This year’s Taipei Spring Computer Show, which opens today at the Taipei World Trade Center, is set to present more creative consumer electronics products rather than traditional computer products amid the development of Internet of Things applications.
“Over the past year, we have noticed that there are many new Taiwanese startups making smart devices to make life simpler and more fun, and they are not necessarily notebooks or smartphones,” said Enoch Du (杜全昌), secretary-general of the Taipei Computer Association (台北市電腦公會), which organizes the annual tech fair.
The number of exhibitors this year is 10 percent higher at 220 companies from last year, with about 70 percent of them being local small and medium-sized companies, Du said.
These small firms will exhibit more than 2,000 products for this year’s fair, and the association has set up a special pavilion to boost their visibility in the market, Du said.
“Some interesting products should definitely draw visitors’ attention,” he said.
The special pavilion features a wide range of technological gadgets, such as a stylus allowing users to capture colors from any object, wide-angle camera lenses for smartphones, fish-eye camera lenses, smart bracelets, Bluetooth speakers, Wi-Fi connectivity devices, mobile power packs and heads-up displays for cars, the association said.
The color-capturing stylus Mozbii is manufactured by Taiwanese startup Ufro Inc (優富樂), which was founded in 2013 by former Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) and Acer Inc (宏碁) employee Jeremy Shu (丘彪盛).
Mozbii can capture colors by pressing the stylus against the surface of an object, allowing users to use the stylus to draw on a tablet via an app.
The stylus, which has been on the market since November last year, comes in five colors and is priced at NT$2,990.
One smartphone accessory that is on display is a tube-shaped speaker with Bluetooth functionality made by Taiwanese connector and cable maker Chant Sincere Co (銓欣).
The Qooker-brand Bluetooth speaker is an LED flashlight that can be clipped onto a bicycle. Not only can riders use it as a flashlight, they can use it to play music from a smartphone or to answer calls via Bluetooth connectivity, Du said.
This year is the first time the Spring Computer Show will display unmanned aerial vehicles, as demand has increased significantly since the launch of the documentary Beyond Beauty: Taiwan from Above in October 2013.
Du said four Taiwanese distributors are to showcase up to 10 drones at the show, including one that can be controlled by a smartphone.
The exhibition hall is divided into different areas for various themes and the association has also arranged a PC area for companies such as Asustek, Acer and Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) to showcase their notebooks and smart devices, he said.
The five-day show is expected to attract about 400,000 visitors this year, he added.
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