This was my first time at The Gadget Show Live 2016 at the NEC, Birmingham. The event has been running for years and I always used to say to myself I would love to go there but it never quite worked out until recently.
I am a nerd on twitter so I had pre-setup some of most common used keywords and hashtags that will be used throughout the event such as #GSL16 , #GadgetShowLive , NEC etc. Then I happened to stumble upon tweets where some exhibitors were giving away free entrance tickets if you retweet them or join their mailing list.
I was one of the lucky ones who won a ticket from Kavson, an IT consultancy specialising in Banking, Ecommerce and Government Online Systems. I’ll mention more about them below.
How did you get there?
The NEC, Birmingham is probably one of the most well known venues across the UK and easily accessibly by both private and public transport. If you’re driving there you just need to punch in the post code B40 1NT. The car park is huge so you’ll have no problem finding a parking place but its not free so you’ll need to look at the NEC website for more details.
I opted to go by train, which I preferred as it was a lot faster and worked out cheaper. I purchased set train tickets from London Euston to Birmingham International. The return tickets on Virgin Trains cost me only £18. I booked them via The Trainline. They’re a comparison website for finding you cheaper train tickets.
We got to the NEC approx. 30 mins before the doors opened into the Hall and there was already a waiting crowd before us. Everyone seemed quite excited including us.
Whilst waiting inline, all The Gadget Show presenters went past throwing us T-Shirts etc to build up the excitement. I didn’t want to miss out so went out the queue and dashed after Amy who not only happily posed for a selfie she even gave me a T-Shirt 😀
So what did you get up to?
We were pretty much on our toes to avoid missing out on anything. Some of the highlights are below:
Did any Exhibitors catch you eye?
We came across many Exhibitors that were keen so demonstrate their products and services. Some of the notable ones are:
Kavson Ltd
Based in London, Kavson is mainly an IT consultancy specialising in Banking, Ecommerce and Government Online Systems.
They also offer bespoke marketing services in their portfolio by providing their clients with specialised Integrated Digital Marketing services to cater to the need of a client’s evolving tech savvy consumers.
Upon coming across the Kavson Ltd stand I noticed that their powerbanks were being notched up like hot cakes.
I managed to obtain one for myself, which I will review in a separate blog post. Do take a look at their website for their products http://kavson.co.uk/
BAGS By BLACK
At BAGS by BLACK create exceptional bags with the intention of enhancing their customers lifestyle on the go. They bring together technology and their customers lifestyle, with a stylish and practical range of products designed for leisure, travel and business to take them everywhere.
I had a lovely demonstation of a couple of their bags and an overview of how the company was formed.
This will be covered in more detail on another blog post. Until you can find their products on their website http://bagsbyblack.com/
WIRED
Wired UK is a full-colour monthly magazine that reports primarily on the effects of science and technology. It covers a broad range of topics including design, architecture, culture, the economy, politics and philosophy.
3DU
3DU provide solutions to allow you to view 2D images or videos into 3D without the need of the 3D glasses.
They currently offer the products for iPhones, Photobooths and TV’s.
Thomas Kitchen-Dunn happened to demonstate how the technology works on the iPhone and I must admit I was impressed.
With that in mind I happened to walk away with a glasses free 3D screen protector for my iPhone 6 and will be reviewing this on another blog post.
For now you may wish to find out more about them at 3du.co.uk
BACKFACE
This booth really caught my eye as I was intrigued to see miniature models of the Gadget Show presenters stood up on the table. These were 3D models printed out after a 360 photo was taken of them inside a makeshift booth.
I really wanted a go myself so stepped inside the photo booth where I was surrounded by approx. 50+ Canon DSLR camera from all angles.
The concept is that the subject stands in the middle of these camera and when the trigger is pressed they all snap a picture at exactly the same time. When hooked up on their system it renders a 3D image of the subject.
A 3D preview of myself will be emailed to me in due course and I will decide whether to go ahead and get the model printed and shipped out to me.
To find out more about BACKFACE you can visit their website here: http://www.backface.co.uk/
Did you see anything else interesting?
We booked tickets for The Gadget Show Super Theatre. All the presenters gave the crowd a very entertaining and interactive performance. Some lucky members of the audience also won some really coo prizes such as a huge TV, Drone, a funky cube microphone and even a Segway!
We saw acts from the likes of the Jamie Raven the well known magician who wowed Simon Cowell during Britians Got Talent.
At the end the show we managed to get a lucky selfie with both Ortis Deley and Jon Bentley.
Overall I really enjoyed The Gadget Show Live. I will no doubt go again next year and can confidentially say that there will be more funky gadgets and technology to be seen.
Please visit the http://www.gadgetshowlive.net/ website for the latest reviews from the team and their next live performance dates.
If you liked this blog post then please do share. Also I would be keen to know what gadgets you own and/or what you have on your wish list. Do comment below, don’t be shy!