Amidst all the dry high-tech hardware at Computex Taipei 2001, there are a few items that display all the wizardry of the gadgets provided by Q of James Bond movie fame.
Worthy of the hapless devices employed by the fictional secret agent, many of the items on display this year are mobile IAs (information appliances) designed to withstand the elements, the rough and tumble of daily use and the threat of theft.
Indeed, resistance to high-temperatures was essential yesterday as it appeared the organizers had forgotten to switch on the air conditioning, leaving vendors, buyers and dancing promotion girls all sweating together amid the throngs that packed in on the second day.
One of the first gadgets people entering the show will see is something straight from the world of surveillance. Just inside the main entrance on the left, Hsinchu-based Aiptek International Inc (
Aiptek's Hyper PenCam series offers a digital camera (for still photos), PC camera and digital camera all rolled into one. Its memory is capable of storing up to 320 images that can be downloaded via any computer with a Microsoft 98 operating system.
In the mobile computing market, Pacific Star Technologies Corp (亞星國際科技) is displaying its PST4612-L02C Mobile Cruiser, which is a cross between a PDA and a notebook. It has a touch-screen function but can be plugged into a keyboard. Designed to be totally weatherproof and shook tested up to a four foot drop, the Mobile Cruiser is aimed at the industrial market.
Mitac International Corp (
* Aiptek International unveiled digital cameras that are the size of a cigar, a 007 favorite.
* Pacific Star Technologies is displaying its Mobile Cruiser, which is a cross between a PDA and a notebook, for agents who are on the run.
* Mitac International's CA-25 tablet PC is sealed in a magnesium alloy case, for those really rugged secret missions.
To keep the user on the go, the Getac CA-25 has a special wireless kit that allows access to keyboards or LAN and GSM networks without the need for physical connection ports.
Of course taking your IAs on the road increases the risk they might get swiped along with all your data. To counter this problem Startek Engineering Inc (
Startek's FM100 model appears to be the utility workhorse of the company's product line as it can be used to secure either desktop or portable PCs and can also be incorporated into ATM and point-of-sale payment systems.
And for all those overly obsessed with security, local firm Suresafe Technology Inc will be showcasing a range of innovative devices designed to ensure the integrity of personal or company data that passes through the air ... literally.
Suresafe's series of Cellular Jamming Devices, which resemble a small dehumidifier, literally scramble the signals between between cellular handsets and cellular base stations by emitting very low power radio signals.
This device should appeal to people and businesses that either want to be free of the digital screams of mobile phones -- like movie theaters -- or according to the company propaganda the leakage of sensitive information during board meetings.
While in board meetings -- at least the ones in which signal scramblers aren't present -- one can take hand written notes or surf the Web on a Mitac CAT Bluetooth PDA.
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