I've been to CeBit

The last two days, I have visited CeBit together with two colleagues. This is known as the biggest trade show in the consumer electronics and it systems world. And, man, it is big. We really enjoyed it, but I will not tell you about all the great stuff you can find there - that information you can find elsewhere. Instead, I will point out one problem with the show - which i guess will be the reason for me not to return there.

Most of what we saw at CeBit was old stuff. Either just plain old stuff, or old stuff in new wrapping. I guess 95% of everything on the floor was uninteressting for most attendees. Not the same 95% for all of them, but still, only 5% interesting stuff. The real problem is that new products, new inventions, are mixed to gether with all the old stuff the company have. So, take for instance Nokia. The have a large booth, but I think they only have 1 new phone to show. The rest are more than 6 months old. This goes for most companys. Sure, some of them have cool, old stuff, but still old. This problem should really be addressed by the CeBit staff.

There may be more solutions to the problem. I think CeBit should be splitted in two - one part for retailers/resellers and so on, who like to see the complete picture, and one part for the public, where only new stuff should be on display. My colleague suggested that companies should submit new products to a commite for selection to a special "new technology" pavillion, to ensure that there are at least one interesting hall on the show. I guess there are more options. Anyway, I will not return until this changes.

New Phone

The last year my phone has been a SonyEricsson P800. Great phone and a great PDA. There was only a single show-stopper: It does not team particullary well with Linux. So today I got rid of it. I really feel sorry, and it served me well, but I can't take it any more.

My new phone is the SonyEricsson Z600 (go check SonyEricsson.com). That one is just a phone - no PDA. But then, it took me about 30seconds to sync it with my evolution running on my linux-laptop. That is a winner.

I Guess I will miss the PDA functionality of the P800, like the nice e-mail client, the possibility to take notes and even surf the web with Opera, so I guess I will buy another PDA - probably either a Sony ux-50 or the Sharp Zaurus C860. I really want a linux-based PDA, but then it also need to 'sport at least Bluetooth, hopefully WiFi as well.

Have to search a bit more I guess before I decided what to do!