Visionaries have long anticipated the day when the telephone, computer and television merge into a single entity. If Taiwan's manufacturers get their way, they'll control 50 percent of the global market for that entity when its day finally arrives.
For now, however, they are content in making smaller strides. At Taitronics '99, Taiwan's biannual trade expo for the electronics industry, local manufacturers displayed various IT hybrids that are ready for today's consumer market.
The products displayed have expanded the telephone's capabilities to include e-mail, Web browsing, video transmissions and long distance calling over the Internet versus telephone companies.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
The biggest highlight at this fall's exhibition is the video phone. At least five exhibitors were displaying models. The consensus among manufacturers is that video telephony is finally ready for the mass market.
"The price is still a little bit high, but I think it is now in a range that people can accept it," said Charles Peng of Tranbon Electronics. "I think it will sell first to companies, because they have the money to buy it and it also lets them show their prestige," he added.
Freight on board prices, a common pricing agreement whereby manufacturers are responsible for all costs up to the time a commodity is placed on a ship, is US$400 per unit for video phones. That translates to a retail price of US$700 for US or European buyers. Expensive Japanese-made models retail for US$1,000 or more.
"The price on these things will continue to drop," said one foreign visitor. "Right now, manufacturers have a huge profit margin on these products. Actually they're not that expensive to make. It's just a phone, a cheap camera and a tiny LCD screen. With profit margins that big, you're just asking for competition, and that will drive down the price sooner or later."
In addition to video transmission capabilities, most of the video phones at Taitronics can easily interface with television sets, computers and VCRs. One system produced by Universal Microelectronics (UMEC) allows the use a standard television set as a monitor on which callers can can see their conversation partner.
Of course, there are a few drawbacks. Both caller and receiver must own a video phone for video calls to be successful. Another dilemma is the issue of standardization. Video calls between users owning different brands in some case may be impossible; not all manufacturers use the same transmission system.
The standardization issue will probably be more problematic for small manufacturers than large ones.
Vincent Hsu, of Proton, says that his company's new video phones were designed first as OEM (original equipment manufacturing) products for Japan, and that the cooperative project mandated the use of existing standards. He added that Proton will begin to market the phones under its own brand later.
Another new product is UMEC's Internet screen phones. The phone's set incorporates basic computer functions such as e-mail, Web browsing, limited word processing and, if the correct infrastructure is available, could include tasks such as banking and shopping.
One touch dialing opens an Internet connection, and instructions can be inputted through either a slide-out keyboard or the unit's 7.4-inch LCD touchscreen.
David Tsai, of UMEC's business department, said that the phone's US$700 retail price tag made it a little expensive, though he does expect the price to drop.
UMEC was the only exhibitor at Taitronics to display an Internet screen phone.
An Internet phone produced by Kingtel uses the Internet in a different way -- as a cheaper method for placing long distance telephone calls. Kingtel makes Internet phones in two different varieties.
The first routes an outgoing call to a computer server, which then sends it out over the Internet until finally the call reaches its recipient. In this scenario, only Web connection and local phone fees are charged, though both callers must have an Internet phone.
Kingtel's second type of Internet phone can place calls to anyone regardless of whether the recipient has an Internet phone. Calls proceed through an international service called Gateway, which charges its own calling fee.
The exhibition "Taitronics '99 -- Finished Products" will continue through Oct. 20 at the Taipei World Trade Center.
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