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The Weirdest Sights and Sounds of Computex 2016

The Weirdest Sights and Sounds of Computex 2016

By Jamshed Avari | Updated: 20 June 2016 16:59 IST

Highlights

Computex is the world's most important PC and IT trade show.
Thousands of Taiwanese and Chinese firms show off their products.
VR experiences and PC modding were the big themes this year.

Computex, the world's largest PC and IT exhibition, has seen the launch of several major products and even entirely new product categories, and you can get a good idea of the state of the industry just by seeing how inventive or how conservative exhibitors are. Among the thousands of displays at Computex each year are a few gems that stand out not because they're going to change the face of technology as we know it, but because they're just unbelievably ridiculous, strange, or impractical. Some come from the world's biggest brands, but a lot of unbelievably entertaining ideas can also be found in the less-trafficked corners where tiny Chinese companies show off their wares.

It's hard to believe that some of these products are real, but what stands out the most is the sheer optimism and exuberance of exhibitors as they proudly show off their ideas to the world, hoping for someone to come along and make them famous. Here are our favourites from Computex 2016.

Asus Zenbo
No stranger to creating a scene, Asus' showstopper this year was the Zenbo, a domestic robot with an unnervingly cheerful disposition and a childlike voice that bordered on creepy. The Zenbo won't launch for many months and it's unlikely to make it to many countries, but it certainly drew attention at the show. Demos were strictly hands-off and involved a number of skits showing how the robot can control appliances and read our information from the Internet. Asus is trying to position it as a loved and loving member of your family - at least until you toss it out for next year's model.

(Also see: Asus Zenbo Household Robot With Voice Control Launched)

Bluetooth beanies
Do you want to keep your ears warm but still not miss out on phone calls? Bluetooth Beanie to the rescue! You can pipe your music and calls through to your ears just like you would with any other headset. Laundry instructions were, however, unclear.

A shoe shop
Right in the middle of a throng of VR demos and startups clamoring for attention was what looked like a functioning shoe shop. Sadly, we couldn't replace our worn-out sneakers; it was a demo for an in-store micro-location tracking service called Checkme. The app interfaces with beacons placed throughout a store in order to track customer engagement, which can be used by shops to tweak how their products are displayed and promoted. In exchange, customers could get coupons and discounts.

A cotton candy PC
Without a new platform from Intel or AMD to build on, motherboard manufacturers resorted to a variety of outlandish PC mods to attract visitors' attention. Some were truly artistic and intricate, while others were just flat out bizarre. In the latter category, MSI showed off one modder's vision of a working PC inside a cotton candy machine. The PC didn't seem to be involved with the candy-making process in any way, but loads of visitors walked away with free samples of the sticky treat.

Fake watches
As usual, there was no shortage of opportunistic lookalikes at Computex. Despite wearables not being a major trend this year, one enterprising company had a whole range of watches on offer, with models designed to look like every major option currently on the market. Samsung, Motorola and of course Apple were well represented, so if you can't afford your favourite brand, keep an eye out for these at your local market.

Multicoloured keycaps
Has your keyboard become too boring? Do you feel like it could use a personality transplant? Then these packs of replaceable keycaps in all colours of the rainbow from Taiwan Tai-Ho could be exactly what you need. You can get mixed packs and even some with a two-tone finish. They should pop on to standard mechanical keyboards, whenever they become available.

Porn VR material
VR demos were everywhere at Computex 2016, and it's clear that there's much more this technology can be used for than just gaming. Whenever the adult industry is ready to embrace VR, it can get in touch with accessory maker Dausen, which was showing off a non-toxic silicone material meant to emulate flesh. The sample shown off had no sensors, vibrators or electronics of its own, but you can imagine how it could be used to make VR porn more, erm, immersive.

(Also see: VR Porn Puts You Right in the Middle of All the Action)

Giant power banks
Power banks give us the reassurance that we won't be stranded or unable to finish our games when our phone batteries are running low, but what about those of us who need a little more juice? Samya's neat-looking Enerpod series can hold up to 48000mAh and deliver 65W of output power - more than enough to keep most ordinary laptops running. The biggest of them even have built-in inverters and AC sockets so you can even run household appliances if you need to - just what we need back in India.

AM/ FM radios
It's easy to get caught up with cutting-edge products that can push millions of photo-realistic pixels per second, process voice commands and anticipate our every whim, but for those feeling a little old-school, a company called Fuhaya has just the thing - classic AM/ FM radios. Yes, there's nothing even remotely high-tech about them, and that's like a breath of fresh air if all you want to do is tune in to your favourite radio station.

Disclosure: Asus sponsored the correspondent's flights and hotel for the event in Taipei.

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