CeBIT 2007 Hannover , 15 to 21 March - Hot Topics

Not for children only: "Papu-Chan" and "Pala-Chan" are two pot-bellied whales that come with their own integrated MP3 player from Toshiba. These mini-whales get their music through a USB port and can play tunes for up to 15 hours. If a whale should start to run down, simply recharge its lithium-ion battery by plugging it into your Toshiba notebook.

While recharging, the little leviathans, on display at CeBIT 2007, can take on files, doubling as a USB mass storage device. An LED backlight indicates the song that is currently being played. Measuring just 30 x 50 x 76 millimeters, this MP3 whale fits inside any pocket and weighs just 40 grams. Papu-Chan, by the way, is pink, and Pala-Chan is white.

Toshiba Europe GmbH
www.toshiba.de
Hall 1, Stand L61 

Lots of German sports fans are eager to visit the 2008 Summer Olympics in China, but some of them may be worried about how to communicate once they get there. But now, thanks to COMPASS2008 - a new digital travel guide being unveiled at CeBIT 2007 by the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence - expressing yourself in the Middle Kingdom has just become a whole lot easier.

COMPASS2008 can help visitors to China in a number of everyday tourist situations, for example shopping, eating in a restaurant, taking a taxi, dealing with an emergency, or just finding your way around. Visitors to CeBIT can find out how this works by trying out the "Shopping Assistant" module of the COMPASS2008 system, which supports tourists in conducting sales conversations with Chinese merchants.

The system translates what the customer wants to say into Chinese and actually speaks the sentences. The user can inquire about particular products or accepted payment modes and even bargain over the price. Then the system translates the Chinese answers back into German for the user's benefit.

DFKI
Deutsches Forschungszentrum für künstliche Intelligenz GmbH
Hall 9, Stand B40 (Partner of: German Federal Ministry of Education)

How can two people who are miles away from each other talk outdoors without using a cellphone? Not at all, would be the answer of many visitors to CeBIT 2007. Unless, that is, they were standing in front of a new T5622 phone from Motorola, which sort of reminds you of a good old walkie-talkie, except that it isn't old at all.

The T5622 has a range of up to 8 kilometers (around 5 miles) and a new, ergonomic, rubber-type casing, making it a reliable companion in any situation. Eight channels and 38 Codes guarantee smooth communication. A push-to-talk button makes the phone ultra-easy to use.

Thanks to its hands-free function and standard headset, you can talk without even using your hands. A backlit display and roger beep function add to the convenience. You can choose from ten different ring tones, and the phones are also equipped with a vibrating signal.

IVS GmbH
www.ivsgmbh.de
Hall 12, Stand C30 

Communication equipment in today's cars has a tough bill to fill: it has to provide an increasing number of functions, be ever smaller, and consume less energy. How this can work is available for your inspection at the Intel exhibition stand at CeBIT 2007 in Hannover, Germany.

The watchword here is "ultra-mobile computer" or UMPC for short. The decisive ingredient of a UMPC consists of mini-chips that consume scarcely any power. This makes it possible for a UMPC to take over the entire control of navigation and consumer electronics in the vehicle - including e-mail and telecommunications.

Not only that, but the UMPC can also give you information about upcoming maintenance requirements or low tire pressure. It can also play your music collection, control the car's navigation or send video signals to the monitors in the backs of car seats.

Intel GmbH
www.intel.com
Hall 21 , Stand B45  

You're sitting in a meeting again, and your notebook is turned off. You're expecting an important e-mail, which might even be relevant to the meeting. But you're not about to risk disrupting things by opening up the notebook and powering it up.

The answer: the new ASUS W5Fe and the Toshiba Protégé R400, both of which have a second display integrated in their cover. The especially practical feature of these two notebooks, both of which are making their debut at CeBIT 2007, is that they don't even need to be turned on for you to be able to read e-mails and other important data on the cover-top display.

Protégé R400 is the stuff e-mail dreams are made of. The manufacturer Toshiba reports that this notebook represents the world's first mobile PC that supports push e-mail services via 3G networks in real time.

ASUS COMPUTER GmbH
www.asus.de
Hall 2, Stand A12
Toshiba Europe GmbH
www.toshiba.de
Hall 1, Stand L61
vertico software GmbH
Hall 13, Stand B44 

The Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology (IDMT) is presenting its new "Freebies" music sales solution at CeBIT 2007. The main attraction: Anyone who buys a song and downloads it gets a second, partially encrypted version which he or she can forward to a friend.

If the friend also buys the song, the "Music Reco-Ware" system rewards the initial customer with either a discount, a commission or bonus points towards his/her next purchase. The potential second buyer also automatically receives a list of similar "freebies" from the first buyer's collection, plus song recommendations from similar genres and optimized navigation options for future music searches.

Fraunhofer-Institut für Digitale Medientechnologie IDMT
www.idmt.fraunhofer.de
Hall 9, Stand B36 

Carrying on a confidential discussion on your cellphone is not without its risks. This is because you don't even need to be a pro to tap the transmission: a Trojan horse sent by text messaging allows even a layperson to listen in and read your text messages. But the new PhoneCrypt solution, presented by SecurStar at CeBIT 2007, makes it impossible for eavesdroppers to achieve their goal.

PhoneCrypt is a pure software solution developed for cellphones that use the Microsoft Windows operating system. To make confidential calls, both parties simply need to have the software activated. The program encrypts the transmitted data, making it impossible for third parties to eavesdrop.

SecurStar GmbH
www.securstar.com
Hall 6, Stand K38

- Deutsche Messe, Hannover -