Final day of KioskCom NYC 2007

Yesterday was the final day of KioskCom. It was a bit slower than the first day which gave me a chance to walk around the show and talk to potential partners, see what my competition has been doing since the last time I saw them, and see what is the latest cool offerings for our industry. Here are a couple of them:

Innovative - Flexible Monitor Mounts

These guys have some cool mounting solutions for kiosks and screens. There are many times that you need to mount an all-in-one kiosk onto a wall or an existing enclosure, and you want the ability to tilt it up or down depending on the height of your guest viewing the screen. These guys have what you need and have the unique ability to make custom modifications for special needs projects. Since they sell direct, you can request this sort of change if you need it, unlike some of the existing similar products on the market. Check them out at : http://www.lcdarms.com/

StacoSwitch - Tactile Touch Screens

This product is amazing. Imaging touching a button on the screen and feeling it depress like a real button would feel? That's right, its not just a flat screen, it is truly interactive. Their product integrates with a touch screen monitor and has a software developer kit (SDK) that allows you to use their amazing tools. A small hardware component behind the screen sends a pulse to the surface of the screen when you touch it that makes your brain think you just depressed a 3 dimensional real world button. I love this product and hope to be able to use it on some future projects. It doesn't integrate with all products such as many all-in-one kiosks like one of my favorites (the IBM AnyPlace) but does work with many open frame screens. You have to experience this product! http://www.tactiletouchscreens.com/

IBM - Rooster Kiosk

IBM has done it again and innovated the industry with their new Rooster kiosk. This kiosk will sit and stare at you until you believe it is a real chicken little. Its so compact that I cannot find the screen, but I think its somewhere inside of those glass eyes. I just don't dare go close because it might peck me in the face. They have even chosen to use the claws of the rooster as input devices instead of a traditional mouse. Man... those guys are amazing.

Okay, it's not a kiosk. While tearing down the tradeshow, it suddenly appeared on top of a crate staring at us while we worked. Freaky! Where did it come from? Nobody knows. Who's stuffed chicken was this? We can't be sure. But everyone was a bit un-nerved by it and was afraid to touch it in case it was booby trapped. I left before it met its final resting place... But I think one of the tech guys from Raleigh may have taken it home for dinner that night.

The show was great and a lot of fun. The next show is in April and back at Mandalay Bay Las Vegas. We will have our own booth again like last April and be showing some new software and some of our own exclusive new enclosure designs. If you were at KioskCom or have questions about it, comment on these blogs. I'd love to hear what you have to say. If you want more pictures or more thoughts, let me know.