So it probably would have helped if I had looked up what the hell this event was supposed be about. I all I knew was that it was Hawaiian themed – something so recockulous it had to be worth going to – and that there would be Products there. Unfortunately, I had no idea what Products there would actually be, but as I’m sitting here, sipping Amstel, it’s starting to look a lot like your typical technology journalism sausage fest that most of these product showcases turn into.
A whole roasted baby big just floated by at eye level, though, so that’s something.
I would get another beer, but the PC Magazine people are huddling together for warmth. You know how all those computer mags in the 80s had pictures of bearded chubby guys, with the occasional fresh-faced 40-year-old that was like acting editor or something? There’s a reason they don’t have those pictures anymore – all those old bastards are still there.
Oh, they’re letting me inside the room.
——
That was maybe a little bit fun, I guess – as much as your average trade show with ample booze and a an unspoken understand that nobody really gives a fuck about you and you don’t really give a fuck about their old ass products. And there is sushi in there, although getting raw fish from a buffet that’s being breathed on by tech reporters is sort of scary.
There were a couple of cool things, though, so let’s share.
This company called Synaptics is making a variety of interesting interfaces, none of which have quite made their way into phones, but that they’ve retrofitted into existing models (like this DoCoMo) to show off how useful they could be. This particular wheel interface is nice and awfully familiar although I can’t quite place it. Scroll wheel with a click center… nope, don’t think that’s been done.
Here’s another one, except this time they put a capacitance sensor underneath the keys, so you can draw right on the keys like you would a touch pad. Note the scribble bit, fraught with meaning.
Here are some of Nokia’s new phones, including the 7610 – coming to Cingular, I am told – the 7280 (much cooler in person, but still suffering from that tragic Nokia ‘throw some swoopy plastic on it and it’ll pass for cool’ syndrome), and the 7270, an altogether unspectacular piece of engineering, but notable mostly because it’s a flip phone from Nokia.
Also, it was a real surprise to find the PR firm representing Nokia to be so with it and knowledgeable about the product. In the past, post people from Nokia have been real cunts, and so have their lawyers.
I would like to mention that having servants bring me snacks on trays while I am writing is definitely going on the ‘to be considered’ list. Maybe we can get the intern to move to NYC. They do not have a tobacco tray being rolled around, though, which I blame on the liberal media.
And they had a Nokia 9300 Communicator on hand, of which I had a very positive first impression. It’s extremely classy in a sort of naughty secretary way. It looks like it’s all business, but it has the occasional lusty curve that hints otherwise. Nokia’s PR crew wouldn’t commit on price, though, so we’ll just have to see. They acted like they thought the currently rumored $850 price was a bit high, though, so here’s hoping. Then again, the people that want this phone the most – the people who want a smartphone but don’t want to look like a nerd carrying one – will probably be able to afford something with a little premium. Oddly enough, the new BlackBerry – the 7100t – was at the very next table to Nokia, and while it was neat and everything, it definitely had the heft and feel of a $200 phone.
Alright, I’ve only had one free drink, which is just stupid. I’m going back in and seeing if there’s anything else I can pretend like I’m interested in.
