Face it: Events—and event planners—seem more than a bit rusty if they employ yesterday’s technology. In a profession where image is everything, you simply must stay en vogue. The first quarter of 2005 ushered in a gaggle of new gadgets that aren’t just fashion accessories. These tools could just make your work that much smoother.
All This and a Phone, Too
If you’ve been putting off buying the Handspring Treo because 1) everyone has one and 2) you demand the next best thing, this might be it. While slightly larger than the Treo, the Samsung i730 scores major cool points. The device slides open to reveal a full keyboard below its 2.8-inch screen. Running Windows Mobile 2003, the i730 can handle heavy lifting with its 64 MB of RAM (the Treo 650 has only 23 MB), 128 MB of flash memory, a 1.3- megapixel camera, and Bluetooth wireless connectivity. It can run on the new, digital cellular networks being rolled out by Verizon Wireless and—later in 2005—Sprint, which means quicker instant messaging, email, Web browsing, and text messaging. Demo models of the i730 included a WiFi radio as well, making it the perfect device to go from Starbucks to the commuter train. With Windows Media Player 10.0 and dual speakers with 3D sound, it’s also a nifty multimedia device. Pricing was unavailable at press time.
Tippler Tech
Whether anyone admits it or not, one of the fuzziest items on any event P&L is the booze. Does anyone really know how much the caterers are pouring and how much they’re charging? Now you can hold your bartenders fully accountable, at least if they’re using Nuvo Technologies’ BarVision, a high-tech, free-pour liquor management system. With wireless antennae installed on each bottle, BarVision sends a radio signal to a small, on-site receiver each time a drink is poured. This data is then transmitted to a Palm PDA running BarVision software, which tracks not only pours, but also what’s in each bottle and when it’s empty. The system runs about $3,000 to $5,000 per bar area.
Just Add Popcorn
Most meetings are just plain blah without some spectacular audiovisual production. But with any flashy multimedia comes high costs and hours of set-up. Now HP is trying to streamline this process with a budget-minded audio-video combo device. The ep9010 Instant Cinema Digital Projector (800.888.0262) merges a digital projector, DVD player, and sound system into one unit, offering the portable theater experience to the masses.
The ep9010 projects images up to 110 diagonal inches and can plug directly into cable or satellite television via popular Svideo, composite, component, and HDTV connectors. Support for 5.1 Dolby digital audio breathes life into the unit’s built-in speakers. Unfortunately, the ep9010 doesn’t stack up well against today’s stand-alone digital projectors. At 23 pounds, you can’t easily tote it from one event to another (although it comes with a wheeled case), and the SVGA resolution seems a bit dated. By comparison, the best digital projectors weigh in below four pounds and boast XGA resolution (for crisper, sharper images). But if you want a unit that unites your audiovisual tools in one package, the ep9010 is worth a look. Retail price: $2,000.
Radio Shack also recently announced the launch of its Cinego D-1000 digital projector/DVD combo. At 7.5 pounds, the D-1000 is more portable than the HP unit and matches its support for 5.1 Dolby digital audio, but offers less image contrast and more basic speakers. It sells for around $1,250.
Go, Look, and Listen
You’ve got your tunes on your iPod, your favorite photos on your PDA, and your latest PowerPoint proposal on your laptop. What a load. Now you can dump the utility belt, sell all those gadgets on eBay, and pick up the Samsung YH-820 Micro HDD Jukebox and Photo Album. At 2 by 3 1/2 by 3/5 inches, the Jukebox sports a 5 GB hard drive. It can handle MP3, Microsoft Windows Media Audio, and Janus subscription DRM file formats, as well as JPEG imagess, which can be viewed on its 1.6- inch LCD screen. That’s smaller than the iPod Photo’s two-inch screen, but the Jukebox is $270 cheaper The retail price is approximately $230.
—Matt Purdue
Posted 05.23.05
This story originally appeared in the April/May 2005 issue of the BiZBash Event Style Reporter.
All This and a Phone, Too
If you’ve been putting off buying the Handspring Treo because 1) everyone has one and 2) you demand the next best thing, this might be it. While slightly larger than the Treo, the Samsung i730 scores major cool points. The device slides open to reveal a full keyboard below its 2.8-inch screen. Running Windows Mobile 2003, the i730 can handle heavy lifting with its 64 MB of RAM (the Treo 650 has only 23 MB), 128 MB of flash memory, a 1.3- megapixel camera, and Bluetooth wireless connectivity. It can run on the new, digital cellular networks being rolled out by Verizon Wireless and—later in 2005—Sprint, which means quicker instant messaging, email, Web browsing, and text messaging. Demo models of the i730 included a WiFi radio as well, making it the perfect device to go from Starbucks to the commuter train. With Windows Media Player 10.0 and dual speakers with 3D sound, it’s also a nifty multimedia device. Pricing was unavailable at press time.
Tippler Tech
Whether anyone admits it or not, one of the fuzziest items on any event P&L is the booze. Does anyone really know how much the caterers are pouring and how much they’re charging? Now you can hold your bartenders fully accountable, at least if they’re using Nuvo Technologies’ BarVision, a high-tech, free-pour liquor management system. With wireless antennae installed on each bottle, BarVision sends a radio signal to a small, on-site receiver each time a drink is poured. This data is then transmitted to a Palm PDA running BarVision software, which tracks not only pours, but also what’s in each bottle and when it’s empty. The system runs about $3,000 to $5,000 per bar area.
Just Add Popcorn
Most meetings are just plain blah without some spectacular audiovisual production. But with any flashy multimedia comes high costs and hours of set-up. Now HP is trying to streamline this process with a budget-minded audio-video combo device. The ep9010 Instant Cinema Digital Projector (800.888.0262) merges a digital projector, DVD player, and sound system into one unit, offering the portable theater experience to the masses.
The ep9010 projects images up to 110 diagonal inches and can plug directly into cable or satellite television via popular Svideo, composite, component, and HDTV connectors. Support for 5.1 Dolby digital audio breathes life into the unit’s built-in speakers. Unfortunately, the ep9010 doesn’t stack up well against today’s stand-alone digital projectors. At 23 pounds, you can’t easily tote it from one event to another (although it comes with a wheeled case), and the SVGA resolution seems a bit dated. By comparison, the best digital projectors weigh in below four pounds and boast XGA resolution (for crisper, sharper images). But if you want a unit that unites your audiovisual tools in one package, the ep9010 is worth a look. Retail price: $2,000.
Radio Shack also recently announced the launch of its Cinego D-1000 digital projector/DVD combo. At 7.5 pounds, the D-1000 is more portable than the HP unit and matches its support for 5.1 Dolby digital audio, but offers less image contrast and more basic speakers. It sells for around $1,250.
Go, Look, and Listen
You’ve got your tunes on your iPod, your favorite photos on your PDA, and your latest PowerPoint proposal on your laptop. What a load. Now you can dump the utility belt, sell all those gadgets on eBay, and pick up the Samsung YH-820 Micro HDD Jukebox and Photo Album. At 2 by 3 1/2 by 3/5 inches, the Jukebox sports a 5 GB hard drive. It can handle MP3, Microsoft Windows Media Audio, and Janus subscription DRM file formats, as well as JPEG imagess, which can be viewed on its 1.6- inch LCD screen. That’s smaller than the iPod Photo’s two-inch screen, but the Jukebox is $270 cheaper The retail price is approximately $230.
—Matt Purdue
Posted 05.23.05
This story originally appeared in the April/May 2005 issue of the BiZBash Event Style Reporter.
