Gadget seekers should bypass silicon roundabout this weekend and head further east to Spitalfields Market, for a pop-up tech fair. From 12-14 July, the market will show off the latest technology from various companies, as well as the usual supporting mix of "acrobatics, scavenger hunts, on-the-spot prizes, free refreshments, face painting and more".
Hosted and heavily branded by a well-known chip manufacturer (and we're not talking Poppies across the road), the event will include the latest tablets, netbooks, phones and other gizmos for you to try out. There will also be displays of xPogo (a pimped up pogo stick), tech-powered yoga (the mind boggles), and Terra software that lets you build your own virtual planet.
It's another experiment in what was recently dubbed brandtertainment, where manufacturers set up an attraction to advertise their products. Tech demos and fairs take place all the time, but usually in ticketed exhibition halls. It'll be interesting to see how the format translates into the freely open, pseudo-public space of Spitalfields Market.
Free at Spitalfields Market, 12-14 July, 12-8pm (Fri,Sat), 11am-5pm (Sun).
