Hey folks, Valkor here. This is actually part 2 of my day one CES report, but I wanted to keep this area separate from that day as I have a lot to cover. This event is an offshoot of CES called Showstoppers. It actually begins right after CES ends and it’s kind of like CES unveiled where you have lots of food, drinks and plenty of booths, some with serious new technology. I tagged along with JayDub and had to get onsite registered to even attend. Upon entering, the entire floored is wall to wall booths, and smack dab in the middle yea more booths, but also lots of food. Woo from pizza, to hotdogs, salads, pastas and shrimp cocktails, it was a great feast and I gorged myself rotten. After all that eating and fighting off “The Itis” It was time to explore. Don’t forget, official site click the pic.
Archos
The folks over at Archos were showing off their latest player. While we only had the 604 in house, these guys are now up to 705 and it looks to be a vast improvement: Bigger and better looking screen, bigger harddrive (up to 160 gigs), multiple formats support including MP3, WAV, and WMV, but no DIVX??? You also get the DVR and also WI-FI access, all through a touch screen interface. We need this in the Val-cave to balance out that last review, so stay tuned.
PlanetWide
PlanetWide has a nice piece of software for all you artist out there looking to make your own online comic. It’s called Comic Book Creator 2 and how’s this for simple? You just drag and drop? Ya! That’s it! You can use the presets or add your own background, characters, video and more. I’m gonna toss this over to TOV artist AP3X and see how well it works for him. There’s also Marvel Heroes Creator, one for Speed Racer, and one for Tokyo Pop manga. How cool is that? Another company that is one to watch. Look for a full on review of Comic Book Creator 2 in the coming weeks.
JakksPacific
While their lineup wasn’t blowing anyone away, what JakksPacific did have on hand can be labeled one word: Fun! EyeClops is a microscope type cam where you can look at items right down to the nitty-gritty. Coins, paper, leaves, even your own skin can be looked at up close and personal. You’ll be amazed or totally grossed out by what you see. Funny story, I used it to look at the palm of my hand, lo and behold there was a hair on. I told the rep, “it’s not what you think uhhhhh… gotta go” JP also had some quick plug and play games based on Atari Classics, Hannah Montana, and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader. I love the plug and play games and hope that Jakks can get a licensed from the likes of Nintendo or Sega as their older games were made perfect for this type of set-up.
Jada Toys
There was a big crowd over at Jada Toys, and with good reason. It was the only place booth where you get to rock out with your cock out (yes even if you’re a woman). Guitar Hero is one of the best video games ever played, especially if you like to rock. But Jada Toys takes you away from the game so you can rock out Air Guitar style. The GH Air Guitar you can jam to some of your favorite tunes, but without being attached to the game. Just wave the included pic over the belt buckle and just wail to the tune of Black Sabbath or Van Halen. Plus with exchangeable air cartridges you will never get bored playing the same tunes. I didn’t get the chance to try it out, but it looked pretty sweet and easy to use. If you love Guitar Hero, then definitely add GH Air Guitar to your collection. Also don’t forget to check out Jada Toys hottie over in PerfectView.
THX
THX was on hand, showcasing their technologies inside some primo speakers: The Razer Mako 2.1 advanced desktop system is the new name in 2.1 audio tech. The system is controlled by a touch remote and sound pretty damn good considering the space we were in. I was impressed and I'll definitely try to snag one for Val-cave testing.