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Altech’s SummIT Expo: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly


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The SummIT travelled across Australia’s East coast, spanning Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne in less than two weeks. Vendors theatrically displayed their products on stands, seducing attendees to test out their gear.

Heavyweight vendors included Microsoft, Sony, Asus, Razr, Samsung and Intel, with AMD, Creative, Dell and many others showing off the best of their gear.

“We wanted to be different, so much effort is put into this event, so we have to make sure we do it right…I’m pretty sure we’ve raised the bars,” said Joseph Touma, the event’s Marketing Coordinator.

For the savvy, the event was an orgy of technological advancement, with a vast variety of displays, computing, gaming and even printers.

However, despite the stiff competition, there were a few stand outs: some for the better while others for the worst.

Down at the NRG stand was its Monsoon-1100TA, a ground-breaking tower that leads the charge in ultimate computing and gaming.

 


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Inside is a Six Core (you read that right, six cores) AMD phenom II processor that has been overclocked up to 4.2GHz. Its brother in arms is 8GB of DDR3 RAM, and comes with 1TB of storage, a Blu-ray combo and on board 7.1 HD audio. The 64-bit machine runs Windows 7 Home Premium and keeps its temp low with a Liquid CPU cooler. Outside, its radical innards are matched by a show-stopping green neon, promoting a look faithful to its components.

Samsung showcased its stunning SA950 3D LED Monitor which dwarfed displays from Asus and Dell. Instantly recognisable by its asymmetrical design, it has a Full HD 1080p resolution and spans 23″. Samsung’s long-running TV expertise has clearly filtered through its monitor department since this screen offers 2D to 3D conversion and cinematic 3D.

 


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Asus flaunted a notebook it claimed was ‘a duet of style and sonority.’ The NX90JQ is a giant of a notebook, with its 19″ physique taxing in the weight department. The reason behind its notebook-obesity is its multimedia potential.

Boarding its frame is Bang and Olufsen co-developed speakers that deliver stunning audio. Even though it has Intel’s new dual core processor and specs powerful enough for most users, its cumbersome body renders it immobile, undermining the ‘lap-top’ philosophy. But, if you ditch the notebook perspective and consider moving it every now and then, it would make a hell of a multimedia companion.


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Sony offered a strong multimedia and computing line up, with products like high end portable Blu-ray players contrasting with their sleek (albeit expensive) range of Vaio notebooks. Also gracing its stand was its 9.4″ S1 tablet. I had been longing to test drive this thing, hoping it had the kohonas to stand out from the tablet crowd.

Inside the S1 has iPad rivalling potential, with its 1GHz dual core processor, 1GB of RAM and a unique design. It runs Android’s 3.1 Honeycomb and although it’s a good OS, Sony have failed to give it the same oomph other droid tablets have.

Sure it felt comfortable in the hand and had good looks, but once your fingertip meets the high resolution screen performance lag pops its hideous head out and spoils what’s meant to be a  seamless experience. .

That would be fine if it was just another tablet, but it’s not. At $579 for the 16Gb version, it sits in the price range of Apple’s iPad 2, whose forefather pioneered the tab industry. It’s a shame to say it lacks the libido needed to dethrone—let alone compete against—Apple’s latest iPad.

All-in-all, Altech’s SummIT expo was a treat for literate computer enthusiasts, giving them an IT fix until the wave of next generation technology hits shores again,: or about the same time next year.