Taiwan Spotlight
You could say that COMPUTEX is starting to come full circle. The trade show started out with a focus on small and medium-sized businesses based of Taiwan, but it has since expanded to welcome many of the major players from all four corners of the globe. As the show continues to expand, however, TAITRA and the rest of the people behind COMPUTEX still want to emphasize their Taiwanese roots and the strength of its high-tech industry.
More than ever, Taiwan is becoming one of the hottest technology hubs on the planet. Many people may assume that countries like Korea and Japan are leading the charge in innovation, but they may fail to realize just how involved Taiwan can be in both the design and manufacturing of some of today’s hottest technology. In fact, many of the Futurelooks staff are starting to believe that all the best stuff is made in Taiwan.
One Taiwanese company that has been making waves lately is ASUS. After announcing plans to spin off their OEM/ODM laptop division, ASUS Notebooks have been hitting North American shores hard. In fact, our Editor in Chief has had a strong affinity for ASUS Notebooks even before they came to North America. Sure, Dell and HP might be a little better known in the laptop market overall, but ASUS is really starting to make a name for themselves as a brand with products like the Asus Eee PC.
The seven-inch Linux model made its debut last year and this year, we expect to see 8.9-inch and 10-inch models as well, possibly powered by the new Intel Atom processor. As on OEM/ODM manufacturer, many of their designs have been in the market for years branded under names that you might recognize. The rest of the ASUS product line is equally impressive and includes some of the best motherboards and video cards on the market.
HTC is another Taiwan-based company. It has been producing world class Windows Mobile smartphones for a number of years and these handsets have been re-branded by countless companies, including Cingular/AT&T, T-Mobile, i-mate, Dopod, and Qtek. It is only recently that they have begun to sell some of their fantastic handsets under their own banner. You may have seen devices like the HTC TyTN II and the HTC Touch. More recently, the cellular phone enthusiast world has begun to drool over the HTC Touch Diamond, a phone that is said to be even more advanced than the Apple iPhone.
Hottest Tech Hub on the Planet
HTC and Asus represent just the tip of the iceberg. Several other notable hardware manufacturers are actually Taiwanese, even if the computer components are found under the guise of better-known names like Apple and Toshiba. From motherboards to graphics cards, PDAs to LCDs, Taiwan has a lot to offer. As these firms work hard to make a bigger name for themselves, more of the mainstream will start to pay attention to the little Asian island that could. Thanks to the continued efforts of organizations like TAITRA, the title of “Largest Computer Show in the World” may not be far behind.
It also helps that COMPUTEX has some of the most talented booth babes of any trade show that I’ve experienced. They aren’t only there to look cute and take pictures with you, but they’ll fight with eachother for your attention, demonstrate the products, and even pitch you on choosing their product over the skanks at the other booth. My friends, this is COMPUTEX and we at Futurelooks are looking forward to checking out this show for you next week. Look for daily coverage of all the stuff you care about right here from June 3 – 7, 2008 straight from COMPUTEX and Taipei!
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