Purchasing a bigger in-booth video screen can chomp a big chunk out of your trade show budget. But the 15-Series from NEC Display Solutions offers big screens with not-so-big price tags. The commercial-grade 32- and 42-inch Multisync LCD models offer a cost-conscious solution with protective glass and touch-panel capability. Featuring both landscape and portrait orientation, the heavy-duty Multisync screens offer the quality and dependability of NEC’s higher-end products, but don’t include a number of unnecessary high-tech options used in non-trade show applications. Thus, they sell for hundreds of dollars less than similarly sized NEC screens with the extra options.
Contact: NEC Display Solutions, Itasca, IL, 630-467-3000, www.necdisplay.com

Want an unusual Green giveaway for your next trade show booth? Rebags from Half the Sky Designs LLC are bright, hip, and eco-friendly. Made of recycled juice packs that are cut into strips and woven together to create colorful bags, they can be customized using options such as a branded zipper pull or key fob, or a special label sewn onto the bags.
Contact: Half the Sky Designs LLC, Van Nuys, CA, 818-376-0125, www.rebagz.com

Give your booth visitors a charge they can really use with Hercules Networks Inc.’s Automated Charging Machine. The 6-foot-tall ACM power cell phones and PDAs in as little as 10 minutes, while providing booth staffers with a captive audience. The Troy model includes six charging points below a customizable billboard while the Achilles model features 12 charging points below a 32-inch LED screen that plays a looping video presentation. Both models are available for lease.
Contact: Hercules Networks Inc., New York, 800-265-8069, www.herculesnetworks.com

Trade shows are about exchanging information. And with the new MingleStick from Mingle360, you can give booth visitors a nifty giveaway that will help increase their interactions with your staff, and help them remember your company when they get home. The MingleStick is an electronic business card the size of a USB drive that can be customized with your company name and logo. Once attendees have the stick in hand, a push of a button allows them to exchange contact information with your stick-wielding staffers and other MingleStick-equipped attendees. After the show, attendees plug the USB-end of the device into their computers, and it automatically takes them to the MingleStick Web page to upload and organize the collected information free of charge. An ad featuring your company can be placed on the MingleStick Web site, reminding attendees who hooked them up.
Contact: Mingle360, Fairfax, VA, 703-425-0402, www.mingle360.com