Slideshow

The sights of Computex 2013

Sometimes the tech takes a backseat as vendors try to attract the crowds with epic stands and lots of booth babes

  • Computex has just gotten under way in Taipei. It's a show that continues to offer a unique mix of interesting tech displays, epic booths, tacky booths and, of course, lots of female models. Some vendors exploit the last part as much as they can in a bid to attract the crowd to their stand, and one thing's for sure: just walking around Computex, let alone taking photos, it's difficult not to feel sleazy because there are models almost everywhere you look; they're standing next to products, holding products, and parading around with products. In this slideshow (and in the ones to follow) we've tried our best to bring you some of the more interesting tech, with a spattering of the sideshows thrown in so that you can see what it's like to walk through some of the major corridors of this massive show (we've tried to be as tasteful about it as possible). Stay tuned for the next slideshow, too, which will have some more interesting tech, including photos of a waterproof motherboard, and also one that can support up to 22 solid state drives!

  • The show started off innocently enough in the Nanggang hall, with one of the first booths to greet us being Synology's. As you can see, Synology put a large focus on the surveillance part of its product offering.

  • But it didn't take long for us to encounter the first scantily-clad girl, courtesy of ADATA.

  • As you can see, the booths are eye-catching for the most part, and it can be overwhelming as you walk around, especially if you're on a time limit -- there is just so much to see.

  • Walking a bit further, we managed to see some of ADATA's solid state drive and memory technology loaded in an InWin DFrame case. It's definitely a display that makes you stop and take a closer look.

  • Strontium, another solid state drive and memory vendor, had one of the tackier stands as it went for a casino theme.

  • And, of course, with girls on display, too.

  • Epicgear sure had an epic stand, in which the company showcased many of its input peripherals behind glass displays. Lots of interesting tech is kept behind glass, making it difficult to get good photos.

  • InWin's stand showcased some of the company's more interesting cases. We already saw the DFrame at ADATA's stand, while here we saw the XFrame Open Air chassis.

  • Memory maker PQI put on a show.

  • As did case and peripheral vendor J-Power. We didn't stick around to see the models walk down the catwalk, but we were amused by the musical choice for this booth, which was the uncensored version of DMX's Party Up (Up In Here). It's a timeless track really.

  • Accessories maker, PNY, had a lovely stand with trees and flowers. A great effort.

  • CPU cooler vendor, Akust Technology, also went for a green theme. In general, there were lots of floral arrangements and plants at many of the stands.

  • This display belongs to Axpro Technology, and pretty much all of those colourful devices are USB hubs. No need to settle for boring old black or white.

  • The Cougar stand was almost as colourful, but definitely cooler thanks to all those spinning fans.

  • As we made our way through the show, we eventually arrived at Intel's stand, which was large and full of demos for its just-released 4th generation Core CPUs and Iris graphics. Lots of hybrid Ultrabooks and regular Ultrabooks that we've seen before were on display, as well as tablets, including an Android-based device running an Atom SoC.

  • Here is the aforementioned ASUS tablet, which runs Android and uses an Intel Atom SoC.

  • Our next stop was the AMD stand, where we got a rare glimpse of an Acer Aspire V5-552 notebook running a new A8-5557M APU. The specs singled out the software features AMD is pushing, such as Face Login and Gesture Login. Manually typing passwords might become a thing of the past for AMD users.

  • AMD showed off its major strength at the show: graphics. Here is one graphics card driving five monitors, and offering a stunning gaming experience.

  • That's one DVI cable and four DisplayPorts using adapter cables.

  • Here is one vendor that went all out to draw a crowd. As you can see, it worked -- big time -- thanks to a saucy dance routine and lots of flesh. We're not exactly sure which vendor's stand this is. The whole scene was too distracting.

  • Microsoft's stand wasn't too far from all that craziness, and it was our next stop. Some Kinect applications for rehabilitation and fitness were on display, as well as the usual gadgets (phones, laptops and hybrids) and a couple of artists were using a Windows 8 app to paint the portraits of willing participants.

  • Here's MSI's S20 hybrid device, which has a touchscreen that slides up to reveal a keyboard.

  • A side view of the S20.

  • We loved this about Microsoft's stand: there was an unidentifiable laptop on display. The stand attendant couldn't tell us what brand this was. It certainly looked like a familiar design, and we loved the red power button in the corner; definitely a nice stand-out touch. We'll stop here for now and let you digest all the wackiness that is Computex, but we'll bring you more photos soon, including some great ones from the ASRock stand featuring a 22 solid-state-drive-supporting motherboard, and even a waterproof motherboard.

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