On arrival in Hanover, capital of the German federal state of Lower Saxony, where CeBIT 2005 was being held, a group of journalists was told that when it comes to products and services for a digital world, CeBIT 2005 has everything under the sun. Running from March 10-16, 2005 the show documented the extent to which information technology, communications system and consumer electronics continued to converge. The digital equipment and systems display sector at CeBIT featured the latest digital technology and appliances for work, home and play. This year the range of products had variety and innovation that talked loudly about the sophistication and improvement in electronic gadgets; some would call it equipment - and even tools.
It was beyond imagination that the technological world had moved so fast and that the race to achieve precision had been so electrifying that it left illusion millions of miles away and proved that dreams may also come true.
The digital equipment and systems displayed in halls I, 2, 19-25 and 27, the range of products included not only CeBIT perennials like peripherals, components, motherboards, sound systems, graphic cards, storage solutions, displays and presentation equipment, but also digital photography, digital imaging, digital entertainment and consumer electronics.
From across the world more than 70 countries participated and 6270 companies set up their stalls as against 6109 companies in 2004. Pakistan has probably come to the CeBIT for the first time. Though Pakistan's stalls were not visible but the exhibition record showed that two companies had come.
As against this record of Pakistan there were 61 Indian companies as compared to 31 companies from India last year, Bangladesh had nine companies this year as compared to eight last year. Highest number of participation of companies was from China 310. Last year China had representation of 182 companies. The United States of America reduced its participation to 209 companies as against 224 companies in 2004. There were seven new entrants this year - Argentina with three, Azerbaijan with one, Chile with seven, Malta with one, New Zealand with 16, Uruguay with one and Pakistan with two companies.
This year the CeBIT introduced lectures and a kind of congress on variety of subjects. Who is who were invited to talk about the latest in the IT. Hall 3 was the main attraction for the lovers of this activity.
A spokesman of the CeBIT, Raue, said, "The accompanying parade of related IT exhibits gives Hall 3 the feel of a specialised trade show in its own right, where CeBIT visitors can find all the information they need about B1 and KM, both from the supplier side and from the user perspective",
The congress ran for all seven days of the show. Seven or eight talks were scheduled for each day, plus expert panel discussion and keynote addresses.
Several factors clinched the decision to hold this event at CeBIT: the strong international presence at the world's biggest ICT trade show, with over 112,000 visitors travelling to CeBIT 2004 from abroad: the high overall visitor attendance of nearly half a million and the large amount of publicity generated by the event, with more than 10,000 accredited journalists reporting on the proceedings.
"Of course, the quality of such an event is very much dependent on the partners who get involved, which is why we are delighted to have secured the backing of the leading scientific institutions, professional associations and publishing houses for the business intelligence and knowledge management forum," said Gerald Zwerger of Hahn & Zwerger Marketing in Frankenthal, the agency responsible for staging the event.
Siemens this year had its presence at the exhibition in a big way. They were there to focus on the various models of cellular phones. Though Siemens has been incurring losses in this sector of business where mostly retailing is involved.
The company seems to have decided to make this undertaking a successful venture. The showcase from the Siemens Communications group at CeBIT was all about new applications was cordless and corded communication. Products for the wireless radio frequency standard W-LAN and Internet telephony, as well as attractive applications for corporate and private customers are at the centre of attention.
Siemens presented mobile phones at the fair. One of the five models from the new 75 generation was the UMTS mobile phone SXG75, a highlight in the new portfolio.
New to the range were also five wireless products for the home telephone segment aimed at making communication even more convenient and versatile. For corporate customers and fixed networks operators there was a great selection of products that enable new services with high data rates, including the new SIP (Selection Initiation Protocol) applications and machine to machine applications. Product studies of the future showed what Siemens was developing in its research labs: with the new radio frequency chip technology (NFC), mobile phones can be used for access control or mobile television via DVB-H.
The five new models of the 75 mobile phone generation are for business customers and outdoor enthusiasts alike.
The UMTS mobile phone SXG75 provides mobile multimedia communication over its entire bandwidth and offers GPS navigation. It is equipped with a quick XHTML Internet browser, FM radio and MP3 player, and has two cameras: a built-in 2 megapixel digital camera and a second CIF camera for video telephony. It would be on the market from September 2005.
The M75 outdoor mobile phones equipped with several extra multimedia functions such as a 1.3 megapixel digital camera and an integrated music player. This set is expected to be available by June this year.
The new CF75 clamshell phone is a triband model with large colour display and VGA quality digital camera with 5x zoom. Among other features, it offers the walkie-talkie function Push and Talk. In coming July it should appear on the cellular market shelf.
The CX75 is equipped with a comprehensive multi-media package: 1.3 megapixel digital camera with video function, music player, Bluetooth, Push and Talk and a high-resolution colour display. Coming June is the target date for its appearance on users palm.
The stylish CL75 clamshell mobile phone combines elegance with modern multimedia equipment. It is a triband model with MMS, GPRS, Push and Talk and instant messaging.
The five new products for cordless communication at home, new products for corporate customers, for communications networks in hospitals, machine to machine mobile communication were a few other innovative products that Siemens put up on display.
But talking about future sets and their options was an interesting bit at the Siemens stall. Innovative ideas and studies for tomorrow's mobile communication - Runster - is the ultimate music gadget and training companion of the future. From a mobile phone, it searches for just the right piece of music to accompany an athlete's personal tempo and encourages his training programme with the 'voice coach' function that monitors his individual profile and provides feedback on athletic performance.
With "Digital Video Broadcast for Handheld" (DVB-H), the mobile phone will soon offer interactive television.
In addition to being able to receive openly accessible television programmes, DVB-H enables service such as the retrieval of background information on the current show or purchasing products on the Internet.
The "New Interactive Phone" from Siemens is a test product, which projects visual information onto smooth surfaces such as a desk. Together with a Bluetooth pen, the projection area functions as a virtual keyboard for data entry.
With the new radio chip "Radio Frequency Identification" (RFID) one can retrieve information directly from an encoded label. "Near Field Communication" (NFC) is the further development of this technology and enables reciprocal information transfer.
At CeBIT, Siemens was present with all its new products and ideas for the future.
To be a visitor of CeBIt is an experience. It is like travelling into the future of IT and timelessness.