Despite a few years of expensive, celebrity-filled ads aimed at getting folks excited about 3D TVs, monitors, smart phone screens, tablets and mobile gaming devices, pretty much everything “3D” has come up way short of the hype. Frankly, 3D has to be one of the biggest technology flops of the admittedly young 21st century, despite little islands of development or adoption. TV makers went full speed ahead, marketing 3D as if it were as “ready for prime time” as the mature technology in plasma displays, LCD touchscreen monitor rental and other state-of-the-art screens. It wasn’t.

Niches, not riches

Apparently many manufacturers felt that 3D was the natural upgrade path for all the flat screens in the world. Unfortunately, those unpredictable consumers were not ready to replace their still-new HDTVs just to watch the few good 3D offerings. And some of the “active” 3D glasses sell for up to $100, a very expensive proposition for a family. So much for the mass market.

Although 3D technology for TV is still a work in progress, the price and the discomfort are major factors to it not being adopted by everyone. There is also the fact that some users of 3DTVs have complained about feeling sick and having headaches after viewing programming on 3DTV.

There is also a lack of content in 3DTV even though some of the big broadcasters have aired programs especially in 3D. Unfortunately, they were all one-off attempts, and there is no proper 3D channel of programming available. There are DVDs of 3D movies available which allow users to recreate the 3DTV effect at home but not everyone wants to watch 3D movies at home as its cheaper to watch them in the cinema on a larger screen.

3D TV could easily work well for gamers who would go for it but it does not have a place for normal TV viewing or watching movies. The biggest sign to prove that 3D TV is a flop is when the biggest 3D hit of all times “Avatar” came out only on Blu Ray and had no support for 3D.

Although 3D technology isn’t widely used, there are lots of other technology gadgets that are. From HD plasma rentals to renting iPad 2, CRE Rentals has the latest gear in stock and ready to deliver. Complete a Request for Quote or call us so we can help you figure out what works best for you.

The App Store launched in July 2008 with 500 apps. Apple approved the 500,000th app in late May of this year. From among them, pundits and end-users have made various lists of iPad marketing apps, many overlapping in their suggestions. Of the many apps for tracking trends, leveraging social media, publishing content, planning marketing campaigns and analyzing results, here are the Best iPad Apps for Marketers (Part 1 today, Part 2 on Thursday, August 18th).

Socializing = networking

You will need some or all of your networking apps – Twitter,  Foursquare, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. – but it is easy to overload and get bogged down. Here comes HootSuite to the rescue, managing your multiple profiles. HootSuite integrates them all so you can post breaking news, locate people, manage schedules, track stats and monitor lists, #hashtags and keywords. (Free)

Content is king

If you have a WordPress blog, the WordPress app for iPad is a no-brainer. A “lite” version focused on easy blogging, it’s best to do page design and other major work on a computer. Still, the widescreen layout gives you plenty of room to write, edit, moderate comments, add/remove images and stay on top of your content wherever you are. WordPress also released a plug-in that makes Web sites “iPad friendly”. (Both free)

Photos and graphics

Pictures do speak louder (and faster) than words.  They bring life and energy to blogs, marketing brochures and e-mail ads. Photoshop Express, now at version 2.0, is the perfect photo-editing tool for on-the-go marketing pros, a simple but sophisticated app for creating, cropping, rotating, revising and repurposing photos and images. (Free, optional tool pack $3.99)

Analyze sites and monitor ROI

AnalyticsPro is a powerful, flexible app that uses your Google Analytics account for on-the-fly decision-making. You can get detailed reports on Search Keywords, Top Content, Top 10 Countries, Referral Sources, Traffic Sources, etc., and analyze the Return On Investment (ROI) of your marketing campaigns. You can export those reports as PDF and other formats, and view them on everything from smart phones to tablet PC rentals. ($5.99)

All apps are available at the App Store, iTunes, the developer’s site and other locations.

Deadlines ahead? Conference coming? An Account Executive will help you get just what you need, to get where you need to go. Make a call, send an e-mail or fill out the Quick Rental Quote form, and we’ll get you what you need to succeed – indeed!

Watch for Part 2 of Best iPad Apps for Marketers coming up on Thursday, August 18th.

One very important benefit of CRE computer rentals, like all our high-tech rentals, is a straightforward financial one: You save money. If you need render farm rentals a few times per month, purchasing the equipment is not a good investment for you. You have to maintain it, repair it and upgrade it – and ultimately you have to replace it. It’s a costly cycle. For monthly training sessions, getting a dozen or 20 iMac rentals is a bargain compared to buying the computers to sit idle most of the time.

The dismal science

Every business has a unique situation with respect to equipment needs, budgets, production demands and so forth. Yet no matter what your needs, CRE has you covered. As just one example of the real-world edge CRE offers, we know that your marketing and trade show dollars need to go farther and do more than ever. CRE convention rentals will bring your exhibit area to life.

You could have your interactive product demos running on touchscreen LCD monitor rentals, or stop passers-by and show them the same thing on the bright, colorful screen of our iPad rentals. Send some of your team members around the conference center, with iPads or even tablet PC rentals, and they can stay in touch with Wi-Fi, capture information from attendees, show product videos or PDF brochures, and check work e-mail. Work efficiently, follow your plan, remain positive – and you will stretch that budget.

Micro and macro

On the micro level – you, your company – it’s easy to see the benefits of CRE for everything from the aforementioned tech gear to office equipment rentals. There’s lower capital investment, reduced production overhead and predictable expenses. On the macro level – everyone else, the rest of the planet – CRE rentals are a nice shade of green. With multiple production companies, studios and animators using potent Mac Pro with Kona Card rentals just when they need them, there is no “inefficient ownership.”

CRE offers efficient rentals to counter the inefficiencies that some businesses experience with costly hardware that needs continuous upgrading. Whether it’s one of our Xserve RAID rentals or a slick way of enhancing your small firm’s presence in a cavernous conference center, we’re ready to equip you for whatever it is that you need to do. Call or e-mail an Account Executive and we’ll show you how efficient and effective CRE service and support can be.

Extra dose of inventiveness

A capacitive touch screen at this size would have been extremely costly, so HP engineers added an extra dose of inventiveness to the LD4200TM’s digital DNA. The device has a unique way of delivering multi-touch capabilities with an “array of infrared (IR) light-emitting diodes (LEDs), along with photo sensors.” With a native resolution of 1920×1080, you’ve got full HD for lifelike color and clarity, ably assisted by a superior brightness rating and a 1000:1 contrast ratio (with 3000:1 dynamic contrast ratio). It adds up to jaw-dropping graphics and video, and incredibly sharp text, in bright lighting or dim. CRE has LCD monitor rentals and plasmas, too, for all kinds of display purposes, but we’ve added this great touch screen model because of its power, presence and aforementioned people-magnet potential.

As an attention-getter in exhibit booths the LD4200TM excels with an ultra-wide 178 x 178 degree viewing angle providing clean, bright views. As opposed to TV screens, the LD4200TM can run day and night with low power usage and still enjoy a long, useful life due to its high-quality components. HP sees businesses large and small using the unit for “quick and easy onscreen interactivity” in a variety of settings – retail, point of sale, digital signage, malls, hotel lobbies, airline and other terminals, entertainment venues, colleges, hospitals – and it is bound to show up at conferences, conventions and corporate meetings worldwide.

Wide range of applications

Interactive kiosk rentals can do yeoman’s duty collecting contact information and making small-screen presentations wherever you place them, but for attracting visitors to your booth in an exhibit hall – and thoroughly engaging them – there’s nothing quite like this new HP display. For meetings, corporate presentations and high-end brainstorming, the LD4200TM is also perfectly suited, and teamed with one of CRE’s Audience Response System rentals it could be the star of many productive polling sessions, marketing focus groups and product demonstrations.

The LD4200TM’s hardware supports multi-touch gestures, and after the software driver was WHQL certified a slew of applications started to support their use with this big boy. To make its “magic” happen, you will connect the display to your computer via USB (for control and gestures) and send images via an HDMI connection. It can also take VGA (for tiling, too), component video, composite video and S-video signals. The range of its connectivity makes the LD4200TM extremely flexible for a broad array of duties. You can opt for the rear-facing audio amplifier and speakers from HP that give you 20 watts (10w x 2) of sound.

Whatever you need to spread your marketing message or capture attention in a sea of exhibits, CRE has it, from this great new HP display to all manner of convention rentals. We are also your productivity partners, with the potent Mac Pro rentals and newly-upgraded iMacs to help you finish that post-production, animation or design work and hit your deadline. Contact a seasoned Account Executive today, or fill out the Quick Rental Quote form right now, and let us know just where you need to go – we’ll help you get there, guaranteed.

Creative professionals weigh in on the age old question…Mac or PC? An unscientific sampling at a designer site indicates that between 70-80% of designers use Macs, compared to the 80% of “regular Internet users” who use  PC’s.

Although most designers acknowledge that the same design tools are available on both platforms, many tout the Mac’s ease of use and superior build quality. One respondent summed it up by saying that “the platform has nothing to do with the outcome of design. But designing on Mac feels a lot more natural to me. I’ve used both PCs and Macs extensively, each has its own advantages. For design, multimedia and other creative work, I personally feel more at home on a Mac.” Although some PC partisans – and, honestly, plenty of good work is done on PCs – brought up some good points about cost differences, it is clear that there remains a solid majority of Mac-using designers.

Some professionals use both-Mac and PC

Within that complement of Mac users, of course, are plenty of people who use both PCs and Macs, just as most companies do these days. It is not uncommon to see a Fortune 500 firm with PCs in the accounting department (although that’s changing slowly) and Macs in the art/marketing department. And with the cross-platform programs and ease of PC-Mac networking, there is no reason that both kinds of computers can’t co-exist peacefully. It’s just that when it comes time for entertainment professionals to edit the movies or master the records or finish the magazines, more of them reach for a Mac Pro rental than a PC, although CRE Rentals does rent both.

Another important development is the power of the Macs. The fastest Mac ever tested by Macworld, by the way, isn’t an eight-core Mac Pro, but the top-of-the-line iMac with the new Core i7 Intel chip. The rest of the iMac family is similarly potent, making CRE’s iMac rentals a sensible alternative to the Mac tower. However, the Mac Pro has the advantage in many areas, like PCIe slots and other expandability options, that make it a continuing favorite for use with Final Cut Studio and other audio-visual software. CRE can equip any kind of Mac, any kind of way you need. Of course, if you need a PC to run PC-only software (certain accounting packages, proprietary builds, etc.), then CRE can outfit you with speedy PC computer rentals, as well.

Which one….Mac or PC?

Comparing Mac and PC computers makes for interesting reading. The bottom line is creative professionals  should use “the best tool for the  job. Nowadays the OSes aren’t different enough to make the decision for you based on features. If you already know one OS, stick with it until you have a very compelling reason to switch.” This is a reasonable position however, some Mac loyalists point out that Macs can run both Windows and the Mac OS. If you need desktop rentals for your post-production work, and want to use both OSes, then you really do have just one choice – a Mac (learn more about which Mac to rent).

CRE’s Account Executives are experts at getting you what you need to push through your bottleneck of backed-up work, take on that new project or bring in new clients. Send an e-mail, make a call or fill out the Quick Rental Quote form, and you’ll be sailing smoothly in no time.

The NAMM Show starts each morning with music and the informative NAMM University Breakfast Sessions. The theme for both days of seminars is the “new normal” that has been created by the economic upheavals of 2008-2009. It’s always “normal” to put your best face forward, which is why exhibitors rely on interactive kiosk rentals to get the message out — and get contact information in return.

Live, up-to-the-minute Web coverage of the NAMM Show will be streamed at the NAMM Web site. You can also follow the NAMM Show on the group’s Twitter page. CRE is proud to be affiliated with NAMM.

LabAutomation2010

The Association for Laboratory Automation’s annual conference — LabAutomation2010 at the Palm Springs Convention Center from January 23 to 27 — brings together engineers, scientists and other professionals from all over the globe. A wide range of industries are represented at the world’s premier lab automation event, including security, energy and petrochemicals, agriculture, clinical diagnostics and pharmaceuticals.

Key educational sessions concern detection and separation, micro- and nano-technologies, and informatics. Over 400 booths will showcase the top automation technologies, a perfect job for a LCD monitor rental from CRE.

Networking opportunities abound, of course, as educators, researchers and manufacturers discuss the hot topics of the day. It’s a perfect place to bring a Motion Computing Tablet PC rental to take notes, get names and addresses, and access the interactive conference schedules and maps via WiFi (saving many a tree in so doing).

SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering

SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering, presents SPIE Photonics West at San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center from January 23 to 28, featuring four symposia and access to 3,600+ research papers.

The symposia will cover biomedical optics, lasers and applications, micro- and nano-fabrication, and integrated optoelectronic devices. Photonics West covers all the bases, from product roll-outs that save you money to free courses that offer training and a healthy dose of “value added.” Attendees can use laptop rentals to stay connected while exhibitors display their wares in various ways (including a 61″ plasma  rental available from CRE Rentals).

The SPIE event actually comprises two separate, world-class exhibitions — with a total of 1100+ exhibitors — at SPIE Photonics West, North America’s essential photonics and laser exhibition, and SPIE BiOS, the world’s largest biomedical optics exhibition.

For these events, or others like them, remember that CRE is your one-stop shop for computers and audiovisual gear. From audience response system rentals to the latest laptops and office equipment, we have whatever you need, and not just to “make the scene ” — but to make the scene brighter and better for your business. Call, send an e-mail or fill out a Quick Rental Quote form right now. We’ve got you covered.

The base model MacBook Pro retains the classy, aluminum unibody and the slick multi-touch trackpad of its predecessor. The positive additions include a SecureDigital memory card slot, full-size backlit keyboard, a FireWire 800 port, a color-enriched display and a permanent (non-removable) battery good for up to seven hours on a charge. These macintosh laptops are faster, have more ports and offer a longer-lasting battery!

Mid-range and top of line MacBook Pros

One rung up the MBP ladder is the 13-inch MacBook Pro with a 2.53 GHz processor, above which there are 15- and 17-inch models available with CPUs up to 3.06GHz. All MBP models have a 1066 MHz frontside bus, 3MB of shared L2 cache (as much as 6MB for the 15- and 17-inchers) and run applications faster than ever. When you choose to rent a MacBook Pro or  iMac rental, you can be assured that you’re getting the state-of-the-art in desktops and notebooks.

The basic graphics subsystem is a power-saving NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, offering integrated graphics processing for solid, everyday performance with long battery life – the best choice for an MBP to rent for “cruising” conventions and conferences. The 17-inch MBP and certain 15-inch models have the NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT discrete graphics board, offering powerful performance for graphically demanding work.

Powerful, colorful (and green)

The MacBook Pro’s glossy LED-backlit widescreen display has 60 percent greater color gamut than previously, for richer and brighter colors. Everything you see – including the display itself – is spectacularly clear, with performance that is solid. With its seamless glass enclosure, this display is strong, durable, power efficient, mercury- and arsenic-free – and greener than ever.

Every MacBook Pro has a large hard drive, up to 500 GB, or you can opt for a 128 or 256 GB solid-state drive (SSD). The MacBook Pro also supports up to 8 GB of high-speed RAM, has the iSight webcam and a microphone built in, and ups the wireless ante to 802.11n for even faster communications. There are two USB 2.0 ports (three on the 17-inch model), a FireWire 800 port for speedy peripherals and a Mini DisplayPort that can easily power the new Apple LED Cinema Display.

Apple didn’t forget the entry-level MacBook laptop, either, giving it a unibody of its own (plastic, not aluminum), a new battery technology and a few other tweaks. Try MacBook rentals for an upcoming corporate event.

Curious about the new Macs and what they can do for your company? Talk to one of CRE’s expert Account Executives today – send an e-mail, make a call, fill out a Quick Rental Quote form – and find out everything you need to know about the new Mac laptops. You can also read our round-up of the latest Mac desktop computers, as well as an overview of other new Apple technology.

As we discussed in Part 1, the pace of technological advancement is positively dizzying. How can anyone possibly keep up on all of this? Well, the folks that do—like the folks at Web sites from AnandTech to ZDNet (yes, A to Z)—pore over every announcement from thousands of manufacturers, then summarize their findings by category. That way, another “layer” of editors and helpers, like CRE, can get the info we need to keep the users of our desktop rentals and our interactive kiosks updated on just the “tech they need to know.” Without further ado, here’s more news from the leading edge of technology.

HD video in the pocket

JVC’s latest pocket camcorder, the GC-FM1 Picsio, has four video and camera modes. You can record 1440 x 1080p video at 30fps (that’s HD, folks) and take 3264 x 2448 still images. Video is saved in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format to SD/SDHC memory cards up to 32 GB in size. Image stabilization minimizes camera shake even when using the 4X digital zoom, and high-end features include CMOS sensor and HDMI connectivity (currently the top digital transfer standard). In the hands of the kinds of pros that CRE knows, the video is good enough to import to Final Cut Pro for editing with a CRE G5 with Kona Card rental. Smaller can be better, too.

New LCD monitor

Acer Corporation has a new LCD monitor, the S243HL. The company claims this latest model is the first to have a contrast ratio of 8,000,000:1, with full HD resolution of 1920×1080. The slimmest 24-inch widescreen display on the market, it is under 15 millimeters thick, has an integrated speaker and offers energy-saving, white LED backlight. CRE has great LCD monitor rentals already, and is committed to the technology for its environmentally friendly ways. Compared to traditional monitors, says Acer, the S243HL can reduce power consumption up to 63%.

Wearable display

In the “wearable monitor” market, Vizix is set to release its latest video eyewear, the Wrap 310. The new unit features a widescreen display with 428×240 screen resolution, equivalent to viewing a 55-inch screen from about 10 feet away, and runs six hours on two AA batteries. Some of the professionals currently using CRE plasma rentals and other big-screen displays for exacting, detailed work in video, post-production and design work may want to keep an eye (or both eyes) on this developing monitor technology. Even today, this unit supports every 3D video format and connects to portable DVD players, desktop computers, laptops, Blu-ray players, iPhones and iPods. Companies like Vizix claim that, within several years, most highly magnified, detailed visual editing will be done on these kinds of wearable displays.

Need answers for your own technological challenges? Contact one of our experienced Account Executives—by phone or e-mail from our Contact Page—or fill out our Quick Rental Quote for a swift reply. We’re here to answer questions, offer solutions and reduce your crunch-time stress, and we’re good at it. Let us know how we can help you today.

Pro specs at a consumer price

Panasonic’s newest, most compact “Micro Four Thirds” camera is the Lumix GF1, which has 12-megapixel resolution, a 3-inch LCD viewscreen and integrated flash. Professional photographers and filmmakers, many of whom have MacPro rentals, know that the “Micro Four Thirds” standard is an impressive extension to the “Four Thirds” standard that Leica, Olympus, Panasonic and other makers developed for their pro-level digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras. The GF1 stores images on SD/SDHC cards, has a dust cleaning feature, boasts optical image stabilization and still comes in 35% smaller and 26% lighter than its predecessor, the G1.

Smartphone for video pros?

Philips is set to debut its latest Google Android smartphone, the V808. It is the firm’s second Android-powered unit and has a bright, detailed 3.2 inch touchscreen display, support for microSD storage cards up to 8GB and a full-featured 3.2 megapixel camera. Video post-production pros that use AJA Io HD rentals from CRE can now get up-to-the-minute samples of projects sent to their phones, as the device offers both “widget” support and an audio/video multimedia player. The V808′s 1000 mAh battery should give several hours of service at full-on use, and its GSM/GPRS/EDGE connectivity will interface every which way.

MacBooks get a boost

Apple just upgraded its MacBook with more powerful components, with CPU speed upped from 2.13 to 2.26GHz and the hard drive from 160 to 250GB. The 2GB of DDR2 RAM was replaced by the latest memory module technology, the faster DDR3 memory. Cosmetic changes include the new rubber bottom, the Apple-exclusive multitouch trackpad (made of glass), a seven-hour built-in battery and LED backlighting for its 13.3-inch display. As CRE integrates newer models into its MacBook and MacBook Pro rental inventory, users will find a unibody polycarbonate enclosure in the former and an aluminum one in the latter.

If you have questions about how the new technologies can help you, call one of our expert Account Executives today, toll free, at (877) 266-7725. You can also use our Contact Page or Quick Rental Quote web form for immediate assistance.  We’re here to offer first-rate service and support, and get you the solutions that you decide you need.

Watch for Part 2 of the CRE Tech Product Update, set to appear on Wednesday, November 4th.

CRE customers are no strangers to the ups and downs of the economy, the “whole one” or the portions of it they work in, their chosen industries. For animation pros who’ve run Final Cut Pro on a Mac Pro computer rental, working in a volatile industry is old hat. Hollywood is notoriously cyclical, although the trends have always been generally “up.” Office managers at all kinds of firms have relied on CRE for everything from that extra desktop PC to multifunction office wizardry like the Panasonic 595 Fax/Laser printer. They have done so in good times and bad.

The “in-between” times

There are also times like this, when there are definitely some big national economic issues, but certain industries are still going strong. Technology is running somewhat against the grain right now, but the real super-tech-types, the ones who know they need to get their new project backed up onto a high-capacity XServe RAID rental from CRE, aren’t always the folks watching the financial news. Sometimes it’s someone else in management, who might misinterpret economic signals at times. The techies have to educate others as to the cost-effectiveness of good backups, whatever is going on with the New York Stock Exchange.

You could call what we are going through “in-between times,” for want of a better term. There is great volatility, but this is America, after all, so there is always great hope and a lot of enthusiasm. There are a number of important technology conferences coming up in the last quarter of 2009, and CES actually starts earlier than January 2010. It looks like plenty of folks are still investing in booths to make their presence known. What kind of signal does it send when you don’t go? That may take more explaining than it’s worth. It’s less costly to go ahead and make plans for the convention rentals that CRE offers than to weather the storm of doubt that might follow you in the wake of your decision to stay home.

The right time for new marketing

A exhibit booth with a few high-res monitors or perhaps a high lumen projector rental from CRE, along with some enthusiastic sales reps and a tech guy (or gal) with all the answers—this is not a backbreaking expense. In fact, it’s an investment. Many marketing experts assert that the time to redefine and expand your marketing efforts is when others are not doing so. That time could be now. Don’t just follow the headlines in the business section, but dig down deep. That’s where you will find out what is really going on, like you will when you call up the people you know and ask the right questions.

Get back to the basics of business, doing good work and making good deals for your great clients and customers, and you will not simply survive, but thrive. When you start getting busier, rent the laptops or other equipment you need from CRE until you know whether you should buy any. Often the smart thing to do is stay lean, renting what you need when you need it, and directing the capital that would have gone into equipment into marketing, instead. CRE’s experienced, business-savvy Account Executives are ready to help. All you have to do is fill out a Quick Rental Quote form, give them a call or send an e-mail. We can help you get through the challenges and set yourself up for the future. With the right attitude, the right help and the usual hard work, the future usually turns out to be pretty bright.