After hearing good things about the Gadget Show Live last year, I thought I would head to the NEC, Birmingham and see it for myself. In summary, see you there next year!
It is such a fun day, you can try out a lot of tech for yourself. Even tech that isn't even out yet! This year you could try out Google Glass and even the virtual reality of Oculus Rift!
Below are the highlights from the 2014 show and also some tips for anyone who hasn't been before. The place is a hive of activity ranging from being able to drive electric cars or bikes, see drones flying around, a massive and interactive multi zoned Microsoft stand, video games, robot wars, zombies, robots, 3D printers, personal projectors, 84" TVs, 4k TVs, speakers, scuba divers in a tank, a widows bus, an Xbox zone, simulators, inventors, health tech, music tech, Go Pros and more....
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| Robots |
So highlights...
Oculus Rift
Facebook recently acquired the Oculus company for $2 Billion in cash and shares. This is the one technology that I have been keen to try out, I wasn't really expecting it to be available at the show. We arrived early on the Sunday and almost straight away I spotted a very short queue at the Peugeot stand to try the Oculus Rift out! Yes!!! Funnily enough, the Oculus was attracting more people than the new display cars were...
In short, the Oculus is a headset that lets you immerge yourself in virtual reality.You can no longer see the real world and as you move your head, you actually look around in the virtual world. I think Virtual Reality will transform the real world. I honestly think people will choose to live their lives in virtual reality, I also predict people will soon be able to go to work in VR as well.
Within 2 or 3 minutes of the Oculus rift, I had experienced things I have never experienced in real life. The Oculus started in a Peugeot racing car, as I moved my head behind me - I could see the back seat and the race track behind me. With headphones on, the real world was blocked out. I could see, move and hear a new world....
Next was a dream come true. I was flying above a mountain range, not in an aircraft, just simply flying with the roar of the wind in my ears. I could look around me as I swooped in towards the mountain ranges. There and then, I wished I could take it home with me. The graphics for this demo were not amazing, but this technology has so much potential, with the backing of Facebook - this will be revolutionary.
This could expand into it's own blog post, but I expect virtual reality, lead by Oculus and Facebook to:
- Go mainstream and feature in the family home
- Further the video game world
- Change the way people train for sports/careers/dangerous situations etc
- Allow people to work in a virtual world
- Impact the real world
- Change the film industry and allow films to become interactive, or even let the user star or interact in the film/show or favourite series
- Socialise without actually being there in the real world
- Let people live their dreams, which may never be achieved in the real world
Next up was a bobsleigh ride. Frantic and fast paced, I couldn't help but look around me as I hurtled down the icy run.
I'll stop at that for the Oculus, but I'm looking forward to release dates and possible prices....
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| Spot the Oculus Rift |
The Live Show
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| The Gadget Show Live Show |
I almost passed on attending the Live Show, but I'm glad that I didn't! It was entertaining and engaging from start to finish. The presenters did a fantastic job and there were some amazing prizes to be won.
The Live Show was brilliant, very interactive, lots of giveaways and some unique performers and entertainment. Ranging from fire dancers, to the guitarist from Pendulum to a dance act who recently appeared on Britains Got Talent (they dance in the dark and have neon lights that show robotic images) - we had a great side view of the stage to see them in action.
At one stage the presenters threw blue balls in to the crowd, I even managed to catch one! Sadly, my ball was without gold writing on it. Two audience members who had caught the blue balls with gold writing on, were invited on to the stage to win some great prizes. All they had to do, was score a penalty against a robotic goalkeeper. I've seen this keeper in action before, he even gave Messi a challenge! It essentially become a 50-50 in a sudden death shootout. I think the keepers settings were adjusted and sure enough someone scored and claimed an Xbox One.....I wish that was me!
I'd recommend booking tickets for the live show if you attend in the future, it is a very fun atmosphere and there is a huge prize giveaway at the end to one lucky visitor. You can be crowned King or Queen and take home a bounty of gadgets worth £1000's!
The Live Show was brilliant, very interactive, lots of giveaways and some unique performers and entertainment. Ranging from fire dancers, to the guitarist from Pendulum to a dance act who recently appeared on Britains Got Talent (they dance in the dark and have neon lights that show robotic images) - we had a great side view of the stage to see them in action.
At one stage the presenters threw blue balls in to the crowd, I even managed to catch one! Sadly, my ball was without gold writing on it. Two audience members who had caught the blue balls with gold writing on, were invited on to the stage to win some great prizes. All they had to do, was score a penalty against a robotic goalkeeper. I've seen this keeper in action before, he even gave Messi a challenge! It essentially become a 50-50 in a sudden death shootout. I think the keepers settings were adjusted and sure enough someone scored and claimed an Xbox One.....I wish that was me!
I'd recommend booking tickets for the live show if you attend in the future, it is a very fun atmosphere and there is a huge prize giveaway at the end to one lucky visitor. You can be crowned King or Queen and take home a bounty of gadgets worth £1000's!
Sheffield Tablet
One of the prizes during the Live Show was a tablet made by a Sheffield based company. Keen to find out a bit more, we found their stand and had a good chat with one of the team.
The company is Adspec, who offer the new AdTab 7 tablet.
They have developed their own tablet, the AdTab 7, that outspecs the Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 and is significantly cheaper too! The AdTab 7 retails at £99.99 and were on sale at the show for £69.99, which is fantastic value for money and I am very tempted to purchase one. Bearing in mind the Galaxy tablet is prixed at £179.99.
See www.adspecltd.com
@adspecltd
I'm really impressed what the owner has achieved, I understand he has a passion for electronics and has taken tablets apart to understand them. He has then gone on to develop and release a cheaper and more powerful tablet. If I do get my hands on an AdTab I will share my views, it is some inspirational work from Sheffield!
@adspecltd
I'm really impressed what the owner has achieved, I understand he has a passion for electronics and has taken tablets apart to understand them. He has then gone on to develop and release a cheaper and more powerful tablet. If I do get my hands on an AdTab I will share my views, it is some inspirational work from Sheffield!
10 Tech Trends Talk
There were a number of areas throughout the arena hosting various presentations and talks. We attended a talk about the 10 tech trends of 2014.
1 Drones
2 3D printers
3 4k TV (ultra HD)
4 Curved smart phone
5 High definition audio
6 Oculus rift virtual reality
7 Box speakers
8 Curved tv
9 Google glass
10 Smart watches / wearable technology
4k and 8k TVs
So after hearing about 4k TVs it was time to track them down!
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| 4K TV |
Zombies
If you fancy taking part in a real life zombie survival game take a look at The Hungry Games:
It is an event near London, held Saturday 17th May 2014. Set at a military location you have to survive the live action zombie event. It sounds as though they have gone all out in preparing for the event, so are you brave enough?
Electric Bikes
There was a section in the arena to try out electric bikes, navigating quite a large course. It looked like great fun. It highlights how great the show is, it introduces people to a wide variety of technology (all under one roof) and simply lets people try it out. Now I'm back home, I'm not sure where I could go to try an electric bike, never mind test one around a track.
Kia Racing
Kia offered 100% fun at the show, I'm still impressed and wish I could have another go. They had a stage with a remote control car race track on it, then to the side 10 people at a time could sit in mounted racing seats, with steering wheel and pedals, looking down over the course and race!
Registration machines let you create your racing ID, selecting an avatar (I went for the Stig), or take your own photo. You could enter the hometown you are racing for, before printing your pass and joining the queue to race. Above the race track were racing displays, show the position, times and photos/avatars of each driver. There was a great racing track blasting out the speakers and there was a commentator who did a great job. My car got moved to the back of the starting line up, for looking too happy, but I still managed to finish 3rd. Participants ranged from experienced racers to young kids being helped by their parents. There were crashes and cars heading the wrong way, battle for positions and a lot of fun to be had. These racing stages should be more common!
Drones
Drones are flying in from military use into everyday life. The general public are seeing and hearing more about them and they are becoming more affordable. I have covered Drones in blog posts/tweets before, as I am quite impressed with how they are used for filming and aerial footage. They provide some unique views and are becoming easier to use! Amazon.com have a video of drones in development, that could possibly deliver the amazon.com orders of the future! Earlier in the news today, Sky News reported that criminals are using drones and infra red cameras to detect cannabis farms - to rob or extort the owners.
There are some different specifications listed below with pricing, I'm surprised the flight time is only 25 minutes. I don't know if you can replace a battery, or place the whole thing on charge, but to venture out for a day of filming, 25 minutes isn't very appealing.
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| Robot Wars |
Tips for 2015:
- Book tickets the live show
- Arrive early, to avoid some of the midday crowds
- Take your own food and drinks (on site is over priced)
- Enter the competitions, you might just win some amazing prizes
- Show discounts and offers are available from the stands, so if you are planning on buying some tech, the show might save you some £££
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