For the past few years Computex has been changing track from processors, chipsets and gaming rigs to Virtual Reality and Internet of Things (IoT). This year has been no different.
Asus showcased its own VR headset at its launch event, even though the company didn’t mention the same during its keynote.
The Asus VR headset is geared towards gaming, and is Oculus-ready. Connected to an Asus’ gaming PC, the VR headset helped you play a variety of games. While the experience is more immersive than Gear VR, the Asus VR headset requires a special controller to actually play the game.
Asus has not yet confirmed availability or a release date, but given that VR is expected to dominate gaming, the Taiwanese company, which has its own ROG brand dedicated to gaming, is obviously in no mood to buck the trend.
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Other than Asus, the other Taiwanese player that is dabbling in VR is smartphone maker HTC with its Vive. The HTC Vive was also on display during the conference, including at the Microsoft booth where interested users could try out a different and more engaging gaming experience: one where a user can freely walk in a designated area while exploring the VR world.
As far as Internet of Things (IoT) go, Qualcomm announced a new QCA4012 chip with dual band Wi-Fi, enhanced security, low power and a small size for connected devices; a chip to power IoT devices.
Qualcomm also announced the expansion of its QCA401x software ecosystem to include support for Apple’s HomeKit, Google Weave and AllJoyn, as well as new cloud providers, thus broadening the support base for its chipsets.
HTC Vive was also on display during the conference, including at the Microsoft booth where interested users could try out a different and more engaging gaming experience
Additionally Intel announced its new AnyWAN GRX 750 SoC and XWay Wav500 Wifi chipset for home IoT devices. The new SoC is geared towards media-centric devices like Smart TVs and entertainment clients.
Such smart devices where users can interact with them, get access to media content and control their smart home are growing. Recently, Google launched its own Smart entertainment device for the connected home called Google Home.
The new SoC and Wifi systems from Intel position for the smart home, where the list of enabled devices will keep on increasing from TVs to fridges to air conditioners and more.
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Acer, meanwhile, introduced its vision for IoT with BeingWare, where it wants to help make sense of the data of these devices by connecting to a cloud-based platform. Acer sees its platform being used in industrial settings, smart cities and even homes.
Benq, which is known for its desktop monitors and projectors, had also displayed a solution for a ‘smart’ coffee shop, where all orders are taken via a smartphone, and you just have to go to the counter to pick up your coffee.
