CeBIT America 2003: Picks and Pans

Gadgets and goodies were sparse but splashy at inaugural event.

PCWorld.com Staff

NEW YORK-- CeBIT came across the ocean this June, opening here the first American edition of the giant European technology show. Attendees and vendors alike weren't sure what to expect--and that's what they got.

Nearly 400 exhibitors offered a grab bag of wares, both on the show floor and at affiliated off-site events. Although CeBIT was expected to be a business-oriented, enterprise show, a fair number of gadgets made an appearance. And attendees had plenty of opportunity to check them out; the final attendance count is likely to be around 15,000, says Mark Dineen, CeBIT managing director. That's down from an earlier estimate of 40,000.

Here's a scrapbook of reports from PC World editors at that inaugural event.

Down to Business

Flat Screen, Not Flat Colors: Eizo-Nanao promises its new ColorEdge LCDs match a CRT's color quality, supporting 1 billion hues--far beyond the 16.7 million colors that LCDs typically display. The $1859 18-inch and $2899 21-inch monitors go on sale in mid-July. --Sean Captain

Wi-Fi Gets a Boost: Isn't it annoying when your Wi-Fi signal doesn't quite cover its territory? Buffalo Technology's $99 54G Wireless Repeater lets you extend the reach of a wireless LAN by 50 to 75 feet, but it will work only with a Buffalo 54G router. Thinking of upgrading to 802.11g anyway? --Yardena Arar

Phone, Meet PC: After seeing it in action, I understand why FutureDial's SnapSync ($20) has been getting such good reviews--it syncs phone and PIM address books in a flash. It now talks to Outlook; support for major PIMs is coming in September. --Ramon G. McLeod

Treo Makeover: Handspring's Treo gets a dramatic makeover in the newest model, unveiled at an off-site event here. The Treo 600 is a candy-bar-style cell phone-PDA-camera combination, and it gets extra points as the first such hybrid based on the Palm 5 operating system (and outfitted with a new and more-powerful CPU). Look for it later this year in both CDMA and GSM/GPRS versions. --Yardena Arar

Let's Get Small

Shrunken Wi-Fi Cards: ViewSonic's tiny SD Wi-Fi adapter is about the size of a Memory Stick. Too bad it will only work with the latest ViewSonic Pocket PCs. --Yardena Arar

Two-In-One PDA Fun: Memory manufacturer SanDisk showed CompactFlash and Secure Digital cards that include both Wi-Fi networking and 128MB to 256MB of memory, so PDA owners can get more use out of expansion slots without having to swap cards in and out. --Harry McCracken

Don't Judge by Size: The light, sleek, Nimble Microsystems Nimble V5 is one of the smallest PCs we ever seen, but it packs plenty of features and can be used as a stand-alone video conferencing device. It's networkable, extremely quiet, and uses Via's low-power-consumption C3 processor. It will ship this fall priced at about $699. --Ramon G. McLeod

Projector Chic: If InFocus's sub-2-pound LP120 projector doesn't turn your head, maybe its optional carrying case will. Coach, purveyor of upscale leather goods, has designed a bag for the Coach Edition of the brick-shaped projector. The sleek, soft, black, briefcase-style leather bag has color-coded compartments for the projector and accessories. The Coach Edition LP120 is scheduled to ship in August for $3199 (the projector costs $2699). --Yardena Arar

Great Gadgets

Best Object of Technodesire: Sony's VAIO TR1, shipping next month for around $2000, is an superslim, ultracompact, 3.1-pound notebook with a wide screen, a DVD-ROM/CD-RW combination drive, a built-in digital camera, and an industrial design that might leave even Steve Jobs feeling envious. --Harry McCracken

Click Here: Casio showed a profusion of clever little accessories for its stylish Exilim digital cameras. The newest model, the EX-S3, has a resolution of 3.2 megapixels and weighs about 2.5 ounces. Accessories include well-designed tiny cases, miniature tripods, a USB cradle, and an underwater case. --Rebecca Freed

Tech on Your Wrist: The Fossil Palm Watch PDA packs plenty of features into a (relatively) small package, but it may not get past the fashion police. A Palm rep tried to convince me the oversized look is in style, but the screen was wider than my wrist. And even then, the tiny print on the display was difficult to see. I think I'll keep wearing my good ol' Timex, and carry my Palm PDA in my bag. --Liane Cassavoy

Domestic Tech

Couch Potatoes, Rejoice! Gyration's dream-come-true remote control/mouse combo, the Media Center Remote, uses gyroscope-like technology to let you merely wave your hands to control screen navigation for your PC, DVD, music, photos, and more. The mouse works on a desk or "in the air," so you never have to leave your seat--which can be 100 feet away from the PC. But at $150 it isn't a cheap thrill, and you still have to get up to go to the fridge. --Michael S. Lasky

Parent Power Restored: Now you don't have to yell "shut that darn thing off," because the Time-Scout Monitor from CardAccess will enforce time limits on PCs, TVs, game consoles, and anything else with a plug. Coming out in July, the $70 device works with cards that set the time a kid can zone out on his favorite electronic toy. --Ramon G. McLeod

Convergence Come True? The StarTech Video Game Jockey allows you to play your game console or to watch movies from your DVD player on your PC monitor, and then press a button to switch back to regular PC input. It's a fresh take on a similar product we saw last year from ViewSonic, but $80 it's about half the price. --Ramon G. McLeod

Custom Media Center PCs: Finally, Hewlett-Packard has recognized that the geeks who want to buy a PC equipped with Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center Edition also want to control what goes into it. Besides the three preset configurations shipping in July, HP will let buyers build their own system, choosing graphics cards, sound cards, drives, processors, RAM, and more.

Onebox Rules the Room: Can't fit a tower-style Media Center PC in your stereo rack? Try newcomer Niveus Media's petite alternative, the Onebox Media Center. It measures just 11.4 by 12.9 by 3.7 inches, but packs a 1-GHz Via processor, a TV tuner card, a 6-in-1 memory card reader, A DVD-ROM drive, and an 80GB hard drive (with room for a second). Running Windows XP Home, it matches most features of Microsoft's Media Center Edition of XP, and can tune in cable, record TV, play music, and display photos from a single interface. The $999 ONEbox is expected to ship in July. --Sean Captain

Buyer Beware: If the price sounds too good to be true, it probably doesn't sound good. Computer and audio companies cite incredible prices for "home-theater-quality" sound for powered speaker systems that typically cost less than $150 for 2.1 setups and under $400 for 5.1 systems. Don't be fooled. This class of speaker works for PC or console gaming, but such sets are totally inadequate for a good living room home theater--unless you like overblown, flabby bass and treble that will make you bolt. Want home theater speakers? Go to a home theater shop. --Ramon G. McLeod

Commendations for Original Thinking

Goofiest Product at CeBIT: The Personal Computing Environment computing pod, which lets you recline while you surf, play games, or (possibly) work. The screen is suspended above you and the case sits at your side. If you've got an extra $2000 or so to spare, it could be the furniture that lets you compute for hours--or just sleep more comfortably. --Rebecca Freed

Sounds Fishy to Us: What's better than Microsoft's "Underwater" screensaver? How about fish swimming inside your computer chassis? Solid Tek was looking for nibbles of interest in Fish Tank, from a Chinese vendor. This panel snaps onto the side of your boring beige box, and livens it up with colorful fake fish bobbing about in aerated water. Eat your heart out, Nemo. --Tom Spring

Ergonomics Under Consideration: The creators of the Personal Computing Environment workstation, which looks just a little too much like your dentist's chair, promised it was the most comfortable desk I'd ever sat at. But I hit my head on the overhanging monitor on the way in and out, and while sitting I kept expecting my dentist to walk around the corner with a drill in his hand. --Liane Cassavoy

Environment and Events

Most Stylish Booth Snacks: Intel handed out packets of color-coordinated M&Ms in blue, white, and violet--just like the omnipresent Centrino logo. --Harry McCracken

Don't Touch! An overeager masseur accosted me in a lounge area while I was trying to regroup and reorient myself. I really didn't appreciate the "massage mugging." --Rebecca Freed

Almost Famous: Back in the golden age of computer trade shows, events sometimes seemed thicker with celebrities--from Bill Gates to Ray Charles--than civilians. CeBIT was far more mundane, so when watermelon-smashing comedian Gallagher showed up at a press event, he was soon surrounded by groupies. What was he doing at a tech show? Researching companies he might want to invest in, he said. --Harry McCracken

Hard Drives, Aisle 7: Maybe it was for security, but I suspect it was more for bean-counting that show-attendee badges were scanned, supermarket check-out style, every single time you walked onto the show floor. By day's end I felt like a six-pack of soda whose UPC bar code was having problems registering. I can't wait to see what happens when this kind of security goes biometric. --Yardena Arar

Best Slogan: "Eccentricities of Genius," the cryptic but somehow appealing motto of India-based utility software developer Rhombus. --Harry McCracken

Signs of the Times? New York cabbies aren't rude anymore. They're silent. It's astonishing to one who grew up in the New York area how quiet the cab drivers are these days. And yes, they speak English. In my dozen cab rides during CeBIT, I had one talkative cabbie. He tried to convert me to Islam, which was a rather interesting conversation, but another story. --Ramon G. McLeod

Dude, Where's My Trade Show? While CeBIT Hanover is the event for European techies, CeBIT's New York debut was largely a nonevent. Even an overweight nerd could cross the showroom floor in a few minutes without brushing against any of the scarce participants.

Perhaps we should blame the show's narrow focus; the German CeBIT covers the gamut of technology products, but CeBIT America was limited to the not-so-sexy "enterprise computing marketplace."

Still, we spotted plenty of seemingly verboten wares, from entertainment products to consumer gadgets and even game-related packages.

Many vendors sat out this show with a wait-and-see attitude. The problem is, more sat out than got in. So, of course, it looked like a show to avoid--sort of a self-fulfilling prophesy. See you next year? --Sean Captain and Michael S. Lasky