SPOTLIGHT ON NORTH
SPOTLIGHT ON NORTH AMERICA Region American Companies Out in Force as Economy Strengthens The US is the second largest worldwide exporter of CE products North America’s influence on the global CE market remains strong North America remains a key focus for the consumer electronics industry with key companies including Microsoft, Intel, and IBM setting standards for the rest of the world. And the country’s influence is felt throughout IFA. With Microsoft’s Windows 10 launching just ahead of the event, many of the first Windows-10 powered devices are here at the show. On the eve of IFA Intel launched its sixth-generation processors and a number of companies – including Acer, HP and Toshiba –are demonstrating their Intelpowered products on the Intel stand here (see story). IBM meanwhile is here offering expert advice to companies wanting to engage with the internet of things (see story in our Day 4 Edition p.27). The company arrived in Berlin having announced a deal with mobile and tablet chip supplier ARM that will enable IBM's cloud to watch and analyse data from billions of devices on the internet. The US economy continues to grow, driven by a strong manufacturing base and a drop in unemployment – with consumer confidence rising. A recent survey by research firm NDP Group predicted that strong holiday spending in 2014 would carry into 2015, while falling prices may result in lower revenue growth. US consumer electronics (CE) products continue to attract foreign consumers and so benefit from exports, which have been increasing by 2% annually in recent years. The US is the second largest worldwide exporter of CE products with an 8% share of total exports. Last year, the country exported some bn in CE products. Smartphone sales will continue to drive overall industry revenues through 2015, which are expected to increase to bn in 2015 from bn in 2013. Gaming console revenues will also grow significantly with revenues increasing by almost 60% to .8bn in 2014 with a further 10% increase expected this year. SELECTED EXHIBITORS FROM NORTH AMERICA AT IFA IBM PRIORITISES THE INTERNET OF THINGS The Internet of Things (IoT) is top of the IFA agenda for IBM. The company sees itself at the forefront of the IoT and through its cloud-hosted IoT Foundation offers clients assistance and advice on how to derive value from IoT devices. George C Marshall Haus, home of IBM during IFA At IFA, IBM General Manager Bruce Anderson is leading a team of experts in consumer electronics to discuss with delegates how business models, ecosystems, and technologies need to change in response to shifting IoT market trends and dynamics. “The increasing significance of big data and analytics, social, mobile and cloud is resulting in new business models for revenue growth and differentiation,” Anderson said. “As the IoT continues to mature, more and more objects and devices will connect, interact, and share information. With IoT, smart homes can adjust energy usage based on user preference and utility rates, medical devices can be monitored and regulated over long distances. IBM is at the forefront of collaborating with clients, partners, and consumer ecosystems to accelerate and deliver IoT innovations.” He added: “The key question now really is ‘How can you harness the power of the IoT, and actually make some revenue out of it?’” Anderson said that the company is taking advantage of the fact that at IFA much of the industry’s top talent is “co-located in one place at one time”. IBM has a private invitationonly Client Center at IFA, located at George C Marshall Haus, where Anderson and his team are discussing “the most pressing business issues of the industry, and [demonstrating] some of our latest solutions, research, technology, and joint IBM-client projects”. Marshall-Haus 100. TAKE A RIDE ON INTEL’S VIRTUAL ROLLERCOASTER Days before the start of IFA Intel introduced the 6th Generation Intel Core Processors, designed to deliver enhanced performance at very low power levels. Just a few days later, and the company’s technology is taking IFA visitors for a ride, with the Intel Iris Graphics Roller Coaster, a virtual reality demo designed and developed exclusively for IFA. Visitors can take a seat in one of the four cars arranged side-by-side and enjoy a hyper-realistic roller-coaster ride that takes them through a 3D world, with loop-the-loops, high climbs and steep drops. Visitors experience the effect through the latest version of the Oculus Rift virtual reality Igor the cyborg, the cetrepiece of the Intel stand at IFA headset, which features a large field of vision of 110º vertically and 90º horizontally, as well as extremely fast motion sensors. Image content is displayed in Full HD, with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. With OLED technology, the headset has a frame rate of just two to three milliseconds and a refresh rate of up to 75 Hz. A highpowered PC is required to run the headset, with 8GB of ram or more recommended and the new Intel i5-4690K processor. Visitors to the Intel stand will also get a first look at Basis Peak, a fitness and sleep tracker from Intel subsidiary Basis. Basis Peak measures the heart rate around the clock and provides automatic activity tracking and intelligent sleep analysis. It also displays text messages, calls or emails received from compatible iOS and Android smartphones. Hall 16 / Stand 100 36
HOSPITALITY / RESTAURANTS / BARS WHERE TO GOIN BERLIN WWW.WHERETOGOINBERLIN.COM CLUBS / EVENTS / SHOPPING / CULTURE Experiencing Friendly Chaos Sleeping alongside lions in the urban jungle An establishment with a name like “25hours Hotel Bikini Berlin” could never, by definition, be ho-hum or boring. Located in Budapester Straße, just near the famed Berlin Zoo, a stay at this place gives one a unique taste of creative and bustling Berlin. We asked General Manager, Michael Wünsch, to explain why. You can feel the quirky atmosphere of Werner Aisslinger’s extraordinary design, a fun mix combining and contrasting the urban jungle with the greenery of Berlin’s Tiergarten park. The Monkey Bar on the top floor is the place where locals meet urban nomads over cocktails. Or you just watch the monkeys in the Zoo. In the NENI Berlin you enjoy Haya Molcho’s fantastic eclectic East Mediterranean food. Here, it is all about sharing. The location between the Zoo and the Memorial Church is one of a kind. You can hear the lions roar from your room. You are right in the heart of Berlin’s City West, which is experiencing a renaissance with a lot of new restaurants, bars, shops and galleries. In short, some call it urban jungle, we call it “Balagan” (friendly chaos). Tell me about YOUR Berlin. What do you love most about this city and why? I love Berlin’s unsettlement and the creativity. Berlin is always on the move. Berlin has a lot of space for unconventional businesses and new ideas. Even more, I love Berlin’s diversity, it’s contrasts: I can eat at high-class restaurants and afterwards have drinks at rough, unspent bars. I can visit Berlin’s flew markets or shop at top notch design stores, visit world class theatre or check out the latest street dance performances. In Berlin, anything can happen. As a young family father, I nowadays spend more time in playgrounds than in clubs. I appreciate the large number of playgrounds and parks. There are really crazy ideas for kids on some playgrounds! What cool things do you suggest IFA visitors do while in town - that maybe they didn’t think of already? Spend an evening in Neukölln. You’ll find a lot of new inspiring bars, restaurants and music concepts there. Take the bike. There is no better way to get around town during IFA. Check out the Bikini Concept Mall for great shopping. You’ll find fresh labels, pop-up shops and great classics here. Visit the Monkey Bar in the evening and see the sun setting over the City West. Life is beautiful. Michael Wünsch General Manager, 25hours Hotel Bikini Berlin I love Berlin’s unsettlement and the creativity. Berlin is always on the move. www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Tuesday 8 th September 2015 37
