The home appliance market looks set to expand next year, driven by the affordability of flat-panel TVs and maturation of digital home products, an industry group said yesterday.
"Next year's home appliance market will be better than this year's. This is especially driven by liquid-crystal-display [LCD] and plasma TVs, as these products have grown more mature with lower prices over the years," said Denpo Lin (林山中), chairman of the Taipei Electrical Commercial Association (TECA, 電器公會).
Lin made the remarks after attending the opening yesterday of the 2006 Taipei Audio Fair, which is organized by TECA.
According to Lin, sales of flat-panel TVs have already increased 20 to 30 percent this year, reflecting the growing consumer appetite for slim TVs.
He added that the EU's plan to halt sales of traditional cathode-ray-tube (CRT) TVs beginning next July -- required under Europe's "Restriction on Hazardous Substances" directive -- will accelerate the adoption of flat-panel TVs both in Europe and other countries.
The European directive bans six different substances, including lead and mercury, from electronics products such as CRT-TVs.
In addition, Lin said that "digital home" products are maturing, especially with the recent introduction of a slew of entertainment PCs into the market.
"This will benefit the home appliance segment as these electronics are being linked up with PCs to offer users home entertainment," he added.
The annual Taipei Audio Fair, which is in its 26th year, showcases the latest audio and visual equipment, such as home theater systems and flat-panel TVs. This year's exhibition is packed with more than 100 exhibitors occupying some 600 booths.
The fair, which began yesterday and runs through Tuesday, is being held at the Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall I. It is expected to attract around 100,000 visitors.
Among the expo's highlights is a 70-inch rear projection TV from JVC, which is the largest TV screen on display. There are 20 units up for grabs, each priced at NT$329,000 (US$9,800).
Admission to the fair is NT$200 per person, with NT$50 discount vouchers available at 7-Eleven convenience stores.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last