The IFA is the world's largest consumer electronics show, and this year €3 billion in orders were placed for new products, writes Derek Scallyin Berlin
AT THIS year's IFA, the world's largest consumer electronics show, exhibitors vied to deliver the gadget version of designer lipstick: a little luxury people treat themselves to in times of economic uncertainty.
And there was no shortage of little - and big - treats this year, with merchants placing a record €3 billion in orders for new products.
The show attracted 220,000 people, anxious to see the products spread across 120,000sq m of exhibition space.
One of the busiest stands was South Korea's Samsung. It grabbed attention with a cheeky publicity campaign pushing its X360 laptop as "Lighter than Air" - a dig at Apple's MacBook Air.
Though not quite as slim as the Apple machine, Samsung claims the X360, at about 1.27kg, is about 90g lighter than its rival. It also has a better technical spec, offering an Intel Centrino 2 low-voltage processor, a 128GB solid-state hard drive, three USB ports and 1GB of memory (expandible to 4GB). Like the MacBook Air, the DVD drive is an external add-on. Samsung claims six hours' battery life and promises delivery in Europe in late September.
Another little treat was a new iRiver, the leading MP3 player alternative to Apple's iPod. The device boasts a 4.1-inch screen, 80GB or 120GB hard drive, an FM tuner and voice recording. As well as a built-in microphone, the device boasts a TV-out connection, USB 2.0 and a SD/CF card reader.
Another iPod alternative came from Sony, flogging its flagging Walkman brand with a new "S Series". This offers up to 16GB storage and software that analyses your music collection and sorts it into lists for every mood from "upbeat to emotional ballads".
One unavoidable trend at the IFA was the march of the glossy black gadgets. From televisions to printers, MP3 players to fridges, every manufacturer is in on the game. That said, Panasonic has said consumers are apparently interested in "chocolate brown and white".
In the sea of black glossy goodness, manufacturers are jostling for new ways to stand out from the crowd. Sharp presented what it called the world's first "carbon neutral television": a 52-inch big-screen television capable of being powered from an accompanying polycrystalline panel. With direct sunlight, Sharp says the panel can generate 200kw/h, enough to power the television for 4.5 hours a day with no additional electricity required.
Moving from the useful to the awful, there was Rolly: a hand grenade-shaped device that rolls around the floor playing music it streams via a Bluetooth connection on tinny speakers. You can also load it up with music and train it to dance.
Finally, in the bizarre corner, visitors to the IFA stage witnessed the musical coming out of Charles Shaw, the real voice behind the miming 1980s band Milli Vanilli. He gave a rendition of Girl I'm Gonna Miss You. The 1980s, it seems, are alive and well in Berlin.
