This year's Softex software and computer exhibition, which begins next week, will for the first time include a section targeting the increasing number of women who buy electronic products, the organizer of the exhibition said yesterday.
"Female consumers in the world spent more than US$55 billion on consumer electronics last year, exceeding the expenditures made by males for the first time," Enoch Du (杜全昌), secretary general of the Taipei Computer Association (台北市電腦公會), the exhibition's organizer, told a press conference yesterday.
In Taiwan, female online shoppers spent more on electronics than male shoppers last year, Du said.
He said an exhibition area would cater to women's tastes for electronics that are smaller, have modern designs and use vivid colors, such as Apple Computer Inc's mp3 player iPod and First International Computer Inc's (大眾電腦) desktop Everex Afina.
The five-day show has attracted 200 exhibitors that will occupy 1,000 booths. The organizers hope to lure 20 percent to 30 percent more visitors than the average 300,000 in previous shows, said Shannon Yeh (葉小菱), a specialist at the association.
Du dismissed the suggestion that the frequent computer and consumer electronics shows in Taiwan had lost their appeal for consumers, adding that the life cycle of high-tech gadgets has fallen to as little as six months, and new products always draw consumers' attention.
In view of the growing investment in China by Taiwanese companies, the show also provides software solutions enabling efficient administrative management across the Taiwan Strait, Du said.
An information security zone hosted by anti-virus experts such as Symantec Co and Trend Micro Inc will cater to government agencies and corporate users who have suffered most from virus attacks over the past year.
The show opens on Wednesday and runs to Sunday at the Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall from 10am to 6pm. Admission is NT$150. Visitors can also download free tickets from the Web site: http://softex.tca.org.tw
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