Five d&i Gold Award Winners Chosen at Computex Taipei 2014
2014/06/12 | By Ken LiuThis year, the six jurors of the COMPUTEX d&i Awards chose GP Acoustics (UK) Ltd., Royal Philips (Netherlands), HTC Corp. (Taiwan), Taer Innovation Co., Ltd. (Taiwan), and Thermaltake Technology Co., Ltd. (Taiwan) as the Gold Award winners of the information-communication technology (ICT) design competition.
The five winners were announced on June 2 at the pre-show international press conference of ICT trade show Computex Taipei 2014, which began the next day with the official award presentation held at the opening ceremony.
The five were selected out of the 74 shortlisted from the 288 entries from nine nations. Co-hosted by Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and iF International Forum Design GmbH, the design competition is in its seventh year.
The entries were in eight categories: Network Communication Products, Components + Parts, Computers + Systems, Data Storage Products, Displays + Digital Audio / Video Products, Peripherals + Accessories, Gaming + Entertaining Products, and Applications for hand-held electronic devices
The jury was made up of design specialists Sylvia Feichtinger from Nokia US of the USA, Jan Fellstrom from Dayeh University of Taiwan, Terry Ko from Yahoo! Taiwan of Taiwan, Simon Loasby from Volkswagen Group China of mainland China, Olivier Molody from Great Wall Motors of mainland China and Manfred Wang from National Taiwan Normal University of Taiwan.
The entries were evaluated on innovation, design quality, craftsmanship, choice of materials, environmental friendliness, functionality, utility value, safety, ergonomics, universal design, and product identity/branding for hardware pieces, and usability, look and feel, and uniqueness for software pieces.
Five Gold Award Winners
Product: X300A Wireless | Digital Hi-Fi Speaker System
Category: Displays + Digital Audio / Video Products
Company: GP Acoustics Ltd., UK
Design: GP Acoustics Ltd., UK
X300A Wireless is a compact, premium quality sound system that allows consumers to enjoy true high fidelity sound when they are streaming music via Airplay® or DLNA from PC, smartphone, or mobile device. Featuring KEF's unique Uni-Q drivers, four dedicated amplifiers (two per speaker), two discrete high-quality DACs and a high resolution 96kHz/24-bit distortion-free digital USB connection in wired mode, X300A Wireless has everything consumers need to turn an uncompromising digital desktop into a true audiophile environment, available in gunmetal and linear white finishes.
Jury's opinion: “The X300A Wireless HiFi Speakers were impressive with their outstanding design, which can be seamlessly integrated into any home environment – due to the product's clean, beautifully executed details and the choice of high-quality materials.”
Product: HTC Dot View | Accessory for HTC Smartphone
Category: Peripherals + Accessories
Company: HTC, Taiwan
Design: HTC, Taiwan
The HTC Dot View case is designed to ease the operation of encased HTC One smartphones not to mention protecting the phones. The phones wake up from hibernation when the magnet-integrated silicon front cover is opened. Tiny holes in neat matrix arrays on the front cover reveal digital time digits, e-mail notification, incoming-call symbols and weather symbols. Users can answer or decline incoming call by sliding on the up arrow or down arrow displayed through the holes. The case features a curved back that ergonomically meshes with the smartphones' curved back. While enhancing protection, the case's polycarbonate material keeps the case thin and lightweight.
Jury's opinion: “When a group works together to create a feature that makes as much sense as the HTC Dot View cover, the result is sensational. A perfect alliance of software intelligence and hardware mixed together in one accessory that brings real added value to the user. More than the product itself, it's the way of thinking and the innovation that we all agreed to reward.”
Product: Philips Two-in-One Design | Monitor
Category: Displays + Digital Audio / Video Products
Company: Royal Philips, Netherlands
Design: Philips Design, Netherlands
The Philips monitor is the world's first two-in-one monitor, whose setup combines two 19-inch screens mounted on a single base to create an almost seamless 38-inch panoramic display. Both screens have a 3.5mm narrow border and can tilt forward and backward up to 22.5 degrees. The monitor's light, open footprint provides a clutter-free design that clears up space on desktop versus a traditional two stand setup.
Jury's opinion: “The Philips Two-in-One Design Monitor has a fresh, innovative design that makes working on two monitors more fun and efficient. And it looks great from the back, too!”
Product: Cylinder | Cell phone car holder
Category: 06. Peripherals + Accessories
Company:Taer Innovation Co., Ltd., Taiwan
Design: Taer Innovation Co., Ltd., Taiwan
The Cylinder redefines the way that mobile phone holders fit in cars. It features an omni-directional swivel of reinforced metal that allows the holder to be accessible from any angle, enabling drivers to stay focused on driving. The holder's soft rubber holding pads provide mobile phones with good protection and firm holding, able to hold most 3.5-5.5 inch phones and comes with a suction cup.
Jury's opinion: “For the Cylinder cell phone car holder, carefully calculated geometry cleverly integrates all the mechanical complexity into a simple cylindrical form. The way the object looks with and without smartphone on it also demonstrates its well-thought-out design.”
Product: Level 10 M Hybrid Mouse | Level 10 M wireless Mouse
Category: Gaming + Entertaining Products
Company: Thermaltake Technology Co., Ltd., Taiwan
Design: Tt Design, Taiwan
The Level 10 M Hybrid Wired & Wireless Mouse was designed in collaboration with BMW Designworks USA, able to function as a wired mouse via USB cable, and a wireless tool with the included 5.8G USB receiver dongle plugged in PC.
Jury's opinion: ”Design through and through! Extra details are very well integrated and beautifully executed. Certainly, the Level 10 M Hybrid Mouse will be a great hit with consumers.”
Jurors' Impressions
Sylvia Feichtinger: “The entries in the COMPUTEX d&i awards 2014 showed overall a great selection of innovative design solutions within all areas and categories. A lot of product entries could convince with an overall high level of design quality, outstanding features and cutting-edge craftsmanship.”
Jan Fellstrom: “I came away with the feeling that those designs chosen deserved awards. I also felt confident that the chosen jury had a range of expertise that ensured a fair result for all products. As for the entries, there were some very interesting ideas, however I expected more originality and innovation. Many designs were copies of existing products, which I see as lost opportunities as it takes almost as much work to create a copy. My first impression looking over the sea of entries was black/silver electronics, which reminded me of the dull beige computer equipment before the birth of the iMac. Time for a bit more color.”
Terry Ko: “Of all the entries, I once again witnessed many creative minds exploring all possibilities to push innovation and design to the next level; creating differentiation and functional advances to win in the market place.”
Simon Loasby: “A very diverse selection that challenged the judges!”
Olivier Molody: “The number of entries was impressive and there was a lot of good design to judge. While it's difficult to innovate in such a fast-moving and competitive industry, some entries have shown that there is still a place for original designs and technological innovation. Some entries made us smile; some led to lively discussion. We didn't only reward nice styling, we looked for design innovation and added value for the user at a fair price.”
Manfred Wang: “We can see that companies are striving to add a bit of innovativeness and achieve a slight breakthrough through the existing products, to add value to the products and make the products stand out in the market.” (KL)