Kiwis get a kick out of Computex

By MICHAEL FOREMAN

According to regular travellers, flight NZ386 from Taipei to Auckland is usually busy, but in early June it operates at close to capacity.

The non-stop overnight service is popular at this time because it coincides with the end of Taiwan's Computex computer trade show, which attracts many New Zealand visitors.

Indeed, by around 8 pm on the day before the show closed, the Evergreen lounge at Taipei airport seemed to be hosting a substantial part of this country's computer industry.

Computex is important for two reasons. Not only is it one of the largest computer exhibitions in the world, behind only CeBit in Europe and Comdex in the UnIted States, but Taiwan is the source of many of the components used in PCs worldwide.

"When you come to Taiwan you see the bits but when you go to the US you see the computers made up," says Gail Bottomley, director of Hamilton-based computer retailer Millennium Technology.

While first-time visitors are likely to be astonished by the range and quantity of merchandise available, Ms Bottomley, a veteran of two Computex shows who has also visited Comdex in Las Vegas twice, has become a little blasé.

"It's just another show. I was hoping for something really new."

But she was successful in her quest to find a few interesting gadgets and gizmos for her store.

"There were a lot of flash memory storage devices that simply plugged into the USB port on your PC - they were quite cool - and I also saw some software that linked your PC to a mobile phone."

Colin Brown, managing director of PC assembler The PC Company, agrees the show was short on great technology breakthroughs, but his main reason for visiting was to keep in touch with his suppliers, such as the Taiwan-based motherboard manufacturer AsusTek.

Mr Brown says he must keep on top of the ever-changing details of which processor chip is offering the best performance with which chipset and with which sort of memory.

"Knowledge is power. The more time you spend talking with your suppliers, the more advantage you have in the market, and there were lots of projects in the pipeline that we were able to keep in touch with."

He admits that staying abreast of developments in such a complex and rapidly moving industry is a challenge but one he finds stimulating.

Mr Brown, who has been doing business with Taiwanese suppliers for 15 years, says he has developed several contacts who are key sources of information.

"They are the people who give you a full answer to a question. Before that I would ask a question about technology and would get only one part of the answer. You would have to ask 25 questions before you understood."

One side-effect of the PC slowdown in the US is that suppliers are treating their smaller customers, such as New Zealand assemblers, with more respect.

Peter Shirley, director of Albany-based PC assembler Arche Technologies, has missed only one Computex since 1991.

This year he took along two Arche staff members and five of his company's biggest customers.

Letting these customers see the range of technology available helps them give their input into future products.

Mr Shirley says he was impressed with the show, which was bigger than last year.

"The quality of digital still and video cameras is much better now and there are more around. Prices have come down to the extent that I can see digital cameras being included with PCs in the not too distant future.

"However, it was necessary to look carefully at the detailed specifications. You had to check whether cameras were using glass or plastic lenses, for example. That took a lot of time."

But like Mr Brown, Mr Shirley says the main point of going was to cement existing relationships with suppliers.

"We've been dealing with most of them for six or seven years now and it's a good opportunity to sit round the table."

While New Zealand represents a small market for Taiwanese suppliers, Mr Shirley says they are very willing to do business with Arche.

He and his fellow director, Lance Primrose, plan to attend the CeBit exhibition in Shanghai in August, the first to be held in Asia.

"A lot of Taiwanese companies have started to move production facilities to China. That's why we want to go, to take a look at what's happening behind the scenes."

* Michael Foreman attended Computex as a guest of Intel.



Millennium

The PC Company

Arche Technologies

Computex Online

CeBit Asia