From September 4th til 9th the big consumer electronics fair IFA is taking place at Messe Berlin giving you a glimpse of the technology of tomorrow. After we visited the fair for the first time last year we were excited to dive right back and went yesterday on the first day of the fair to check out what all of the electronic brands have been cooking up in their labs.
Once again entering the Messe Berlin felt like walking into a technological wonderland. From smartphones to plasma TVs, from fitness gadgets to kitchen appliances, from stereo systems to vacuum cleaners you could basically find any kind of device that you could need in your like, or maybe not need, but want because it’s kind of cool to have. It was stunning to see just how many shiny new products are out there that are ready and waiting to be consumed by us. If you have a hard time to imagine how this all looks, don’t worry, we had our cameras with us and took plenty of pictures to give you an impression.
Immersive Experiences
One of the main advantages of a fair like IFA is that many brands use this platform to go beyond the mere presentation of their products by creating a world of its own that let’s the visitor fully immerse into the experience of using a device. To explain this concept I would like to once again use the Telekom presentation as an example as they are one of the big players in this field. They have an entire hall including a huge outdoor area in the yard which they use for little scenarios that represent all the different aspects of their main product MagentaEINS. Imagine this as different rooms and each of them represents things like the high-speed internet connection, cable tv, telephone, mobile phone, music streaming, digital payment, and so on. It’s a great way to get to know a product or service, you don’t just see it or touch it – you experience it.
And in the case of Telekom this involves a lot of games and some sports including a half-pipe for skateboards and bikes, a smart football that helps you improve your kicking technique, a basketball court and of course lots of video games of course. Other activities such as flying a digital kite, blowing digital soap bubbles, boarding a lightweight helicopter and trying out virtual reality goggles also add to the fun.
But what grabbed the most attention was the main stage in the middle of the hall. Here there was a lot going on from little contests, over performances to interviews of special guests. During our visit on Friday we lucky to catch the visit of German musician Adel Tawil who came to speak about his project Unsere Lieder werden Eins that he did with the Telekom.
Fashion Meets Technology
When you think of the encounter of fashion and technology the image of moving dresses and glowing garments will form in your head. But actually there is another synergy that I am talking about here where the two worlds meet. Grundig was presenting their new collection of hair styling gadgets by hosting a runway show of the celebrated fashion label Holy Ghost that had a magnificent runway show in July on the water of the Haubentaucher pool during Berlin Fashion Week. It was a total surprise for me to see the world of fashion suddenly pop up in the middle of IFA, but it was a good one.
Miniature Worlds
Another quality of IFA that fascinated me this time was how many miniature worlds I saw integrated into the brand presentations. I saw Playmobil weddings, elaborate miniature train worlds, a tiny fun fair and a fun little parcours for glass marbles. In most cases the purpose of these installations was to demonstrate certain features of camera or smartphones that were installed around them. But in my case it was like going to a huge toy store where you can go up-close to everything and marvel at the details.
If you want to check out this huge toy store for grown-ups too, you still have time until Wednesday, September 9th 2015.
Thanks for the friendly support of the Telekom
