Taiwan's computer and electronics industries should work hand-in-hand as digital home entertainment increasingly integrates both sectors, Stan Shih (
"For a long time, many have been arguing about whether digital home entertainment should be PC-centric or TV-oriented," Shih said. "From my point of view, it takes both to complete the concept."
Shih made the remark at the opening ceremony of Computex Taipei 2004 yesterday morning. The trade show brings together global IT procurement professionals and the nation's high-tech manufacturers, who churned out US$69.12 billion worth of hardware and software last year, up 17.9 percent from the previous year.
While Shih is better known as founder of Acer group, now the world's No. 3 PC maker, few know that the name of the trade show "Computex Taipei" was coined by him when he was chairman of the Taipei Computer Association (
The information technology veteran said that local consumer electronics manufacturers and PC companies have the potential to capitalize on the latest trends in digital home entertainment, as they control key components and technologies.
"But current audio-visual equipment needs to be digitalized and connected to a media or network management center, and the PC needs to be user friendly and dependable," he said.
Therefore, he suggested both sectors incorporate their technology, resources and distribution channels to create consistency and meet the growing demand for audio and visual entertainment from customers, adding that in developing the digital home entertainment business, what customers need should be the key point, rather than the technology.
"What consumers care about is their whole experience with the facility, not individual performance of the machines," Shih said. "This is also a direction that Acer has been gearing toward over the past few years."
However, Wang Jen-tang (
Rock Hsu (許勝雄), chairman of Kinpo Electronics Inc (金寶集團) and Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶電腦), agreed that IT manufacturers and home electronics makers should work together, since integrating home electronics and IT products is a trend.
But Hsu said he saw only IT companies making inroads into the electronics sector, with no sign of consumer electronics makers branching into the IT sector in the production of home entertainment products.
Kanty Wu (吳錦芳), deputy spokesman of major consumer electronics maker Sampo Corp (聲寶), also said he would like to see collaboration between IT and home electronics industries, but that little could be achieved without substantial digital content.
"After all, content is the key in driving the industry," Wu said.
Besides forecasting that the nation's original equipment manufacturers will turn Taiwan into the world's IT and electronics products supply center, Shih encouraged them to develop their own innovative products and brands and use China as a springboard to market to the world.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
RSS