Comex is finally over. What have you bought. I spent S$681 for 4 items and I think they are well spent. Here are what I had bought. First one is the Seagate GoFlex Home Network Storage System (3TB) at S$299.
The next one is a carbon fibre tripod. I learnt from my bad experience and finally got a good tripod. This tripod is from Fotopro. It costs S$280. I believe it is made in China but the quality is not bad. Here is the website.
And as I mentioned before, I wanted to get this TomTom charger for the car. It is at S$45.
Finally, I bought a Kingston SDHC Class 6 32GB card. It costs S$57. I think it is cheap. What do you think?
So, these are the 4 items that I bought at the cost of S$681.
Here is what I thought of Comex 2011
Over the years that I attended IT fairs, I think the organizer has changed quite a bit. It is no more that “squeeze until you cannot breath” kind of scenario. The walkway is much broader now.
However, as the show gets bigger, there are bound to be more people. This year, I went to Comex 2011 early (on the last day, after 1 pm). I am able to get into the carpark. Normally, I was being stopped by the security who will ask me to go to some other carparks. Carpark is never easy during the show. I don’t think anyone can solve the problem easily.
The usherers has done a good job to ensure that the human traffic flows properly during the show. Here is a scene before 5 pm. Everyone is queuing up to get to the escalators.
Moments later, an announcement and the escalators stopped with messages flashing across the big LED screens.
Notice that no one is going up while the escalators going down were transporting hundreds of people.
Another message asking the people to return later.
I think the management should rethink using this message because right after they flashes this message (about 10 minutes later), they started to let the escalators move and the people started to proceed up. Imagine if I heed the advice and walk away, I will be mad. However, it seems that the people are immune to such message. Everyone still stay put and waited for the escalator to move.
But overall, regulating the escalator is a good move. It is also good to see that there are people manning the escalator at every floor to ensure the people move along when they reached. There are also security along the corridor to refrain people from leaning against the glass panels (good). Overall, I think it is not a bad experience (maybe I had worst ones before).
So, apart from the traffic issue, what I think are the best buy this Comex 2011. I think the winner will be those super big size LED Full HD TVs. Here is one example why I say so.
Imagine S$799 for a full HD LED TV from a Philips! I guess they must be clearing stock for the influx of Internet TV or 3D TVs, which I think will be huge on the next show (I predict).
Other than this, I found that the Panasonic Lumix E-PL1 is selling at super nice price.
And laptops with i3 Core Processors are selling at previous netbook pricing. They also must be clearing stock. As for portable drives, there are an increase in USB 3.0 compatibility. However, for those who are buying, do consider if you have such USB 3.0 ports for the high speed transfer or not. If not, it will be a waste.
In this Comex 2011, there are many shops selling photography equipments and accessories. You will need to look around before buying anything. I have spotted one interesting tripod that at one glance, people will point the finger to say that they copied Joby’s Gorillapod. But this one is with a twist 🙂 .
This Fotopro RM-110 Transformer Tripod has spike, suction and magnet as accessories. I must say that it is quite versatile. It is not sold at the show. It is selling at S$99 at the shop.
Another product that I saw is the Caidrox Drive Recording System. It is a Korean brand recording system for the car. If you buy the CD3000 package (S$518 including installation), it will have a front and rear camera and a battery detector to determine if your car battery is running low. If it is, it will cut off the power of these cameras (usually, the reason for draining of the car battery is because it is used as a surveillance camera for 24 x 7 usage).
It has a nice 142.5 degrees wide angle with GPS included. It can take up to 32 GB SDHC card. One good thing about this setup is that it uses one card for the front and rear camera. And with its 3 axis G-sensor, it can record the spike if someone hits you. It can also record the time/date and traveling speed. The software UI is quite nice. However, it is strange that they record at 1280 x 960 at 30fps.
I think more innovative ideas will come up in future shows. I have seen so many improvement in the designs as compared to previous shows. So, I guess it will keep improving. Here is their website.
That is it! I think I have written more than I should. Overall, a recommendation for anyone who wants to visit such IT shows. Please do your homework. Check out the prices, models and compare them before you go. Once you are there, it will be chaotic.
BTW, Care to share your best buy?
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