary gas masks. No, not New York City, but Comdex 2001.
PCWorld.com's crack team braved it all and fanned out across Sin City to bring you back the best and worst of Comdex, 21st century style. We got the goods on the great, the near-great, and the not-even-close.
The somber tone in the country didn't keep the goofballs from strutting their stuff in Vegas, and our editors actually spotted pockets of cool technology--once they made it past security to the show floor. Come along for the ride.
First GlancesGeez, Guys!: E-mail firm Hanglro.com, promoting its MultiM-mail service, takes the cake on poor taste. To grab attention, the firm's booth workers wore oversize gas masks with signs pinned to their chests reading: "E-mail is protected from the anthrax," a gag that went over about as well as joke envelopes full of baby powder. --Tom Spring
Most Unavoidable Attention Grabber: In exchange for a 20-minute wait in line, you could take a Mercedes-Benz for a free spin around the Las Vegas Convention Center parking lot. The best part? Watching the guy picking up the flattened orange cones around the course. --Steve Bass
Most Welcome Change in Atmosphere: Who'd have thunk it? The show's general tone of dignity. Comdex this year generally seemed to be about technology products, not wild-and-wacky stunts, booth bimbos, and cheesy giveaways. The low-key tenor may have been in part a reaction to September 11, but whatever the reason, it was a pleasant change from past shows. --Harry McCracken
...Or Maybe Not: The numbers of booths not quite on point to the show's message were on the increase. If you needed a mechanical foot or back massage device, a muscle toner and rejuvenator gizmo, a posture improving foam mattress, an attorney or--get this--a comedian specializing in high-tech schtick, they were there. Hey, isn't this a computer show? --Steve Bass and Yardena Arar
News You Can UseMost Interesting Hardware Prototype: Yeah, we all heard tons about Microsoft's push for Tablet PCs. But behind closed doors, Hewlett-Packard showed off an even more interesting possible future product: a convertible notebook with a huge 15-inch display. First, use it as regular notebook. Next, spin the display 180 degrees to use it as a presentation device, with keyboard facing away from the audience. Third, fold the display down over the keyboard and use it as a mega-size tablet PC. Finally, slide the unit into a vertical docking station and you have a desktop PC complete with LCD display. Cool! --Tom Mainelli
Well Done: The SD Memory Card pavilion was a model of what a well-thought-out trade show booth should be. Postage stamp-size SD cards are used to store up to 128MB of data, including music, images, and voice recordings. The power of the product is its interchangeability and the fact that more than 300 manufacturers, including big names like Canon, JVC, Palm, Panasonic, Sharp, and Toshiba have adopted it as a standard, in competition with Sony's Memory Stick. The group that put together the pavilion clearly understood that the card's real strength is its versatility and laid out the product displays of cameras, camcorders, handhelds, laptops, and audio players in a circle that made it very easy for visitors to get the message. --Ramon G. McLeod
Bye-Bye Bluetooth: Everybody's drooling over wireless connectivity, but the trick is getting there. Despite some security concerns, 802.11b seemed to be finding plenty of advocates at this year's show. However, the long-delayed Bluetooth seems to be teetering on oblivion, at least in the U.S. One notebook vendor executive pointed out that his company has stopped adding Bluetooth-ready hardware to its products because the technology has "missed its window of opportunity." --Tom Mainelli
Size Doesn't Matter: Imation's RipGo is a mini CD-RW burner and audio player all in one. Unlike many competing mini-CD players, not only can this compact device play back mini-CDs, but it also records to 8-cm CD-R/RW media. Each disc holds 180MB of data. The RipGo costs $399. --Melissa Perenson
Giddyup!: Next-generation wireless networks from Proxim, Intel, and others promise speeds of up to 54 megabits per second, while next-generation digital cellular networks should move data at speeds of up to 144 kilobits per second. We can't wait for full commercial deployment next year. --Denny Arar
Intel Targets Transmeta, Round Two: The chip giant unveiled a (kinda) new ultra-low-power processor with a matching chip set geared toward blade servers. It's just the latest strike by
Intel against Transmeta, which had found some business selling its Crusoe chips into the same market. With Intel countering Transmeta's products in both mobile and server markets, it could make things tough for the upstart company as it tries to roll out its delayed Crusoe 5800 chip while mounting plans for two new chips next year. --Tom Mainelli
Big-Screen Browsing on a Handheld: PC-EPhone 2.0 combines a mobile phone and a Windows CE-based personal digital assistant with a full 640-by-480 color screen, letting you browse the Web without all the annoying scrolling required on smaller devices. Expected to sell for about $1000, the PC-EPhone comes with a tiny phone-like remote that you can use when you just want to make a phone call--that's so 20th century!. --Denny Arar
Comdex's Software SideMost Innovative Software: Start-up Serious Magic demonstrated Visual Communicator, a $99 package that lets you point, click, and create video productions with network TV-like production values--and the only special hardware you need is a Webcam. In a world full of humdrum applications, Visual Communicator(which ships in January) looks to be a package that lets you do things that have never been done on a PC before. --Harry McCracken
Rev Up Your Web: Dubbed a reverse plug-in, Browse3D lets users find and view multiple Web pages simultaneously in a clever three-walled display. Pages can be saved as active or static in "sticky rooms" where they can be referred to later--great for keeping links handy during searches. --Michael Lasky and Harry McCracken
Not for Kids Only: One of the most entertaining products was Reallusion's Crazy Talk 1.5, software that lets you turn a digital picture into an animated and humorous mini-cartoon. The downloadable free program converts a photo into an animation, complete with facial expressions and comments. A selection of expressions are included, and you can make the character talk by entering text or importing a WAV file. The resulting files are small enough to attach to an e-mail message. Anyone over the age of 12 should be able to have a great time monkeying around with this humorous software. --Ramon G. McLeod
Seemed Like a Good IdeaWhew, Get Me Off This Merry-Go-Round: No dice to the Dyna-Flex Exercise Ball, which you're supposed to rotate in your hand. Its internal gyroscope spins at 9000 rotations per minute (faster than the hard drive in my notebook), purporting to "build strength while improving coordination." Thanks but I'll stick with the craps tables. --Steve Bass
Not Quite Ready: While the USB 2.0 pavilion featured considerably more vendors than its sad-sack counterpart at PC Expo, most of the players were far from household names. Companies such as Bafo, Pacific Digital, and Ambir Technology displayed Hi-Speed USB products, but few major vendors were on hand to show support. One analyst notes the standard won't likely hit the mainstream until Intel incorporates it into its chip sets, which won't happen until next year. --Tom Mainelli
Too Little, Too Late: Acer Communications' AcerCM 1208 DR combination 12X/8X/40X CD-RW drive that also reads 16X DVD-ROMs sounds like a dream machine. It was--nearly two years ago, when the first such drive was introduced. However, today, CD-R write speeds have jumped to 24X, 32X drives are imminent, and faster combo drives are available. --Melissa Perenson
Pop This Into My Holiday PackageLet's Drool: Shown in private and in press meetings only, Fujitsu's LifeBook P Series Windows XP notebook with a built-in DVD/CD-RW drive and a low-voltage Transmeta CPU that permits battery life of up to 6 hours--and weighs less than 3 pounds. The basic model starts at around $1500, but even the high-end version comes in at under $2000. We liked it so much we gave it the Notebook and Best-of-Show prizes at the Best of Comdex awards. --Denny Arar
Get Ready to REALLY Cocoon: New digital home entertainment products--projectors, sound systems, plasma displays, LCD TVs, and more--from Philips, InFocus, and others should make watching DVD movies and playing games better than ever. Now if only those big display prices would come down a bit. --Denny Arar
I Want More Than My MP3s: Slimmer, lighter and packed with more features than other portable audio jukebox devices, Archos' Jukebox Multimedia is to die for. It features a 10GB hard drive, USB 1.1 connectivity, and real-time MP3 encoding for direct recording from an audio source, and it plays MP3 and WMA files. But the real piece-de-resistance is the tiny color LCD screen for watching videos and viewing photos. Look for it at the start of the new year. --Melissa Perenson
Get Organized: Are cables sprouting like weeds in your office? Help is on the way. The Cable Clamp looks like half a handcuff--gather up your cables, ratchet the gizmo closed, and you're in business. --Steve Bass
Check Out the Stage ShowsJungle Fever: No Comdex would be complete without a lame stage show. National Semiconductor's effort featured a guy wearing safari clothes, the inevitable Indiana Jones hat, and a false muscle chest (complete with latex "abs"). The show was themed around getting through the high tech "jungle," but the only good thing one could say about this mess of a production, which also had people running around in "native" outfits, was that it wasn't another Matrix knockoff. Note: this is National's Semi's third year to win notice from us. Perhaps it's time to retire their crown? --Ramon G. McLeod
Sign of the Times: Honda showed off its latest generation of mobile generators. After all, there's no need to let a blackout slow down your Web surfing. But aren't jokes about California's power crisis passe yet? --Tom Mainelli
Send in the Clones: LG Industries, which produces several interesting consumer products including a very cool videophone, should have stuck with their pretty-good Austin Powers impersonator. Instead, they stunned the crowd into silence by bringing on a Britney Spears impersonator who couldn't lipsync in a shower and a Pamela Anderson clone who couldn't manage one of Ms. Anderson's best assets: her bee-stung lips. (You thought we were going to say something else, didn't you?) --Ramon G. McLeod
Scene and Be SeenSo Ab Fab!: What every well-dressed techno-dweeb needs: a 15-pocket vest with space for every conceivable gizmo you own. I wandered through the exhibit floor with my cell phone, pager, notebook, camera, and a bottle of water all tucked into the Scott E-Vest. My phone's headset wires slipped unobtrusively through small passageways in the vest. --Steve Bass
Security, Get That Wand Over Here: Think a vest's too ostentatious? Try a pair of Dockers with a hidden zippered pocket to store your PDA or cell phone. (For you world travelers, it's a terrific spot for hiding your passport.) --Steve Bass
Random ThoughtsYou From Out of Town? In addition to finding hundreds of smaller vendors once relegated to the basement of the Sands Convention Center now residing on the main show floor, the biggest surprise was Korea's huge presence. More than 70 companies filled a well-organized pavilion to show off everything from vendor wares such as power supplies and desktop cases to end-user stuff like LCD monitors and input devices. --Tom Mainelli
Osama Would Approve: Security for the media was supposed to be tighter than for the public. That's because we alone could bring in briefcases and bags. Not for me, it wasn't. On three visits, guards didn't ask me to open my bag's side pockets. --Steve Bass
Uh-Oh, Henry, It Won't Fit: Intel showed off its first Mobile Pentium 4 processor in a demo with a prototype motherboard. Despite its ultimate notebook destination, Intel was cooling the chip with a sizeable heat sink and fan. Good luck getting that bad boy into a thin-and-light notebook. --Tom Mainelli
Ouija Board of the Future: Input-device manufacturer Qtronix touted its keyboards with the tagline "Contact the Unknown World." Wow, digital seances? --Harry McCracken
Most Expensive Comdex Ever: The crowds were small, room rates were down, and cab lines were nonexistent. But my Ford van blew its lid (and a head gasket) to the tune of $3500. Call me if you know a good mechanic in Pasadena, willya? --Steve Bass
This story was compiled by Anne B. McDonald from reports from Yardena Arar, Steve Bass, Michael S. Lasky, Tom Mainelli, Harry McCracken, Ramon G. McLeod, Melissa J. Perenson, and Tom Spring.
