Trade shows represent an awesome venue for computer and electronics makers to show off their latest wares, getting all sorts of press attention for their newest innovations. At the same time, these computer expos also provide an excellent opportunity for people interested in the industry to visit with all of the major players in one convenient location. After taking on the largest consumer electronics show in the world known as CES, it’s time for the Futurelooks crew to head overseas to Taipei, Taiwan for the second largest computer show in the world known as COMPUTEX!
Taking place between June 3 and June 7 of this year is COMPUTEX 2008 is a gigantic computer and electronics expo held in Taipei, Taiwan. It is also home to one of the tallest buildings in the world, Taipe 101, which is a technological marvel in its own right. To help prepare for this monumental event, we’re going to take a moment to give you some background on the show, what you should expect from this year’s show and why Taiwan is well deserving of your technologically-inclined attention.
The History of COMPUTEX
An example of a large international technology expo is CES, which you may be very familiar with due to the large amount of coverage that Futurelooks has given this show in the past. At these events, which usually span about a week or so, manufacturers and companies from around the world proudly display the hottest products they have available, possibly giving attendees a brief glimpse into some prototypes and items that aren’t even available for sale yet. That’s not how COMPUTEX started.
The first COMPUTEX EXPO was held way back in 1981, a full 27 years ago. This first COMPUTEX was not home to numerous international vendors and electronics manufacturers. Instead, COMPUTEX was originally conceived as a trade fair where small and medium-sized businesses in Taiwan’s computer industry could display their products. It was a point of national pride and they wanted to have a sharp focus on what Taiwan had to offer.
As the computer industry continued to grow and mature, COMPUTEX also grew and matured. While the trade show may have started as a small exhibition for Taiwan’s local companies, COMPUTEX quickly became an important event on a global scale. It started to attract vendors and manufacturers from all around the world and has since grown to welcome all sorts of international attendion from big names like INTEL, AMD, and NVIDIA. As a result, COMPUTEX has turned into the world’s leading ICT procurement platform. In other words, it’s where companies go shopping for stuff that eventually turns into the things that you drool over and spend your hard earned dollars on.
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Second Largest Computer Expo in the World
COMPUTEX has grown to become one of the largest computer and electronics exhibitions on the planet, being second only in size to CeBIT, which takes place in Hanover, Germany. To give a sense of how large COMPUTEX has become, you have to realize that it is even bigger than the monumental Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that takes place in Las Vegas each year. CES has grown to span the entire length of the Las Vegas Strip, taking over convention centers and hotel rooms from the Las Vegas Hilton all the way down to the MGM Grand. As for COMPUTEX, you’ll have to think bigger!
Even when we go back to COMPUTEX 2004, the trade show was home to over 1,300 exhibitors. There were well over 100,000 visitors that year and both of these figures have continued to grow at an exponential rates to this day. For example, in 2008, COMPUTEX is estimated to be visited by over 35,000 international buyers and there will be approximately 4,500 booths from about 1,600 international exhibitors. This will span a space of nearly 70,000 square meters and it will be visited by over 130,000 people. This is definitely the place to be for anyone interested in computers and electronics.
Expansion to Nangang Exhibition Center
Up until now, COMPUTEX Taipei has been held at the Taipei World Trade Center. Because of the rapidly expanding size of the trade show, TAITRA (which runs the show) needed to find additional space for this year’s exhibition. Because of the nations commitment to this important event, they built a brand new exhibition center. Beginning this year, COMPUTEX will be expanded to the brand new Nangang Exhibition Center, which is located about 15 minutes’ drive away from the main World Trade Center.
Construction on the massive $110 million Nangang Exhiition Center started in March 2005 and only opened its doors in March 2008, just in time for COMPUTEX 2008. The exhibition center is comprised of two floors. The ground floor has nearly 24,000 square meters of exhibition space, whereas the upper floor has about 23,000 square meters of space. It is now Taiwan’s largest exhibition hall with a total floor area of 144,000 m2, with seven floors and two basement floors. Hopefully, this extra space will be able to sustain the growth of COMPUTEX for at least a few more years.
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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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