There wasn’t much new in the way of technology at BETT this year, although there was a clear improvement in the performance of infrared touch systems which have got more compact and also have now developed to allow the detection of thinner or thicker passive styluses. That means that dual colours can be supported or two simultaneous users. As we reported last year, FlatFrog has a strong presence in this market and this year saw products from Promethean and, for the first time, ViewSonic.
The other trends that we spotted in our dash around the show were the introduction by several premium brands of ‘fighter’ model interactive LCDs that could compete more effectively on price. The education market is not getting any less competitive and companies cannot rely on performance and features to persuade everyone to spend more money.
The other trend that we noted was that both Epson and Dell compressed the price difference between laser phosphor and lamp-based projectors. Part of this is the required reaction to the arrival of LCDs, which have a long life, with projection forced to react by extending the product life and keeping cost of ownership down.
