Texas Instruments returns to Computex

Chipmaker Texas Instruments (TI) is returning to Asia's largest computer trade show, Computex Taipei, this year after a six-year absence because local industry has moved away from just making computers for overseas companies and moved toward more advanced digital and consumer products instead, TI officials said yesterday.

"During the six or seven years we did not exhibit at Computex there have been many developments in the local information technology industry," said Tom Kuo (郭滄賀), a general manager at TI Taiwan Ltd. "Taiwan has moved from being the world's No.1 motherboard manufacturer to the world's No. 1 notebook computer manufacturer ? Now Taiwan is becoming a very important global center for wireless, digital and consumer products."

Taiwan makes more than 90 percent of the world's motherboards and over 70 percent of its notebook computers, according to the semi-official Market Intelligence Center (市場情報中心).

As the local market matures, manufacturers are now repeating the success in new areas.

"Taiwan's progress now matches TI's product developments very closely," Kuo said.

The company has a lot to show after its long absence from Computex.

"TI has over 15,000 analog products and a few hundred digital ones," said Desmond Wong (黃志光), a marketing and communications director at TI Tai-wan. The company will concentrate on chips used for handheld devices, broadband Internet and cable television, and digital multimedia products like digital cameras, speakers, radios, televisions and projectors, Wong said.

Much of TI's technology is used in the latest smart phones, or phones with digital organizers built-in, and camera phones. In the first quarter of this year, 1.7 million smart phones and 7.8 million camera phones were sold worldwide, according to US-based research firm In-Stat MDR.

Last year, 18.2 million camera phones were sold and this figure is expected to increase by over 50 percent each year until 2007, In-Stat reported on Tuesday.

TI employs 1,700 people in Taiwan, and has operated a factory in Chung Ho, Taipei County for over 30 years.

During next week's Computex Taipei, the company's booth will be located in the newly opened third exhibition hall at the Taipei World Trade Center. Computex Taipei is scheduled to run from next Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, and is open to the general public.