Computex Proves Its Allure For World IT Buyers

Once again this year, the Computex computer show proved its charm for information-technology (IT) device buyers, luring 28,254 industry buyers, up 7.75% from last year, and 129,947 visitors.

According to co-organizer Taipei Computer Association, American buyers constituted the largest procurement group this year, followed by Japanese, South Korean, Hong Kong, and Singaporean buyers. The buyer turnout from mainland China increased 30% from last year to nearly 1,000.



The association's statistics show that the most interesting products to buyers at the show this year were thin-client computers, notebook computers, tablet computers, computer peripherals, LCD television sets, palm-sized devices, handheld gadgets, motherboards and touch screens. Retailers constituted the majority of buyers this year, followed by manufacturers, importers and exporters, wholesalers and assemblers, the statistics show.

Around 1,270 suppliers demonstrated their latest products at 2,852 booths this year, an increase from last year's 2,828 booths. Digital applications, broadband, wireless and high display resolution remained their major themes at the world's second-largest IT show this year.

Since its launch in 1981, Computex has proven to have an enduring appeal to world buyers as the place to go for innovative and high quality IT products.

Dual-Core Processing

At Hall 4, Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) vied for visitor attention with their dual-core microprocessors. The two companies, which currently command over 90% of world PC microprocessor market, stress the technology enables a PC to process more commands at a time than do single-core processors, allowing the computer to run data-intensive multimedia contents on household appliances as a home server. Both companies expect dual-core processors to become the industry mainstay next year.



Intel rolled out its dual-core processor Pentium D for PCs on May 26 this year. According to a senior Intel Taiwan engineer, the Pentium D is composed of two central processing units (CPUs) on a chip die, meaning the total number of the two CPU transistors are bundled together on the die with the company's patented "Hyperthreading" technology. Each Pentium D has four logic CPUs, each running an application, he said.

The Pentium D is paired with the Intel 945G Express chipset. The platform, the Intel specialist noted, empowers consumers to create, access and enjoy digital content in new and compelling ways at homes. "For example," he said, "a child could play a game on a Pentium D processor-based PC in bedroom while a parent in the living room uses a remote control and a digital media adapter connected to the TV to access videos stored on the same PC."

AMD unveiled its x86 dual-core 64-bit processor for desktop computer on May 31 after debuting a similar processor for servers in April this year. The company's patented HyperTransport technology allows two CPUs to be put on same die and connected with only a crossbar circuit, instead of a north-bridge chip. "This technology enables our dual-core processors to process data much faster than any other of our rival's products," said Allen Liu, a technical account manager of AMD Far East's Taiwan branch.

Liu pointed out that AMD's dual-core processor is an ideal device for computer DIY fans, who can place the chip on their single-core platform to boost efficiency. "The only changes they need to make are in the BIOS," he noted. He added that the latest chip is more efficient and power saving than rival chips.

AMD's Athlon 64 x 2 dual-core processor comes in four models--the 4800+, 4600+, 4400+ and 4200+. According to Liu, the "plus" indicates that the chips run at a premium speed. "For instance, a 4800+ chip processes data at speed faster than 4.8GHz," Liu explained.

AMD released the world's first 64-bit single-core processor two years ago, underscoring its strategic shift of emphasis from to processing power per-clock cycle from processing speed per clock cycle, according to Liu. "The efficiency of the CPU is best represented in the amount of data that can be processed at a clock cycle, not the clock speed itself," he stressed. For a long time, 32-bit technology has dominated the market.

According to Liu, all brand-name PC suppliers except Dell have built systems with AMD's 64-bit single-core processors. "Our 64-bit processors have even gone into inspection instruments for checking Ferrari Formula 1 racing cars," he says.

VoIP on the Go

In the networking arena, Senao International Co., Ltd. Made a high-profile debut of its Wi-Fi voice over the Internet Protocol (VoIP) solutions including color screen and monochrome screen handsets, and access points (Aps), products it hopes will win orders from telecom carriers over the next few years.



Senao's SI-682H VoIP phone is equipped with Amtel's next-generation SoC chipset, which supports the IEEE 802.11 a/b/g band and works under any Wi-Fi network. In addition to point-to-point connection and instant messaging functionality, the phone can support conference calls of up to five users a time. The phone can make and receive calls on public switch telephone network (PSTN) as long as their IP telephony service providers support such service.

The phone comes with a 1.8-inch 260,000-pixel color LCD screen. It also features advanced voice compression technology that improves sound quality and allows signals to penetrate most firewall and gateway environments. The phone does not need to be connected to a personal computer.

Senao's director of VoIP business unit, Johnson Hsu, says that VoIP telephony is gaining popularity due to its price advantage over regular telephone communication. AP systems are also less expensive than cellular base stations, and VoIP phones are now priced at the level of GSM phones, he notes. One drawback to VoIP technology, he says, is that remote area access and mobile service are hampered by the smaller coverage area of access points compared with the reach of a cellular base station.

The coverage problem, Hsu added, will be settled once WIMAX tools replace access point as standard VoIP base stations. "Many countries will begin laying WIMAX systems in 2008 and voice traffic on VoIP systems will represent 30% of all on various communications systems, a huge jump from the current 2% share," Hsu says He attributes the rapid growth mostly to growing maturity of broadband technologies and AP environments. "The market has grown at a double-digital pace in each of the past few years," he says.

Senao plans to ship 100,000 VoIP phones this year to telecom carriers mostly in the United States, North Europe and Japan. "We are in talks with several carriers and close to striking deals, "Hsu says. He adds that his company's first prototype phone was verified by several carriers in 2003.

According to Hsu, the company's advantages in developing VoIP equipment include its long involvement in long-distance wireless telephone manufacturing and established capability in designs of digital signal processors (DSPs), the brains of wireless equipment, and voice/data traffic systems. "Now, we're developing camera-type VoIP phones," he said.


Wistron NeWeb Corp., a subsidiary of the Wistron Group, was also highlighting Wi-Fi VoIP phones at the show this year. Its phones, mostly in clamshell style, are installed with processors from Broadcom Corp. to support IEEE 802.11 b standard.

According to sales manager of the company's datacom business unit's sales department, Philip Wu, Wistron NeWeb is targeting brand-name equipment suppliers as its major customers. "The suppliers have mostly catered to enterprise users, who tend to embrace efficient business machines that can keep their operation costs down," he said.

Wu's company also plans to deliver 100,000 IP phones this year. He stressed his company's advantage is its long dedication to cell-phone manufacturing.

OMAP-ping the Future of Handsets

Wireless-technology giant Texas Instruments (TI) underscored its OMAP2 wireless multimedia platform at the computer trade show this year. The solution is mostly composed of four microprocessors—a TMS320C55X digital signal processor (DSP), an ARM1136 central processing unit (CPU) for running operation system, a 2D/3D graphics accelerator and an imaging video accelerator. Each chip can run at up to 300MHz per second to handle smooth multimedia playback.



The platform is mostly developed for next-generation handheld devices, including 3G mobile phones that can triple as a PS2-quality game console, an MP3 player and a videoconference tool in addition to its main Internet phone functionality.

Terry Cheng, president of TI Asia operations, stressed that wireless communications and digital entertainment were the new driving forces in consumer electronics. He noted that music, video, and images are moving to digital platforms, providing consumers with enhanced quality and unprecedented degree of flexibility and control required to embrace these innovations. "This," he said, "will create new end-user experiences, such as playing your favorite online video game via your Internet Protocol TV set top box or watching live digital TV on a 3G handset while waiting to catch a flight."

Cheng said the growth and advancement of 3G technology was fueling a number of feature-rich applications such as digital TV, video, custom ring tones, 3D games and multi-megapixel imaging. "By combining these multimedia capabilities and increased wireless connectivity options into mobile phones, consumers will have mobile entertainment at their fingertips," he stressed.

TI introduced the OMAP2 platform a year ago as an advanced version of its OMAP platform, according to Ian Chen, a field application engineer of TI Taiwan's semiconductor sales and marketing unit. He said Nokia and FOMA had built OMAP2 functionality into their phones. "OMAP2's major advantage is that TI has teamed up with over 250 application developers to develop applications around the new platform," he said.

Reallusion Inc. was among the developers and demonstrated embedded multimedia software developed around OMAP2 for 3G phones. The software, an upgraded copy of its CrazyTalk predecessor, allows consumers to tailor the looks of wallpaper figures on their phones, enables the wallpaper figures to speak naturally with pre-recorded voices and word messaging. "The most prominent feature of the software is its intelligent analysis of facial expressions of wallpaper figures. Based on analyzed data, it seamlessly changes the appearance of the figures," says Bobby Huang, manager of sales and marketing department at Reallusion. The software has been installed in Panasonic mobile phones.

Doubling DRAM

At the 2005 show, memory chipmaker Nanya Technology Corp. demonstrated 256Mb and 512Mb double data rate (DDR) 2 dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips.



The company's latest products boast transmission speed up to 667MHz per second, making it the first Taiwanese supplier to roll out this class of DDR2 memory module. With the speedy transmission, the memory modules are well suited for high-performance computers, like those equipped with dual-core microprocessors. They hit the market with brand name Elixir and Super Elixir, posing them serious threats to world's No. 1 memory-module brand supplier Kingston Technology Far East Co., Ltd. Kingston has long contracted Nanya and its strategic partner Infineon Technologies AG of Germany for memory chip supplies.

Nanya began promoting Elixir brand in 2001, but Computex 2005 was the company's first high-profile promotion of the new memory chip.

Elixir is aimed at do-it-yourself (DIY) retail distributors in Taiwan and mainland China, whereas Super Elixir is targeted for use in branded computers, including Apple's Mac Mini. Nevertheless, no-brand products still account for 70% of the company's revenue, according to Sandra Liu, an administrator of Nanya's Elixir marketing department.

"DDR2 will definitely become mainstream memory specification this year, and we will begin to deliver the modules in large volume in the third quarter this year in step with Intel's promotions of its latest platforms, including the dual-core and 945 chipset platforms," Liu said.

Nanya makes its DDR2 chips with 0.11-micron process, and its Super Elixir chips are manufactured with a lead-free process. The company now operates two 200mm silicon-wafer fabs, which put out a combined 73,000 wafers a month. It formed a 300mm wafer fab venture, called Inotera Memories Inc., with Infineon in 2002.

Joy to the World

This year, BenQ underscored the theme, "Enjoyment in a Connected World," which highlights the idea of allowing consumers to enjoy seamless networking connectivity and mobility.



"BenQ is committed to the idea that work and fun can be mixed, that form and function can coexist, that wired and wireless networking can complement each other and that experience and creativity can inspire the best," said K.Y. Lee, chairman and chief executive officer of BenQ, explaining his company's philosophy.

The company demonstrated a variety of smart products at Computex this year. Its palm-sized PW200 optical-disc burner is the world's smallest device of its kind, the company claims. The burners can copy video, photo, music, voice and data content onto a 120-megabyte CD-R and 1.4-gigabyte DVD-R discs at 8X speed. And no computer is required.

BenQ also touted its S80 family of handsets, which are 89.9mm x 45mm x 24mm and purportedly the lightest 3G phone in the world. The handset is also first Taiwanese developed WCDMA 3G mobile phone.

The S80 offers speedy transmission rates up to 384 kilobits per second, enough for instant and interactive communications with two embedded cameras and video telephony function. The phone has unlimited video-recording capability and supports video editing streaming, MP3 playback, and MPEG4/3GP content.

"The S80 allows consumers to record and share every moment of their lives everywhere, anytime," said Scarlett Fang, a marketing specialist of marketing department under BenQ's BG Network Display business unit.

BenQ also unveiled its Advanced Motion Accelerator at the show. According to Fang, the technology enables electrons on LCD panels to turn on and off quickly, accelerating gray-to-gray response time to increase depth of pictures and the brightness of colors on the displays. "The technology now shortens the response time to only four milliseconds, compared with average six to 20 milliseconds in products offered by other suppliers," Fang notes.

Picture Perfect

Premier Image Technology Corp., currently the world's No. 1 contract supplier of digital cameras, demonstrated compact digicams with big LCD screens and higher resolution capability, indicating an industry trend.

The company's DS-8330 model is only 91mm wide, 57mm high and 27mm deep. "This is the first 8.1-megapixel digicam made in Taiwan," says Joseph Li, assistant vice president of sales at Premier's camera business unit. The camera is equipped with a 2.5-inch thin-film transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT-LCD) monitor screen, a 3X optical zoom and a 1GB memory card. He said his company would soon commercialize a camera equipped with three-inch screen sometime this year.

Li's company is optimistic about business, recently hiking shipment target to eight million cameras from an originally projected six million units. His company attributes the boost to increased orders from brand-name suppliers in Japan, including Pentax and Olympus. The company expects five-megapixel models to be its main revenue earners in the second half of the year.

LCD TVs as Art

TECO Group put an artistic spin on its LCD TV display at Computex this year, underscoring the function of such devices beyond just TV viewing.

The company showed off a variety of LCD TV styles, including those with tree, animal and cartoon figure motifs to match various types of home décor.

The company displayed 20-inch, 26-inch, 30-inch, 32-inch, 37-inch and 40-inch models. The company has built digital modules into its 20-inch TVs; others can receive digital signals by connecting to set-top boxes. The company plans to export 300,000 LCD TVs of various sizes, with 25,000 units going to Japan alone, a fivefold increase from the year before. The company's 32-inch models will be the main seller this year, the company says.

TECO recently secured an NT$6 billion (US$193 million at US$1:NT$31) order from display supplier ViewSonic for 32-inch, 37-inch and 40-inch LCD TVs.

Embedded Software

At the computer-trade show, software giant Microsoft highlighting operating systems for embedded applications, such as home security systems and mobile devices, two fast-growth areas for the company, according to a Microsoft Taiwan engineer.

The engineer estimated that his company's embedded business has posted double-digit growth in each of the past few years, much higher than its PC OS business. Currently, Microsoft's major rival in the embedded OS business is Linux and its major rival in the mobile OS market is Sony. Microsoft has edged Palm out of the Pocket PC OS market.

Microsoft's mobile OS, notably its Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition, has gone into applications developed by a number of hardware suppliers including PC motherboard maker Asustek Computer.

Doubling Up

Acer Inc. demonstrated a desktop computer powered by Intel and AMD dual-core microprocessors and installed with DDRII 667MHz memory modules and Intel 945G chipsets.



The company admits that such machines will be expensive at first, due to the high cost of dual-core processors. Ted Chiou, director of brand management of Acer's desktop product line unit, says that a dual-core 2.8GHz-class costs about US$230 apiece, compared an average of US$160 for a comparable single-core processor.

Chiou estimates that dual-core PCs will become the mainstream only when the price of the main components drop to NT$20,000 (US$650), from NT$25,000 (US$800) at present. He pointed out that Intel would ship only 500,000 sets of dual-core microprocessor by the end of this year. Intel's dual-core processors could boost computing speed by around 30% over single-core processors.

Acer also highlighted LCD TVs at Computex this year, with 32-inch models as its mainstream product in the segment. Chiou notes that his company's advantage in this field is its sizable notebook PC and LCD monitor business. "We are already the world's No. 3 notebook supplier and one of the world's top five suppliers of LCD monitors. Panel suppliers are consequently very supportive of us in the new segment," he says. Many computer distributors have also begun selling LCD TVs, he adds, playing to the company's retail strength.

Since notebook computers constitute 60% of Acer's revenue, computers remained Acer's primary products at the show this year. The company demonstrated the TravelMate 3000 aimed at household users, and the Ferrari 4000 targeted at business users.

The TravelMate 3000 weighs 1.8 kilograms, shaving a tenth of a pound from its predecessor's weight. It also improves on the screen clarity of the older version. The new model is powered by an Intel Centrino mobile platform, which joins a Pentium M processor, 915GM Express chipset and PRO/Wireless 2200BG network solution. It comes with a 12.01-inch wide LCD screen, increasing the viewing area by 20% over the model it replaces.

The Ferrari 4000, priced at NT$64,999 (US$2,100), is powered by AMD's Turion 64-bit Mobile microprocessor. Its 15.4-inch TFT LCD screen is supported by ATI's Mobility Radeon X700 graphics chipset with 128MB DDR memory on PCI Express architecture, 1GB DDR memory and 100GB hard drive as well as a DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive unit and a 5-in-1 card reader. All of these powerful devices are housed by under a carbon-fiber case.

Notebook computers and LCD TVs, Chiou said, would account for increasing portions of Acer's total revenue. "In 1999, one out of five PC consumers was notebook-computer user. The proportion has developed to one out of three today," Chiou estimates.

Chiou pointed out that his company had become more nimble in introducing new products since spinning off its manufacturing lines to focus on product design and brand name promotion. "Having no manufacturing capability, we can work with any manufacturer on any product. That's why Acer has seen its revenue grow sharply in recent years," he says.

Testing All Systems

Another exhibitor at Computex this year was German publisher PC Professionell, which featured a live test laboratory at its booth. "We opened the lab at this show because Taiwanese business has grown stronger and stronger in Europe. For example, Taiwan has is the world's second-biggest exhibition nation at CeBIT, which is now the world's biggest IT show. This proves Taiwanese IT suppliers are interested in the European market. Our live lab shows how we test IT products in Germany and helps people here understand German standards," says Jorg Muhle, publisher of PC Professonell.

PC Professionell is a leading IT magazine in Germany and has clear focus on tests of IT products and delivers test results and stories to readers. The publication is a part of the German publication group VNU, whose revenue is about US$4 billion worldwide, according to Muhle. PC Professonell's revenue is about 25 million euros per year in Germany.

Muhle said exhibitors at this show were responding positively to the lab. "Sure, you can tell them by e-mail or phone how we test products in Germany. But, here exhibitors can bring in their products to us for test and we can tell them if they are qualified or not for the European market or German market. Many exhibitors really love the idea," he says.

By the second day of the show, the laboratory had tested about 50 to 60 products, according to the publisher. Back in Munich, his company tests 3,000 products a year, on average. The products include mainboards, PC, laser printers, graphics cards, network solutions, and security solutions. At the Taipei show, the live-test laboratory had three testing specialists, compared with the seven specialists at the company's Munich-headquartered lab.