CES 2007 Wrap Up: The Booth Tour

Intel and Microsoft

Two of the biggest computer companies in the world had their booths side by side again this year. Neither Intel nor Microsoft really had anything to launch, per se, but that didn't prevent either company from having rather expansive booths set up.

Intel's booth was dominated by a centre pavilion, which you can see here. Microsoft's, on the other hand, was more sparse - many curved kiosks decorated a rather large, open expanse. In fact, the most visually stunning piece of the booth setup was the information desk in the far corner, which is pictured here.

Sanyo

Sanyo is a company that isn't often thought of anymore when it comes to high-tech devices. This is largely in part to the company's recent pushes into everything but the device itself - Sanyo pictures itself as much the company needed for you to run other devices as it is an electronics maker itself.

It's that supporting role that Sanyo brought to the show this year, with its launch of the eneloop battery. It's hoping to appeal to the digital consumer by providing a battery with four times the life of an alkaline that's entirely rechargeable, but without many of the drawbacks of a rechargeable battery.

For one, it's ready to use out of the package - an eneloop battery will only lose a maximum 15% of its charge no matter how long it sits. Second, the battery is 100% recyclable and made out of 100% recycled material - appealing to the eco-friendly in all of us. At $15 USD for a 4-pack of AAs, eneloops are priced comparatively to but work much better than other rechargeables on the market. And after about three charges (the batteries last over 1,000 before any memory problems), you've already saved more than buying normal alkalines.