Singapore IT Fair

The Singapore IT Fair 2006 has started yesterday. Saw from the papers that there were some pretty good deals. Acer 19" widescreen LCD monitor going for @ $399.That's an absolute steal!!! Althought it doesn't have DVI input but my laptop doesn't have that anyway...plus the reaction time is only 8ms so you won't see blurred images in fast moving animation or movies. I've noted that Acer's industrial design has improved significantly over the past few years. Nowadays Acer products actually do pay attention to aesthetics, unlike a few years back when their laptops were extremely boxy and plain-looking. The Acer Ferrari notebooks and LCD monitors has looks to die for...(saliva dripping to the floor...)

Now some of the leaders in the Taiwanese IT industry has finally realized the importance of industrial design and start putting some genuine effort into it. This is a good sign. In my view, design maketh the brand. I've come to realize that there's no future for Taiwan's tech industry simply doing OEM and ODMs. All the profits are siphoned off by the big brands like DEll,Compaq and the likes. And the vicious cycle of cost-downing is really hurting the OEMs as they cut each other's throats to secure orders. The winner of the order isn't much better off than the losers as the profit margin is often razor-thin. That is why I think that industrial design and product differentiation is the way out for the industry. These days value-for-money isn't such an important factor as before(look at how much an iPod costs but they're still selling like hotcakes) Taiwanese companies used to be able to move their products by offering a cheaper price with more functionality -> therefore good value for money. But that doesn't work anymore as everyone has moved manufacturing to China and has much lower manufacturing costs than before.

Up and coming companies like BenQ and Asus really brings my hopes up high. In my opinion, their products are pretty well designed and they have the 'cool' factor. Taiwanese companies are also starting to get industrial design awards around the globe such as the iF and Red Dot awards in Deutschland and the Good Design award in Japan. BenQ beat Samsung in this year's iF Award, ranked at No.3 with 17 products receiving awards(9 for handphones/ 2 for LCDs). I think that BenQ's corporate image is extremely lively and youthful as reflected in their slogan -> Enjoyment matters. I'd like to work for BenQ in the future if I have the chance.