CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM Evan Fu and Larry Chun played a Xbox 360 game yesterday during the first-ever Home Entertainment & Technology Expo at the Neal S. Blaisdell Exhibition Hall. The expo will continue through today from 2 to 8 p.m. with tickets at $3.

Home technology event has slow start

The new Home Entertainment & Technology Expo says it expects bigger crowds today at Blaisdell

Lincoln Jacobe has built a cottage industry running business-to-business trade shows focusing on technology. Now Jacobe, who is chief executive of Hawaii Pacific Entertainment, is branching into the realm of consumer electronics.

Jacobe's Home Entertainment & Technology Expo opened yesterday in Honolulu, showcasing a collection of goods and services from both local companies and the local arms of big national firms. The hope is to capitalize on the public's appetite for big-ticket gadgets such as home-theater systems and wireless communication devices.

While attendance yesterday afternoon was sparse enough to have at least one exhibitor expressing doubts about the event, Jacobe noted it was still early and that he expected the crowds to pick up later in the day and gain momentum through today.

"The really busy day is tomorrow, Friday," Jacobe said yesterday, surveying the floor of the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall's Pikake Room, where exhibitors hawked home-theater systems, wireless telephones and Internet service, computer printer cartridges and arts-and-crafts supplies.

The event's title sponsors are CompUSA and Clearwire Wireless Broadband, which used the event to hold a posh catered launch party featuring live music, a Hawaiian blessing and remarks by dignitaries from the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, the state High Tech Development Corp. and the United States Tennis Association.

Jacobe is also the impresario of the 10-year-old E-School Conference and the Road Runner Technology & Internet Expo, which he said draw attendees primarily from businesses, government and the military. But Jacobe said some of the same exhibitors that show their wares at his business-to-business trade shows now see opportunities to sell to consumers.

Buyers of new luxury condos want to be able to wire their homes with sophisticated entertainment and communications systems, he said. Video gaming has brought a new dimension to home entertainment. And the high cost of real estate on Oahu has encouraged employers to let more employees work from home, a trend that has created a market for high-tech home-office systems.

"In this day and age, homes are becoming smart homes," Jacobe said.

Among those showing their wares was the Audio Visual Co., which sells media systems to clients like the University of Hawaii's John A. Burns School of Medicine.

At an exhibit occupying more than 2,000 square feet, Thomas Lee, the company's president, yesterday demonstrated things like picture windows that can be turned opaque via remote control, and systems that consolidate home computers, DVD players, stereos, projectors, televisions, games and other devices and command them with a single remote control.

Lee acknowledged that some of these devices might not be right for the average home -- one projector, for example, cost more than $10,000 -- but he said he was confident that the company would make some sales if given the chance.

"We'll do pretty good as long as they get the customers here," he said. "As long as Lincoln brings the people in, we'll be successful."

But not everyone was optimistic that the show's producers would do that. Joyce Vicente, marketing coordinator for wireless phone company Mobi PCS, said the event's proximity to the Labor Day weekend might have kept people away, including exhibitors as well as attendees.

"There don't seem to be that many exhibitors, but maybe that's because it's a holiday weekend," she said.

For his part, Jacobe expressed confidence that the crowds would materialize and that he would recoup the six-figure investment that went into putting on the show.

"We'll be fine," he said.