CES 2007 Wrap Up: The Booth Tour

AMD

The AMD booth was pretty low-profile this year, with much of its technology in a "wait and see" holding pattern. The acquisition of ATI and the third quarter 2007 release of the quad-core chip meant that the company had little to really talk about at the moment.

What AMD did do was create another one of those wonderfully obnoxious stage shows. However, at least the company provided some incentive - you could stand and play a quiz game shouted at top volume for the chance at a Best Buy $50 gift card. The quiz could be difficult, containing such questions as: "How do you make your computer go faster? A) Tape a rocket on it, B) Purchase a computer with the new AMD Quad-Power setup and dual ATI Graphics Cards, or C) Throw it out the window?" Aside from the quiz show (which happened under the giant cube), the booth contained a large emphasis on partners working with the company.

In my opinion, this was probably the best thing AMD could have offered, as its deals with the likes of Dell and Hewlett Packard are relatively new and illustrate a new level of brand recognition for the company. Since the show was focused more on the general consumer than the computer enthusiast this year as a whole, showing off the partnership with such household names lended a lot of clout and presence to a company that really otherwise didn't have anything particularly new to show.

HP

Speaking of Hewlett Packard, the company displayed one of the best-run booths on the show floor. It's easy to get carried away with the booth designs, often making them so packed or cluttered that it's hard to move.

Amazingly, HP managed to make a very well organized booth - a lot of the other companies could stand to sit down and take some notes here. With a product range as varied as the Hewlett Packard lineup, it's a testament to good design that the booth was easily navigated, clean looking, and well-staffed.

My only complaint to the HP booth involved our friends over at Voodoo PC. Rahul and company were under a nice black tent, but it didn't actually open into the HP booth. I thought this was a bit of a disappointment, since Voodoo PC is supposed to be the premier brand for HP's new gaming initiatives. The only way into the booth was actually through a small side passage that ran between HP's booth and its neighbour. It might have been hard to find if I weren't looking specifically for it, even with the overhead sign.