BERLIN ― This year’s IFA, one of the world’s two largest consumer electronics trade fairs along with the CES in Las Vegas, kicks off on Friday for a six-day run, with buyers, tech enthusiasts and visitors flocking to Berlin to get a glimpse of the latest high-end technology.

More than 1,300 electronics firms from 50 countries including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Sony, Acer, Huawei and HTC will exhibit their flagship products and technology, including ultra-high-definition and smart TVs, tablets, smartphones and smart home systems.

Under the theme of “energy efficiency and interconnection,” the trade fair aspires to show what “smart life” would look like in the near future, according to the fair’s organizers.

Philips executive vice president Pieter Nota, Ford Motor Company president and CEO Alan Mulally and other global firm executives are to deliver keynote speeches at the opening ceremony.

Architect and scientist Carlo Ratti, author Marc Elsberg and design philosopher Jens Martin Skibsted will also share their ideas and visions for the future at a TEDx Conference during the fair.

For discussions on the newest trends in the TV market, the TecWatch Forum will bring together experts and analysts for presentations and panel discussions on UHD TV, while the DisplaySearch Business Conference is to introduce hot issues in the display industry.

Before the official opening, Samsung Electronics unveiled the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear. Later, LG Electronics is scheduled to display their new slate, the G Pad 8.3, and possibly the G Watch.

The two Korean firms will also demonstrate smart home systems managed by mobile applications installed in the mobile gadgets.

Japan’s Sony unveiled Xperia Z1 and the QX series of “lens-style” cameras for smartphones at a pre-press conference on Wednesday.

The lens-style camera models can be mounted onto the Z1 to operate like a digital DSLR.

Around 50 Korean small and medium-sized firms including Hurom, a blender maker, Bu Sang Precision, a water tank maker, and state-run organizations such as the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute are participating in the trade fair.

By Kim Young-won, Korea Herald correspondent
(wone0102@heraldcorp.com)