X-rated excitement | Bangkok Post: tech

No matter how troubled the political situation gets, it seems that nothing is capable of halting the evolution of gadgets or dampening people's curiosity in the latest techno-toys to hit the market. ARIP, the organisers of Commart X'Gen 2011, a four-day IT fair due to open on July 21 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, say they've already signed up more than 20 major exhibitors keen to display cutting-edge device that fit the event's "eXpress your eXperience" theme.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play ships with Android 2.3 without a complicated overlay; it features a 5-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi and GPS.

 
Sony Ericsson Xperia Play ships with Android 2.3 without a complicated overlay; it features a 5-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi and GPS.

Not surprisingly, ARIP general manager Pathom Indarodom predicts that smart phones and tablets will be the highlight of the fair, with special offers on the latest models from Toshiba, Acer, Dell, Sony, HTC Flyer (version 2.3), Motorola, Samsung Tab Gloria, Sony Ericsson and Nokia.

The tablet market has been rather flat since the recent launch of Acer Iconia, although the growing interest in Android's Honeycomb operating system is expected to up the ante.

Toshiba will be showing off its 3D notebook at the fair and visitors will also be able to check out some of the thrilling 3D games and entertainment options on the Toshiba Qosmio F750 and X770 that combine stand-out performance with stunning design. The machine features a 17.3-inch full-HD 3D display supporting NVIDIA 3D Vision technology.

Asus will be parading notebooks in the G, U, N series plus a netbook and Eee Pad Transformer tablets.

The portable 7-inch HTC Flyer Android tablet consumes a lot less power than larger devices.

Other new products worth checking out will include: Seagate's GoFlex Satellite mobile wireless storage; a so-called "anti-smart phone" called John's Phone, which is being billed as "the world's most basic cell phone"; the world's smallest HD digital camera; Livescribe's Echo smartpen that can record everything that one hears or writes down.

There will be an auction of several "one of a kind" products, with prices starting at as little as one baht plus a range of workshops on topics such as how to guard against threats to one's email and social-network accounts.

Commart X'Gen is expected to generate some 3 billion baht in sales revenue, said ARIP executive Pathom, who noted that overall growth in the IT market this year is expected to be 10% higher than last year.

ARIP is also organising a photo contest in tandem with the IT fair . Simply submit any photos you've taken that include the Commart X'Gen logo to http://www.commarthailand.com on or before July 25. The image which receives the greatest number of "Like" votes from visitors to the website will receive an iPad 2.

A smartpen that can record everything you hear or write down.

The full-HD notebook Qosmio F750 gives you an immersive viewing experience that is further enhanced by Toshiba’s Resolution+ video upscaling technology.

‘John’s Phone’, promoted as the world’s simplest mobile phone.