-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- pcb007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueEngineering Economics
The real cost to manufacture a PCB encompasses everything that goes into making the product: the materials and other value-added supplies, machine and personnel costs, and most importantly, your quality. A hard look at real costs seems wholly appropriate.
Alternate Metallization Processes
Traditional electroless copper and electroless copper immersion gold have been primary PCB plating methods for decades. But alternative plating metals and processes have been introduced over the past few years as miniaturization and advanced packaging continue to develop.
Technology Roadmaps
In this issue of PCB007 Magazine, we discuss technology roadmaps and what they mean for our businesses, providing context to the all-important question: What is my company’s technology roadmap?
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Media kit
||| MENU - pcb007 Magazine
CES Dispatches: Opening Day at Pepcom
January 12, 2021 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
On Monday, January 11, I attended the launch of the CES 2021. Well, more precisely, I attended the Pepcom program, one of the multitude of ways to connect with CES in the virtual environment. Pepcom is a regular at CES, functioning a bit like a show-within-a-show.
From Pepcom’s website, “Pepcom was founded in 1998—by journalists, for journalists. Pepcom is the proven leader in media showcases. Our demo events consistently put the world's most influential media in front of the world's most innovative companies—with a healthy dash of good fun as we go.”
With a mission like theirs, it’s no surprise then, that Pepcom is a regular at CES, drawing a mix of stalwart brands as well as up-and-comers. This year was no different. Top-tier brands included companies such as: Lenovo, Kyocera, Targus, Shure, Belkin, Moen, D-Link, Kingston, Dolby, ViewSonic, and many more.
Not every product could be strictly considered electronics, either. A handful of the showcase companies demonstrated accessory products; cell and tablet cases were a common non-electronic product.
Attending a real-life Pepcom follows through with the mini-tradeshow vibe, with showcased companies onsite showing off their products. While the virtual event is different than previous Pepcoms, for those of us who’ve been attending and reporting on virtual events, the visitor experience was exactly what we would have expected. Virtual Pepcom meant logging in to a rather traditional-looking virtual tradeshow environment. Once in, I navigated to each of the virtual booths.
At a trade show, every exhibitor is of interest to somebody, but not all exhibitors are interesting to everybody. Consequently, walking a show employs multiple layers of information gathering, processing and sorting to find the right type of interesting news to cover. Exhibitors tend to be grouped by industry; for example, when you find the automotive pavilion, mobility electronics suddenly immerses you. Scanning the signs on the towers or hanging from the ceiling to locate brands for an on-the-fly sorting of show participants is the normal way to navigate. Once you’re in the same place as the products that interest you, simply walk the aisles and scan the booths. Each booth requires just a few seconds to see if their products are of interest.
However, a virtual showcase/exhibition environment isn’t that easy to parse and doesn’t go that quickly. A visit to a virtual booth goes only as quickly as the server can serve up the content that makes up the booth. To get a sense for the products, visitors must watch all (or most) of the introductory video—a two- to five-minute process. If there is interest after that, visitors can click into a live demonstration Q&A session, access the media collateral, and more. On the one hand, the message is more complete for the exhibitor—visitors all get the video messaging. But for the visitor, the process can be slower, sometimes even tedious. Until, of course, the interesting information is found!
Lenovo’s Zoom-based demo session featured product sessions with new models of laptops and high-end displays.
Two different professional demonstrators had their hands on the products in real-time, reviewing the statistics and the features. Six or seven other press professionals were present, taking notes and paying attention. Over at Hex, the demonstrator was deep in a discussion on radio wave coverage with two other attendees. Hex’s product is a home security device that interprets changes in Wi-Fi signal coverage to provide intruder security in your home; it was quite interesting to hear about how the sensors read the Wi-Fi signals as if it were a mesh.
Elsewhere, D-Link was showcasing networking products; computer/personal accessories manufacturer Targus had UV disinfecting desk lamps as a highlight; and Ooma, the VoIP phone company had a new 4G LTE “landline-like” phone product to show off. Kyocera was present, teasing the “coming soon” arrival of a new cellphone.
By the time I’d seen all of Pepcom, I’d been introduced to toys for children, personal vaping products, smart door locks for your home, microphones and headphone systems for mobility as well as work-from-home, Bluetooth-headset-enabled facemasks, biodegradable cases for phone and tablet, charger accessories from Belkin, dashcams, Bluetooth-connected personal safe boxes, and even an AI application software development platform from Blaise.
As of launch day at CES, and using Pepcom as a measure, the virtual experience is likely to severely hamper attendees’ exposure to new and interesting technologies and products. We will continue to cover CES to the best of our ability this week.
Suggested Items
IPC Webinar: Optimizing Cleaning Products Used in Electronics Manufacturing
12/02/2024 | IPCThe electronics industry is committed to improving manufacturing practices and one way to do this is using safer and more sustainable cleaning products across the electronics manufacturing life cycle.
U.S. Department of Defense Certifies EndaceProbes
12/02/2024 | BUSINESS WIREPacket capture authority Endace announced today that the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has certified EndaceProbes on its Department of Defense Information Network Approved Products List (DoDIN APL).
PI's New Expansion for Higher Electronics Manufacturing Capacities and Shorter Lead Times
11/20/2024 | PRNewswirePI, the market and technology leader for high-precision motion control, positioning technology, and piezo applications, has completed the construction of additional electronics production space at its Rosenheim, Germany site.
Real Time with... electronica 2024: Exciting News at Ventec
11/20/2024 | Real Time with... electronicaAn excited Mark Goodwin brings Pete Starkey up-to-date with Ventec's latest news. Spoiler alert: Ventec is to become the primary material supplier for a new PCB factory aiming for full production by 2025. The factory will specialize in four- to eight-layer technology for in-house products and EMS.
Spirit Announces Purchase Agreement with Tex Tech Industries for Intended Sale of FMI
11/19/2024 | Spirit AeroSystems, Inc.Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. announces a purchase agreement to sell Fiber Materials, Inc (FMI) business based in Biddeford, Maine, and Woonsocket, Rhode Island, to Tex-Tech Industries, Inc. for $165,000,000 in cash, subject to customary adjustment.