Intel Duo Zone Photo Report

This weekend Intel sponsored an event for the Global Gaming League, the TransAtlantic Showdown, that pitted some of the best gamers from North America against rivals from across the Atlantic. The TransAltantic Showdown was more than just a gaming tournament though. There were a couple of interesting twists that made the TransAtlantic Showdown unique.  For one, a portion of the games were played on a jet as it flew over the Atlantic ocean. The jet had Internet connectivity via satellite and the gamers did their thing on Centrino Duo based notebooks.  In fact, the entire tournament was played on Centrino Duo notebooks.

We weren't able to participate on the actual flight, but more gaming took place in the Intel "Duo Zone" setup in the Time Warner Center in New York City. As the name implies, the Duo Zone was stocked with a bevy of Centrino Duo based notebooks. Some of the machines were running demos from a multitude of participants from AOL to Adobe, to Skype and Movielink, while the rest were dedicated to the gamers who did battle throughout the multi-day event.

There were also a number of games up-and-running on Centrino Duo powered notebooks, including 'The Movies', 'Rise of Nations', and a sampling of titles from the GameTap service.  Another interesting demo actually involved a 3D monitor from Neurok Optics dubbed the iZ3D. The monitor is actually built using a pair of screens that work in tandem to produce a 3D on-screen images. Users are required to wear polarized glasses to get the 3D effect, but they do not seed the shutter glasses that older solutions require.  Hopefully we'll be able to bring you a full review of the product in the coming months.

As a final bonus, we were treated to an impromptu guitar performance by none other than Intel's own Dan Snyder himself. Once Dan got going and a crowd started to form, Dan put down the axe and broke things up. He didn't want to take the attention away from the hardcore gaming going on with all of those Centrino Duo powered notebooks after all.