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Billed as the largest computer show in Asia, the 14th Computex Taipei ('94) Show opened its doors at the Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall June 2–6, 1994. The 553 exhibitors – 482 of them Taiwanese export-oriented companies – played host to the expected 8500 international visitors and foreign buyers. With the “selling” idea uppermost, the first two-and-a-half exhibition days were for the trade only. Some of the companies, such as Mitac and Tystar, chose to provide comfortable and informal settings by having their presentations in one of the luxury suites on the top two floors of the nearby 25-story Grand Hyatt Hotel. Foreign exhibitor participation at Computex this year consisted of 41 companies from the U.S., 17 from Singapore, three from Hong Kong and Germany (including miro), two from Japan, and one from the U.K. In a concerted effort to make Computex more than just a trade show, the organizers – the China External Trade Development Council (CETRA) and the Taipei Computer Association – had arranged an impressive list of over 30 conferences and seminars, plus a “CEO Round Table Meeting,” where 16 executives from some of the leading computer makers in Taiwan discussed “The Future Direction of Taiwan's IT Companies in Response to CPU Development Trends.” With output growing 15.5% to nearly US$12.5 billion in 1993, Taiwan became the world's fifth largest supplier of information technology (IT) products – behind the U.S., Japan, the U.K., and Singapore. Within the 1993 total, hardware production reached US$9.63 billion, “offshore” production reached nearly US$1.7 billion, and information services exceeded US$1.1 billion. Of the total 1993 IT production, monitors represented 33% (up from 29% in 1992), desktop PCs 12% (down from 15%), portable PCs 17% (up from 11%), and mainboards 9% (down from 12%). Production value is expected to grow a further 14% in 1994! Since 1949, Taiwan has achieved an amazing annual economic growth of 8.7%, and now has a per capita GDP of US$14,200, the third largest in the Far East (after Japan and Hong Kong). The impetus for the development of Taiwan's very successful IT industry is credited to the Government's having banned local manufacturers from making video gaming machines in 1982! Many manufacturers therefore shifted production to PCs – and rode on the back of IBM's entry into the PC market. The period between 1983 and 1987 was a boom time in Taiwan, with annual average growth rates of 60%. Companies such as Acer, Tatung, and Mitac moved into the international market and had difficulty keeping up with demand. But from 1988 onwards, the rising exchange rate of the New Taiwan (NT) dollar, spiraling local labor costs, and depressed international markets resulted in much more modest increases and the growth of “offshore” production. Nevertheless, Taiwan's IT manufacturing status is still most impressive, especially when its export statistics are considered. According to the well-respected Market Intelligence Center (MIC) – part of the Institute of Information Industry (III), a company under the supervision of Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs – exports of PCs, for example, increased from just over 2.5 million units in 1992 to nearly 3.3 million units in 1993. Of the latter, 34% went to Europe (compared to 38% in 1992), 46% to the U.S. (compared to 47% in 1992), and 20% to other areas (up from 15%). Taiwan also claims an amazing 83% of the world's motherboard production, and this output is a first-rate indicator of PC trends. For example, in the first quarter of 1994, 91% of the 2.2 million pieces sold (worth US$200 million) were 486 boards. This represented a 25% growth over the same period in 1993 and clearly indicated the decline in the popularity of the 386 PC. Interestingly, while exports of motherboards to the U.S. dropped from just over 40% of the total in 1992 to less than 28% in 1993, sales to Europe increased by 51% – helped, no doubt, by rising sales to European PC makers, notably Vobis and Escom. But the real success story for Taiwan must be monitor manufacturing. MIC reports that in 1992 Taiwan's monitor manufacturers exported over 12.4 million monitors, of which just over 10.7 million units, worth about US$2.3 billion, were made in Taiwan. (The rest were made in Taiwanese offshore plants.) In 1993 exports were up to 17.1 million units, of which 12.9 million units, worth nearly US$3.2 billion, were made in Taiwan and 4.2 million units were made at offshore locations. This continuing trend to move production offshore applies primarily to 14-in. models. Acer, Jean (Wen), Lite-on, Shamrock, TECO, and Viewsonic are producing monitors in Malaysia. ADI, Arche, CTX/Chuntex, Compal, EMC, and Tatung have plants in Thailand. Bridge, EMC, Regent, and TVM manufacture in Indonesia. CTX is also manufacturing in Hong Kong. AOC is moving production to China, where TW Casper, Tystar, and Vanda are already established. However, domestic production is still predicted to reach approximately 14 million units in 1994. The destination of the exports may have changed a few percentage points from 1992 to 1993 – down from 36.2 to 32.1% to Europe and up from 42.1 to 46% to the U.S., for example. But in unit terms, quantities are always up – from about 4.5 to 5.5 million monitors to Europe, and from 5.2 to 7.9 million to the U.S. MIC suggests that one of the reasons for the market center shifting to the U.S. is that it was easier for Taiwanese companies to enter this market. MIC also noted that with the appreciation of the yen, Taiwanese vendors have been able to penetrate the Japanese market. With such large quantities of monitors being exported, it is not surprising that some individual manufacturers produced significant numbers of units. MIC lists Philips (Taiwan) and Tatung as the leaders, making over 150,000 monitors a month; Acer, ADI, AOC, Capetronic, CTX, KFC, Lite-on, MAG, Sampo, TVM, and Viewsonic are selling between 50,000 and 150,000 a month; and Bridge, Cheer, Fair, Mitac, TECO, and Topfly are making (just) under 50,000 units. Acer, ADI, and AOC are all expected to increase production and begin producing more than 150,000 units a month this year. Not surprisingly, monitor companies were very well represented at Computex Taipei '94. Although virtually all the 55 or so monitor exhibitors I saw had a number of 14-in. monitors to offer, there was a definite and striking orchestration to promote 15-in. models. Making the point even more strongly, some exhibitors talked about 17-in. models and a few even heralded 20/21-in. models. Some of the exhibitors had gone to the trouble of preparing glossy data sheets for monitors that were not intended for production until 1995. Certain suppliers had good selections of models with “other” screen sizes. Action, ETC, and (Jean) Wen included 9/10-in. models in their portfolios. Chun had very-large-screen 29- and 33-in. models on display, with a 37-in. model promised. In tune with the demand of the European and U.S. markets, many Computex exhibitors followed the lead of their colleagues at CeBIT '94 and climbed on the “green” promotional bandwagon. It seemed as though nearly every supplier was offering energy-saving, environmentally friendly, ergonomically acceptable monitors. The suppliers often reported that the monitor was both (1) built from recyclable materials and (2) built using “an environmentally friendly manufacturing process to reduce the amount of harmful pollutants.” And this theme was taken up by the press. In a China Post “Focus on Computers” article, for example, two banner headlines were “High-resolution (Delta) monitors go green” and “Concern for the environment adding to the popularity of (Mitac's) green monitors.” Nevertheless, there did appear to be some confusion about low-radiation recommendations and TCO criteria, especially among smaller suppliers. MPR-II compliance was cited by most of the monitor suppliers, either as a standard feature or as an option. Phrases such as “MPR-II compliant” were often used, apparently without the makers realizing that the full MPR-II recommendations, backed with a certificate from an approved test house such as TÜV Rheinland, imply much more than meeting a few maximum radiation levels. There also appeared to be limited understanding of the fact that TCO ‘92 embraces the stringent TCO ‘91 environmental criteria as well as the (NUTEK) below-8-W power-down level. But then this can be forgiven, as few Europeans can understand the TCO requirements. None of the factors cited detracted from the reality that Computex was a vibrant, colorful, bustling show with a multitude of completely up-to-date monitors being displayed by an almost unbelievably large number of suppliers. (Taipei also provided a wake-up call to all those visitors sleeping late on Sunday morning – a local earthquake.) Computex Taipei '94, arguably the most prestigious IT trade show in the Asia/Pacific Rim countries, provided a fascinating window on the Taiwanese IT industry – which in 1993 produced over half of the world's output of color monitors. This is not surprising because Taiwanese suppliers have an excellent range of modern economically priced monitors and are well aware of both the U.S. and the European market demands, particularly in terms of features such as power-down. Most of the exhibitors included 15-in.-screen models in their line-up, and many either had one or two 17-in. models or planned to have them very soon. The Taiwanese monitor makers have long excelled in supplying basic and mid-range 14-in. models. Despite manufacturing costs in Taiwan giving cause for concern and South Korean makers proving to be formidable rivals, the Taiwanese offshore plants should ensure that even 14-in. monitors made by Taiwanese companies will remain competitive for a number of years to come. Few stand-alone flat-panel monitors were to be seen at the show. Even Sun Up computers, whose FPD “SlimAGE” monitors have been seen at a number of the European exhibitions, promoted CRT monitors on its Computex stand along with the FPD products. But local companies, such as Chunghwa Picture Tube, Nan Ya, PICVUE, and UMC, are in the process of developing LCDs.

The Taipei International Computer Show – Computex Taipei – now ranks as the third-largest information-technology (IT) exhibition in the world. Held this year from June 6–10, 1996, in both the Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC) and across the road in the Taipei International Convention Center (TICC), Computex Taipei serves to show foreign visitors what the Taiwanese IT industry has to offer. The number of exhibitors overall was up 12% from 1995 to 714 (81 from overseas), occupying 35,000 m2 of floor space. The major companies were allocated spacious exhibition areas in the TICC. These included display suppliers such Action, AOC, Compal, CTX (Chuntex), GVC, Leo (FIC), Mitac, and Tatung. Around 15,000 overseas buyers were expected to attend, up from 12,000 in 1995. Overall, approximately 45 monitor producers exhibited at Computex Taipei '96. The exhibition organizers, the China External Trade Development Council (CETRA) and the Taipei Computer Association (TCA), were proud to announce that, following IT sales of US$19.5 billion in 1995, Taiwan moved ahead of Germany to become the world's third-largest IT-product provider – behind the USA and Japan. Taiwanese manufacturers now hold the world's No. 1 position in eight IT-product export categories. Monitors represented 36% of Taiwan's IT-industry output, with aggregate sales of US$7.3 billion in 1995. And large quantities of other PC peripherals, notably motherboards, keyboards, and mice – as well as 2.6 million portable PCs – are also exported. According to figures published by the reputable Market Intelligence Center (MIC), a division of the Institute for Information Industry (III), 31.3 million monitors were made in 1995 by the Taiwanese manufacturers in their Taiwan and offshore plants. Of these, 42.5% (13.3 million units) were exported to North America and nearly 35% (11 million units) were exported to Europe. Of the 31.3 million units produced, 59% were 14-in. models, 29% were 15 in., 10% were 17 in., and 2% were 20 in. All of the top 12 Taiwanese producers have a strong presence in the U.S. and Europe, namely, Philips Taiwan, Acer, Lite-On, ADI, Tatung, CTX (Chuntex), MAG, Jean (Wen), Capetronic (for OEM products), AOC, and KFC/SMILE. Many of the others also export a significant share of their output. Not unexpectedly, there were still numerous 14-in. CRT monitors on display. It seems that horizontal scan frequencies of 48-50 kHz are becoming the standard for 14-in. monitors, allowing SVGA (800 × 600 format) at flicker-free refresh rates of 70 Hz or above. However, a few 31–38-kHz models were still to be seen, some, surprisingly, with 0.39-mm-dot-pitch tubes (Orion). Nearly all 14-in. and low-end 15-in. models are now made in offshore locations in an effort to reduce production costs and increase profitability. Thailand, China, Malaysia, and Indonesia are the favorite plant locations for the Taiwanese monitor producers. Even by manufacturing in these low-labor-rate countries, it is now difficult to make any meaningful profit on 14-in. models. To go where the profit margins are much more rewarding, the Taiwanese monitor makers are moving rapidly into the production of larger screen sizes. Models with 15-, 17-, and even 20- and 21-in. screens are increasingly promoted. Although some 15-in. models made with 48–50- and 60-kHz horizontal scan frequencies are still produced, the majority of the Taiwanese 15-in. monitors now run at 64/65 kHz. To achieve the even higher flicker-free refresh rates now being demanded in some European countries, increasing numbers of 69/70-kHz models are also now offered. Most of the 17-in. models on display still had maximum scanning frequencies of 64–70 kHz, although more monitors capable of operating up to 82–86 kHz were available. It was a 17-in. model that won the “Best Display Device” category of the Byte Magazine “Best Products at Computex Taipei Awards.” The Ability Enterprise AT1730 was chosen: “an absolutely gorgeous 17-in. monitor with an extensive array of on-screen adjustments,” said the Byte awards committee. The other Byte finalists were “The DJ Series from MAG Technology, a family of high-resolution monitors with an intuitive, easy-to-use setting-adjustment dial”; and “The PT Series from ViewSonic, a high-resolution plug-and-play line of large display monitors.” Much more in evidence than at last year's Computex were 20- and 21-in. models, and most of those on display are in actual production! Delta (brand name Vivitek) had a crowd-pulling demonstration of its 20-in. stereoscopic 3-D monitor, which uses a liquid-crystal shutter to give an outstanding 3-D high-resolution display when the viewer wears the special polarizing glasses. The shutter (developed by Tektronix) is mounted in an easily detachable bezel which has automatic electrical contact when attached. A wide viewing angle allows viewing by several people at once. Delta also has a range of 3–10-in. monochrome monitors that employ liquid-crystal color shutters (LCCSs) to give full-color displays. The company's MP-10 (10-in.) moniputer also employs an LCCS. Interestingly, Taiwanese monitor makers also provide the bulk of the world's small-screen (9/10-in.) models, both color and monochrome. Using color tubes from Samsung, the major small-screen monitor manufacturers are Action, Bridge, ETC, Jean (Wen), KFC/SMILE, and TVS. Storage and TVS showed higher-priced models with Sony 10-in. Trinitron® tubes. At the other end of the spectrum, large-screen monitors are also being made in Taiwan. Chun Yun showed monitors with screen sizes of 28, 29 (two models), 33, and 37 in. GVC and ViewSonic each introduced a 29-in. model. Multimedia monitors were shown by at least 15 exhibitors. As at CeBIT, many exhibitors at Computex Taipei considered multimedia to be today's force for monitor-sales success. The multimedia monitor suppliers included API, ADI, CTX, Delta, Forefront, Jean (Wen), KFC/SMILE, Lite-On, MAG, Mitac, Parco, and Royal. Most of the multimedia monitors were fitted with integral speakers, but some of the models from Forefront, Parco, and Royal had (optional) attachable speakers – and every one of Lite-On's range is now offered with a built-in-speakers option. Moniputers were also to be seen on the stands of Compal, Chuntex, Delta, Elite/Vertos, FIC, Forefront, GVC, Lite-On, Proton, and Tatung. To date, moniputer vendors have found limited interest in Europe and the USA. Most of the buying is from Japan. Stand-alone LCD monitors were shown by the established suppliers: Compal, CTX, and SlimAGE (Soaring). New offerings were presented by Tatung and, in their Hyatt Hotel rooms, by AmTRAN and Wyse. According to MIC/III, Taiwanese monitor makers produced 31.3 million monitors in 1995, a claimed 57% of the total worldwide production of 55 million units. Offshore assembly accounted for 48.5% (15.2 million units) of the 1995 total production. These figures naturally include the large orders of monitors placed by international OEMs making PCs, such as Apple, Compaq, Dell, HP, IBM, ICL, Olivetti, Packard Bell, SNI, and Vobis. MIC/III reported that in the first half of 1996 Taiwanese monitor production would be 16.8 million units, a rise of just 8% compared with the same period in 1995. Nevertheless, MIC forecasts that in 1996 the producers will make between 36.6 and 37.7 million monitors, with offshore plants expected to provide nearly 54% of them. Philips made 4.7 million monitors in 1995 at its plants in Chungli (Taiwan), Italy, Hungary, Mexico, Brazil, and mainland China, and expects to make around 6 million units in 1996. Acer Peripherals (API) produced nearly 3.6 million monitors in 1995 despite tube shortages. Acer has invested NT$1 billion (US$40 million) to expand production at its Taoyuan plant, and, with the mainland China plant just coming on-line to assemble 200,000 units in its first year (1 million units in 1997), API should have an output of 4.5 million units in 1996. Lite-On produced nearly 2.9 million monitors in 1995 and, with the US$18.2 million investment in the Mexican plant boosting output, now intends to make 3.6 million units in 1996 and 4.7 million units in 1997. Confirmation was obtained at the show that Lite-On will open a monitor factory in Scotland. Lite-On already produces monitors for some of IBM's Asia-Pacific region's needs, and thus, with tubes from Chunghwa's forthcoming plant in Scotland, it will be ideally placed to service IBM's European monitor requirement. Tatung, with over 2.3 million monitors produced in 1995, is endeavouring to make 4 million units in 1996. It made 775,000 of these in the first quarter of 1996 and moved up from fifth to third place in the league table. (That's “in the standings” for my American readers. Incidentally, this article was written with proper British spelling, but Information Display's editors changed all of my spellings to the funny American kind.) With CDTs accounting for 50–60% of the cost of making a monitor, the fact that only 42% of domestic tube demand in 1995 was supplied from local tube factories is of great concern to Taiwanese monitor makers. The availability of CDTs at the right price is the key to monitor manufacturing and is thus of paramount importance to the Taiwanese producers. The Taiwanese Government and trade organizations are concerned that Taiwanese production still relies heavily on imported components, including CDTs and the larger sizes of LCDs. There is, therefore, a large bill for imports. As a result, every encouragement is given to local tube producers Chunghwa Picture Tube (CPT) and Philips to increase their local production quantities of 14- and 15-in. tubes and to expand their 17- and 21-in. monitor-tube-making facilities. Philips made 5.2 million CDTs worldwide in 1995, up 73% from 3.0 million in 1994, and plans its 1996 output to be up another 29% to 6.7 million. CPT is the major supplier of tubes to its parent, Tatung, as well as to Acer, Lite-On, and Jean (Wen). It has a plant in China, and its new plant in Scotland is due to start production in 1997. With equipment bought from NEC, Teco is to start production of 14- and 15-in. CDTs in the third quarter of 1997. The shortage of 14-in. CDTs in the latter half of 1995, which led to price increases and a shortage of 14-in. monitors in world markets, is more than likely the reason for the upwardly revised 14-in.-tube demand forecasts from tube makers. Last year, tube-house forecasters predicted that the worldwide demand for 14-in. tubes would gradually fall, by around half a million per year, from the 28 million units sold in 1994. This year's forecast says the 1995 figure of 28.5 million will increase to a peak at just over 30 million units in 1997–1998 before starting its decline. An interesting development has been the introduction of CDTs specifically designed for multimedia applications. The “economy” 17-in. CDT with 0.42-mm dot pitch has been used in some monitors, but with limited success because of its restricted horizontal scan frequency and screen resolution. The new Philips 17-in. 0.39-mm CDT accommodates 38–64-kHz line frequencies, and, at the show, ETC claimed that its CA1799 is the first production 17-in. monitor to use a new 30–65-kHz tube – although EMC and, probably, Forefront and GVC cannot be far behind. Aperture-grille tubes – Trinitron® from Sony and DiamondTron® from Mitsubishi – are increasingly used by Taiwanese manufacturers. ArtMedia and MAG exhibited 15-in. monitors using Trinitron® tubes, and 17-in. models with Trinitron® tubes were offered by AmTRAN, ArtMedia, and MAG. AmTRAN, CTX (Chuntex), GVC (CreAvision), Sampo, ViewSonic, and Wyse showed 17-in. models using DiamondTron® tubes. DiamondTron® 21-in. tubes were seen in monitors made by AmTRAN, CTX, ViewSonic, and in a prototype from Wyse. At Computex Taipei, CETRA and TCA were enhancing Taiwanese products by strongly promoting the “Symbol of Excellence” mark. The “Symbol” is an annual award granted only to the most deserving of Taiwanese companies producing “world-class standard” products in the five categories of innovation, design, quality, market position, and brand awareness. A new word has even been coined – “innovalue” – to indicate a combination of innovation and value! Certainly, anybody attending Computex could understand the intent of the Symbol's positioning phrase: “Very Well Made in Taiwan.”

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