Research firm says gadget craze a great opportunity for local component makers

With a slew of consumer electronics products, such as Apple Inc's iPhones, becoming best-selling items, Taiwanese component suppliers are set to cash in on the exponential growth, a research firm said yesterday.

"We think iPhones, e-books and portable navigation devices will be [among] the top 10 best-selling gadgets in the next four years. Local companies positioning themselves well in related fields will be able to benefit from the trend," said Simon Yang (楊勝帆), an analyst at Topology Research Institute (拓墣產業研究所).

Yang made the remarks at a seminar highlighting the top 10 tech items most likely to lead markets in the next four years.

These products included notebooks using light-emitting-diode displays, satellite phones, intelligent pets, Apple TV, digital photo frames, notebooks, as well as Wii and PlayStation 3 game consoles, the Taipei-based research firm said.

Yang said these products would likely see exponential shipment growth until 2010, with iPhones and digital photo frames posting annual growth of as much as 50 percent.

This development would translate into very lucrative opportunities for some domestic component manufacturers.

One of the beneficiaries could be Prime View International Co (元太科技), the nation's sole maker of flexible displays used in e-books, MP3 players or handsets.

Worldwide industrial output of flexible displays is projected to hit US$106 million in 2010, up from this year's US$43.8 million, Topology said.

"The flexible displays are environmentally friendly and do not use paper. They are used in applications such as electronic books, electronic tags and smartcards," Yang said.

Prime View has started shipping flexible displays to customers including Japan's Sony Corp and eREAD Technology Co (宜銳科技) for their e-books.

Another company likely to benefit, analysts said, is Elan Microelectronics Corp (義隆電子).

"The company's niche is touch pads, which can be used in flexible-display electronics, portable navigation devices and iPhones," Yang said.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the world's largest maker of electronics parts, will also benefit as the sole assembler of iPhones, set to debut in the US late next month.

"The iPhone business will be a plus to Hon Hai's sales considering the massive volume expected and before Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) comes into the picture," Yang said.

Quanta, the world's biggest contract maker of notebook computers, was reported last week as a potential second supplier for iPhones.