CEATEC is the world's most comprehensive exhibition of cutting-edge information technology and electronics technologies. CEATEC which stands for Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies began on September 30 and concluded on October 4 in Japan. The objective of CEATEC is to allow visitors to experience the newest technologies, products, systems and software for the digital network age. A total of 804 companies and organizations exhibited in 3,121 booth spaces, including 289 exhibitors from 27 countries and regions around the world.
The exhibition drew 196,630 registered visitors in the five days it was open. Saturday October 4 was the only day parents with children and the general public could realistically attend the event due to being held during standard work hours. Several events targeted to children were also being held on October 4 as well.
This event was dominated by Japanese electronics companies but several noteworthy American companies such as Microsoft and AMD also participated in the event. Auto manufacturer Nissan also attended this event as well. Major Japanese electronics companies naturally had the largest exhibition booths with a variety of cutting edge consumer electronics on display.
Japanese companies were naturally dominant at the event – companies represented included Hitachi, Panasonic, Sharp, Toshiba, Sony, Mitsubishi, NEC, Fujitsu, NTT Docomo, and KDDI. The latest televisions were what the majority of these companies focused on for this event. From the largest televisions to the thinnest televisions to the most stylish televisions the spectrum of what was on display was extremely broad.
Hitachi chose to focus on style for its lineup of televisions that are part of the “Wooo UT” series. Due to the use of a unique stand and frame design, Hitachi’s televisions stood out when compared to its competitors. As all electronics makers have focused on developing thinner and thinner televisions, thinness has no longer become a variable that can help differentiate competing products. Hitachi had a variety of televisions on display with concept colors and designs. It also implemented a clever tactic for gathering marketing information by encouraging visitors to fill out a survey asking which design or colors they preferred. The prize for filling out the survey was a box of “Hitachi candy” with a picture of “Wooo UT” series televisions on the front.
Televisions were a major focus of the Sony exhibition booth as well. The Bravia ZX1 series was prominently on display. At 9.9mm thick, this is currently the world’s thinnest LCD television. The W1 series of televisions was also on display the selling point of these televisions is that they employ Motionflow technology which allows for smooth images at extremely high frames per second. The XR1 was also on display this series is a high picture quality model equipped with RGB LED backlights. The X1 was on display and is a series that is equipped with a new image processing engine called "Bravia Engine 2 Pro," which can reduce flicker noise.
The XEL-1 was also on display this is Sony’s first commercial OLED television. At 3mm thick, the XEL-1 and other OLED televisions are seen as the next step in television technology. Also on display was the 27-inch AMOLED TV. This television made news due to the fact the screen is flexible.
The VAIO TT was also on display and is claimed to be the world’s lightest Blu-ray equipped laptop. In order to demonstrate their D-SLR line of cameras, Sony implemented a clever set up that had two attractive models sitting in a central area where visitors could take pictures and videos of them using the latest camera models from Sony. Finally, demonstrations of the new Life With PlayStation service on the PlayStation 3 were conducted at the Sony booth.
Toshiba’s exhibition booth featured its REGZA series of televisions on prominent display. A significant section of Toshiba’s exhibition booth was also devoted to its XDE DVD players. These players are designed to improve image quality of regular DVDs. Toshiba stated these players are designed to “not compete” with Blu-ray technology although any technology that extends the life cycle of the DVD could very well compete with Blu-Ray if it were to become popular.
Panasonic with its VIERA series, Sharp with its AQUOS series, and Mitsubishi all had the latest versions of their televisions on display at their respective booths. A common theme that was present among all television manufacturers was the development of environment friendly products. Most of the manufacturers had televisions on display that consumed less power when compared to older models. The JE1 series of televisions from Sony was on display next to older model Bravia’s and visitors could see how the JE1 consumed only about half the power. OLED televisions such as Sony’s XEL-1 also fit in to this trend due to the fact OLED televisions are able to be thinner and more energy efficient than LCD televisions.
Nissan, one of the few car companies attending this event, demonstrated its new cell phone capable of unlocking and starting a vehicle. The phone was developed in a collaboration effort with Sharp and NTT Docomo. The phone uses Nissan’s intelligent key system that allows you to unlock and lock your car as well as start and stop your engine wirelessly. This technology is currently installed in almost one million cars around the world. Also on display from Nissan was the BR23C “Robotic Car”. About the size of a large dog, it is able to detect and avoid crashing in to moving and stationary objects. A silver and red version of the robot was repeatedly demonstrated proving they were able to detect and avoid crashing in to each other and in to the demonstrator.