PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
Retail Vision Europe opened its doors in the UK for the first time this week, taking place in the Sofitel Hotel in Heathrow, London.
The event, which cycles destinations across the globe each year, has been operating for 15 years, and organisers say it pioneered the idea of one-to-one meeting facilitation in an IT trade show environment.
Like Distree earlier this year, the event is less to do with impressing visitors on the show floor with flashy, or even particularly large, stands, and more to do with heping the vendors crack new markets by putting them in front of regional distributors and retailers. It hits the UK the same week as fellow trade show Channel Expo, which opens doors tomorrow at the London Olympia.
The event is a mixed bag in terms of product categories, but a strong theme that stands out is products that support popular consumer electronics devices.
Dutch firm Vogels, who has been selling mounting systems for audio and visual equipment for 37 years, announced it was heading into a new direction with the spearhead to its gaming initiative, the Twist Dock. The device is essentially a dock for the PS3, which charges controllers and holds the console. The international launch is scheduled for September.
Veho was showing off its digital camera range, in particular the touch screen camcorder devices, the 001 and 002, which retail for £99 and £129 respectively. The firm also had on the display its new waterproof camera (£69.99), which will be available in the next couple of months.
German vendor Genie, which has built a business in office equipment, is moving into PC peripherals such as keyboards and mice, as well as novelty USB devices. The firm was also exhibiting the Giration Airmouse, which is a wireless controller device designed to be used as either a presenter or a standard mouse, but in the air.
Vexia came to the show with what it calls the ‘first ecological sat nav in the world.’ The device, called the Eco Nav, essentially plots the most fuel efficient routes, as well as warning speeding drivers exactly how much of a fine and how many points they will incur oin the their license.
Goose is a security software brand from Holland which is looking to expand across Europe. It’s USP is that the software is stored on a USB stick, and transferred to whichever computer is being used. The device also stores data.
Meanwhile US vendor Vuzix has developed a line of augmented reality glasses, using military technology as a foundation. The firm also has a range of glasses which plug into MP3 players and mobile phones, which display video straight into the lenses. The firm claims it is around 18 months to two years ahead of the competition in this sense.
