3M has been at BETT before, but not recently. At the show, it was highlighting the use of its privacy filters which are now available with higher quality. We couldn’t get technical details, but sharpness has been improved, we heard. Of course, these may be important in school administration, as schools often have a lot of very personal and sensitive information. However, 3M was highlighting their use for exams. Increasingly, examiners are using online tests and there are regulations for the minimum space between workstations which, in the UK, is 1.25 metres. That means that a lot of space is needed for taking the tests. The alternative is to use a physical barrier to allow closer tests, or a privacy filter. Staff told us that it can support displays from ‘mobile sized’ to 34″ now, and that pricing is in the range of $40 to $120.
3M’s Privacy filter saves a lot of space in online exams. Image:Meko
CTouch of the Netherlands was showing its latest Laser Nova interactive displays in 65″. A new feature is the support of sound assistants, namely Cortana and the Google Assistant. The set has a 2mm bezel height and supports an active pen with optical detection of two levels when used with passive pens. The company is planning 70″, 75″ and 86″ units later.
Fujitsu was at the show, but highlighting its systems and IT businesses rather than having any particular emphasis on displays.
We were slightly surprised to see HKC at the BETT Show and the company confirmed that it is looking at new opportunities in the UK and was at the show for the first time. The company is an OEM supplier of monitors and TVs in Europe and has had a base in the Netherlands for several years. However, the company is growing as it expands its capacity for LCD panels in China and is working on setting up an office in the UK. It will sell monitors and TVs, but will also look at larger displays.
iBoardTouch is based in the UK and was showing its latest infrared touch systems that have a much smaller bezel than previous versions (as others were saying, too). The company has new versions in 65″, 75″ and 86″ in its Xi series which have Android integrated. The company told us that it plans to release new software at the end of Q1. The firm was keen to promote its software and services rather than its hardware.
Jiangsu Odin Electronic Technology claims to have supplied e-Blackboards in around 20,000 classrooms in 1,200 schools. It has previously shown its LCD combined with a blackboard and at BETT was showing the latest version. One of the features is that the touch panel can use a five finger steady touch on the screen to turn off the display. The full unit can also be raised or lowered electrically to allow shorter users to reach the top. The system includes an integrated Android OS. The touch meets Windows requirements.
Jiangsu Odin showed its combination blackboard and LCD. Image:Meko
We saw Lenovo at CES (Lenovo Maintains Innovation at CES) so there wasn’t a lot that was new. The company was talking about the new P32U that had been shown at CES. The company is successful selling clients in education and was showing its ThinkPad series including the T480S, a new device. It was also showing that it has waterproof units in the X270 which was put under a shower. The company also had an area devoted to the Daydream-compatible self-contained VR headset that it has developed. We tried it and the performance was good – apart from the pixellation, which offends the writer – the responsiveness and quality looked good.
Lenovo was showing the ThinkPad X270 in water. Image:Meko
Hanshin Board had a new 55″ FullHD and 65″, 75″ and 86″ models which have a new pen tray. Brightness on the smaller unit is 350 cd/m² and goes to 400/410 cd/m² for the bigger ones. Contrast is 5,000:1 on the 65″, suggesting a VA panel, while the others are 1,400 (55″) or 1,200 (75″, 86″) to 1, suggesting IPS. An OPS slot is built-in and a range of touch performance is available supporting from 10 up to 40 touch points. Inputs are VGA and HDMI. Hanshin continues to promote its electronic white board. The flip chart can echo content drawn onto the screen directly onto a display.
Shenzen iBoard was showing its latest PCap display which is now up 75″ and can support 40 touch points. The company told us that the costs of PCap technology continues to come down and that it is capable of making PCap displays up to 86″ using a G&F architecture (rather than G&G architecture used by others). The company is continuing with infrared touch developments for lower cost products and was showing a new shallow bezel infrared system. As with the PCap technology, iBoard can go up to 86″ for infrared touch. The company told us that it is mainly supplied by LG Display and assembles its own panels using open cell displays.
iBoard took over the StarBoard interactive products from under the Hitachi brand a couple of years ago after around fifteen years within Hitachi. At the show, there were no new products, but the company was showing a package that it sells of a Hitachi projector with its own interactive technology. The company had an interactive whiteboard (no display) that is designed to be an ‘all in one’ and includes a visualiser and wireless connections as well as sound.
Intel was widely represented at the show, but did not have its own booth as its brand was being promoted by partners such as Dell and HP. Dell was showing how its collaboration products were supporting the Intel Unite collaboration platform.
Vestel had a substantial presence at the show and announced a new distribution deal with Crystalised Distribution in the UK, which will sell the full digital signage range from the firm. The company also had a 65″ PCap touch, but most of the product range was the same as we saw at IFA. At BETT, Vestel was highlighting its 86″ interactive display which is now in the field and has an OPS slot. The company told us that it can support Oktopus, among other software packages. The display is available with an optional fingerprint reader, although this is a ‘clip-on’ rather than the integrated unit we saw at ViewSonic.
Vestel’s Fingerprint Sensor for Windows Hello is a clip-on. Image:Meko
