The IFA technology fair in Berlin has come and gong again… and again I wasn’t quite able to con my boss to send me to what is reputedly the hottest technology ticket on the planet.

I did manage to commission a very able TONE contributor, however, to write a piece for our forthcoming issue, so that’s something to look forward to. It just happened she (yes, she) was going anyway, so I was able to ask her for a handy “best of IFA” spread.

IFA doesn’t have the profile or reputation of CES in Las Vegas, but there are those who consider it more worthy. It’s certainly huge, by all accounts, and isn’t just a parade of consumer electronic products, but also has new scientific innovations and exhibits that are right out of the square.

But of course it’s the consumer electronics gadgets that TONE readers are primarily interested in, and there were certainly some hot items at this year’s show.

We’ve all been waiting for the next advances in flat (TV) panel technology, because it’s a dirty secret that the old CRTs still have certain advantages over the popular LCDs that everyone wants these days, and of course there is a push towards a greener alternative to those current models. Two very different TVs were shown at IFA: LG had its 15-inch OLED screen, which I’m told has a screen that is even clearer than anything we’ve seen on high definition to date (I find this hard to believe, but there you go…) Meanwhile, Sony was trumpeting its forthcoming 3D set. While the OLED LG is due to hit the stores late this year or early next, the Sony is still a prototype.

Full report and photos in Tone 79, due out on October 12!