Weird and wonderful tech of Computex 2017: The best and crazy products and mods

The Computex trade show in Taiwan usually has a few wonderful and downright weird tech tricks up its sleeve and 2017 was no exception.

Computex 2017 also hosted a live PC case modding challenge so, as well as some truly innovative designs sponsored by the likes of InWin and displayed on their dedicated stands, there were plenty of additional wacky mods floating around.

There were some rather unusual sleep aids on offer too, some bonkers smart, connected devices and we got a sneak peek at Intel’s as yet unreleased Skylake X.

• Best of Computex 2017: The top 5 tech products on show
• Computex 2017: All the announcements that matter

Computex Modding Challenge

PC case modders from around the world had just 24 hours to complete their builds. Here are some of the best we found:

Mod Case Alien

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Team China’s entry into the World Modding Comp was particularly impressive. It feature a moving, expanding chest and more neon piping than you can shake a stick at.

Team Aus

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We kind of liked the dystopian feel of Team Australia’s entry in the World Modding Comp.

ASRock

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We spotted this rather special boat-shaped case on the ASRock stand.

Donkey Kong Cabinet

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ThermalMike for Team USA made this retro gaming case, which was thoroughly admired by the crowds at the ThermalTake stand.

Cooler Master Wheel

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The Wheel of Star is a mod by Modder Crow from Thailand and was on the Cooler Master stand.

AeroCool gaming beanbags

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AeroCool reckons it has created the world’s first gaming beanbags. We tried them all out and we think the one on the left is the best.

Sadly, they’re still just concept pieces but hopefully AeroCool will decide to bring them to market because they are pretty damn comfy.

Livewire WBPA shaking bed

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Ever wished you could burn calories while lounging in bed? The Liveware WBPA adjustable bed has you covered, from a gentle rocking motion right up to the tumultuous seventh speed which could help you slim while simply lying down. Bonkers.

Smart Temphawk wine cooler

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There’s nothing like using a super sophisticated temperature control system for a menial task. This smart, connected Temphawk device will keep your wine right at the correct temperature, but is generally used to monitor food temps during deliveries.

The customer can check that, for example, their sashimi has been kept cool for the whole journey during delivery by simply checking on their phone for details.

Phone-controlled automatic shoe laces

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Because some days lacing up your shoes just seems like too much of a faff.

By controlling them through your phone, it goes one step further even than Back to the Future II.

Gigabyte PC case mods

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As always, Gigabyte had some cool mods in its private showroom. This one by Maciel Baretto (Brazil), based on an Auorus Gaming 9 system, was particularly eye catching.

Asus ROG Macial

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Another classic PC mod from Brazil’s Maciel Barretto was based on an Asus ROG. We particularly liked the Van de Graaf machine.

InWin Spherical case mod

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This is the only spherical case we saw at this year’s event and we have to say we were quite taken with Wei Zheng (Ai Mask)’s creation.

WeeView 3D video livestreaming

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Last year, WeeView brought us a 3D camera attachment for mobile phones. This year the company unveiled devices to livestream your 3D videos.

Jumpy kids phone watch

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The Jumpy is a mini mobile phone to strap on your kid’s wrist. It’s designed to take some knocks, can send and receive voice and messages and can even control this little toy car made out of Lego-style bricks.

Next Drive Spectra DAC headphones amplifier

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DAC headphone amplifiers are nothing new but we particularly liked the discrete slimline design of the Spectra from Next Drive. The company claims it is the world’s smallest in fact.

We had a listen to the output with and without the Spectra from a standard laptop on the stand and the version without sounded so dull that we had to switch it off. It retails for around £115 plus VAT from the company’s website: http://www.nextdrive-spectra.io.

PhotoFast Flash Drive

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PhotoFast generally specialises in iPhone solutions and it was showing off this multipurpose flash drive at the show. We thought the way the Micro USB was embedded into the USB connection was pretty nifty.

PhotoFast in-call recorder

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PhotoFast was also showing off this in-call recorder that is attached through the Lightning connection on the iPhone. The company suggested it was useful for scenarios such as complex technical calls on the go so that notes or reference could be made at a later date.

Smart “caught-cheating” undies

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We were incredibly confused by the “Men’s Sexual Data” feature on this smart underwear. The sales reps sombrely informed us that it allows a partner to track how long their husband’s underpants have been removed for, using a sensor on their phone.

The male rep chipped-in with a rather outrageous (and wholly untrue) comment: “Because only men cheat!”. Don’t worry, there’s also a sedentary measurement too – presumably so the wearer can also be caught out slumming around and doing nothing all day too.

Smart sheet

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If the smart undies are to designed to catch cheating spouses, God only knows what this smart sheet from the same company is supposed to achieve.

Makeblock robot building kits

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If you think that Lego kits have taken all the skill and creativity out of building things for kids you’ll probably love these Meccano-reminiscent robot building kits from Makeblock. There is a full-on 17 parts box kit designed for schools too.

It’s not cheap though. The mini kits start at $100 and the full range is a cool $7,000: www.makeblock.com.

Makeblock modular drone

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This foam modular drone is also from Makeblock and we reckon it would make any kid’s Christmas to wake up to one of these in his or her stocking. Santa could use one to deliver it too.

It will set you back $180 mind you: www.makeblock.com.

Intel Skylake X chip

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We were lucky enough to get a sneak peak at Intel’s as yet unreleased Skylake X processing chip.

Overclocking meister HWbot ran the sister chip, the Kabylake X, down to -269-dgrees Celsius (just 3-degrees above max zero O-degree Kevalan) at its pre-Computex overclocking event on Monday night in Taipei.

Asus ROG curve

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This massive, 35-inch curved monitor from Asus’ ROG brand has UWQHD resolution. We wondered aloud if it would be possible to set three up together and were assured technically it was, but it would have to be a very serious system indeed.

Corsair Concept Zeus Qi charging mouse pad

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One can always count on Corsair to come up with some nifty peripheral at Computex. This year it was its Concept Zeus Qi-enabled charging mouse pad. Drop your wireless mouse on the spot when you’re done or use it to charge your phone wirelessly.

Corsair K68 water resistant keyboard

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Although it was hard to get a decent photo of this, you’re looking at the spill and dust resistant K68 mechanical keyboard from Cosair being continually drenched with water.

Corsair Concept Curve PC

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Corsair also likes to show off awesome concept PCs. This year it came up with the Concept Curve.

The company removed the side panels/top and replaced them with curved tempered glass and finished the whole thing off with $10,000-worth of hand-laid carbon fibre. Cheapskates.

Corsair Concept Slate PC

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We rather thought that Corsair’s Concept Slate could have used a few more fans. 32 simply isn’t enough you know. There are, after all, two PCs in there.

Full-colour 3D printer

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The 3D printer that made these full-colour figurines won a Best in Show award from the organisers at Computex this year. Unfortunately, we didn’t find out its actual name.

Chess-playing robot

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We would have challenged this robot to a game, but we did pretty badly playing ping pong against a robot at CEATEC Tokyo last September and our egos felt a little too fragile that morning. Plus, we saw it raised its arms in triumph when it beat this lady and we didn’t want to encourage it any further.

PeepHole Camera

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Some marketing taglines can be unfortunate…