The event ran from October 5–9 at Makuhari Messe.
Today was the final day — free entry for general walk-ins — so I went.
My targets: glasses-free 3D, and the IS03, au’s newly announced Android phone.
What ended up leaving the biggest impression, though, was something else entirely.
The three keywords that defined the show floor for me:
· Smart Grid
· 3D
· Eco-[everything]
Smart Grid: An electrical grid that uses AI and communication-enabled metering equipment to automatically balance supply and demand, reducing energy use and costs while improving reliability and transparency. (Source: Wikipedia)
————————————————
■ Sony
All-in on 3D. A massive 3D LED screen — reportedly 21.7m wide × 4.8m tall.
The waterfall footage displayed on it created a genuine sense of presence, like being there.
Like watching Avatar on an IMAX screen.
Among the manufacturers pushing 3D, Sony left the strongest impression.
■ Sharp
Three main exhibits:
· Four-primary-color Quattron display — demonstrated richer color depth vs. standard three-primary TVs. You can feel the difference side-by-side, though it wasn’t dramatic enough to feel like a must-have.
· 3D TV
· Android device GARAPAGOS — some connection to au’s IS03? Personally more interested in the IS03.
■ Mitsubishi
Once led the PC LCD monitor field in my view, but recently competitors have caught up and it felt a bit undistinguished this year.
■ Fujitsu
A 1/1000th-scale physical model of the K supercomputer — recently shipped — was on display and running. (Apologies, forgot to take a photo.)
You could experience wing airflow simulation in real time.
The simulation was genuine, but I honestly couldn’t tell how impressive the hardware behind it was.
The IS03 I’d come to see was drawing a 30-minute-plus queue — I gave up.
Toshiba’s glasses-free 3D TV was shown during a presentation, but at 20 inches it was too small to really experience properly.
—————————–
I did get a look at what the next one to two years might bring.
But I felt a decline in the kind of “dream product” feeling I remembered from childhood tech expos.
Is it because the world has matured? Or because recession means ideas exist but budgets don’t allow them to move forward? I’m not sure.
I came home with that lingering question.
On a separate note: there were people who seemed to be primarily photographing the booth attendants. I’d never seen that at an event like this before.