The rising popularity of projectors, evident in the increasingly affordable prices seen on many models in the market, as well as the availability of tiny “pico” projectors and advances in miniaturization as seen in this post.signal an exciting time for established brands and their products – one of which is Epson.

In an absolutely “why didn’t I think of that?” moment, BenQ hit upon a most logical rationale for some of their latest products – the 16:9 aspect ratio for LCD monitors. True, there is nothing new in this aspect ratio, but recent LCD releases have mostly been of the 16:10 variety, which by itself is not at all something to comment about, except for the fact that most DVD releases are released in the standard, traditional widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, not 16:10.

                                            Just a select few of BenQ's products.

Initial reactions upon hearing “Microsoft Hardware” range from blank puzzlement to outright, snap-the-finger realization – corresponding to the perception that Microsoft = software, and the realization at the other end of Microsoft’s Xbox consoles. Yet there’s another aspect of “Microsoft Hardware” that’s less well-known – peripherals such as keyboards, mice and webcams.

                                             Mr. Ian Tan, Marketing Communications & Partnership Manager of the Entertainment & Devices Division kick off the session.

The problem with halo products is people focus on them to the exclusion of most everything else. Nearly all tech companies have been in the business of presenting and showing off halo products which after all serves their purpose of showing the best efforts of a company or brand to the high profile, high-end product range where all of the press focuses their attention on – AMD knows this all too well, and in gathering the press together last November 3, convincingly showed that a product line, like a story, is composed of more than just the header.

Hardwarezone had a double treat waiting for them last October 24 at the Mall of Asia’s SMX Convention center. We received an invitation from Sony for their launch of the α (pronounced alpha) 900 DSLR top of the line model, and a whole set of Vaio models specially designed for the local market. At the same venue was the CEL or Consumer Electronics Live Manila, an interpretation of the long-established CES (Consumer Electronics Show) held in Las Vegas yearly.

HP held their Business Technology @ Work press briefing this October 21, 2008, and while it had no large number of hardware products that we in HWM loves so much, it had the most interesting combination of products and services to meet the increasing acceptance and utilization of virtualization in business computing. Join us as we work our way through an amazing collection of HP innovations.

Sony has come a long way with their Bravia line – starting with just five models introduced into the local market during 2005, Sony now has an extensive lineup consisting of 38 models spanning 9 different series of models. October 13 marks the day when the Bravia lineup was bolstered by some significant new additions to the X and W series of Bravia LCDs. 40”, 46”, 52”, and the largest full-HD screen by Sony – a full 70 inches of viewable area, as well as 40”, 46”, and 52” W-Series Bravia LCDs were all part of the launch event held at the Ayala Museum lobby in Makati.

                                             The Ayala Museum served as the perfect backdrop for Sony's new additions to the Bravia line-up.

It’s one thing to declare a company’s readiness to adhere to the “green” convention while describing a program being implemented in a manufacturing plant thousands of kilometers away, and it’s a totally different matter again when you have actual products and concrete plans to show the audience while declaring your company’s “green” mission and credentials. Sharp knows this well and takes the exact line in presenting their company strengths and the programs that support this strength.

Like a particularly good movie franchise with millions of fans and very good production values, Canon’s Image Nation celebration comes out swinging with part two (for this year only!) in this fourth quarter introduction of Canon cameras, printers, projectors and scanners.

Picking up where we left off, we take a look at the Imaging and Printing Group’s newest offerings, in this second part of HWM’s coverage of the recently concluded HP Big Bang event held in Hong Kong. For a look at part one, please follow this link.

We expected HP’s regional Big Bang event to introduce a multitude of products, but we did not expect it to be the virtual smorgasbord of ideas, technologies and innovation that it turned out to be. HP’s Big Bang Regional Product Launch held in Hong Kong from September 8-11 took on the event theme of “Engage. Excite. Experience", and stayed true to it, if the sheer number of great products are any indication. HWM goes into the thick of things and emerges with vital information, presented in this two-part feature, for the computer user intent on staying ahead of the technology curve.

                                             Christopher Morgan, SVP for the Imaging and Printing Group for HP Asia Pacific and Japan is on the left, while See Chin Teik, SVP for the Personal Systems Group for the same region stands on the right.

Dell’s Consumer Launch held at the Ayala Tent was only the second launch event held by Dell locally, but one wouldn’t know from the energy and casual yet accomplished atmosphere prevalent during the event. Which is no accident – Dell wants to project a relaxed, “colorful” attitude to the consumers who desires ease-of-use and friendly features from their PCs. Backed by quality and reliability, the new Dell PCs consisting of the Studio Laptop series, the Studio Hybrid PC series, and the highly anticipated Inspiron Mini 9, stand ready to welcome new Dell customers into the fold.

The Ayala Tent venue looked spectacular in person, but is informal enough for the purposes of Dell's launch - a chic place but not overwhelming like a hotel events hall.

Samsung has always been a good bet for a good bash, and for the Innov8 multimedia phone/mobile entertainment phone, Samsung has one of the most compelling reasons to throw the biggest bash ever, as the Innov8 is their first 8MP camera phone and one of the first to have a full 16GB of storage already on-board. Combined with the sheer number of features that it brings to the current, local market, Samsung felt it was high time for a party, timed just on the eve of this phone's launch date. The launch did not just involve a party and dinner during the evening, there was also an Amazing Race style event which unfortunately was not attended by yours truly. Instead, our stalwart Editor-in-Chief had the honor of representing the whole HWM team.

                                             The Innov8 hogging the spotlight(s).

Have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes of any large data-centric facility that you use on a regular basis? This could mean anything from doing your payments and withdrawals at your local bank, plonking down in front of your PC to log onto an online RPG, picking up your phone to make a call, or perhaps keeping an eye out on market and investment trends on your TV. All these rely on massive computational power, to keep track of all of the data if for nothing else. This is where EYP, an HP company, comes in.

In a closed-door session that took place at Brother’s Chatham House offices in Makati, HWZ was treated to an advanced peek at Brother’s new releases in the multi-function printing arena. While Brother’s products have primarily been designed to appeal more to corporate buyers, the company has compiled (and shown to us) some interesting studies of local printing trends, especially the direction the business is taking and where their new launch of the 7000 series fits in all of the projections, as well as explaining their bullish attitude and mentality towards their target market and their competitors, respectively.

                                              Toshiaki Isakawa-san, General Manager for Brother International, Philippines, sat down with us for an informal discussion of market trends and Brother's position in it.