High-tech netbooks dominate Computex Taipei 2009

Several flagship local and international companies such as ASUSTek Computer Inc., AMD, Microsoft, and Intel all showcased their latest products and applications of their innovations.

"Originated in Taiwan, the netbook started as an underdog product but has become a real phenomenon sweeping through the global market.

It demonstrates Taiwan's ability to stake out a leading position and create product trends in the ICT industry," said J.T. Wang, chairman of the Taipei Computer Association, at the opening ceremony of the show.

WiMAX and super lightweight notebooks with long battery power will also dominate this year's show, he added.

Zing Chen, deputy director of Asus' second channel product planning and management department, told the Central News Agency that her company's latest Eee PC Seashell and Eee PC Touch netbooks illustrate the ability of local vendors to stay ahead of the innovation curve.

Launched two weeks ago, the Eee PC Seashell is the lightest and slimmest 10-inch netbook available on the market, weighing only 1.1 kilograms and measuring 1 inch in thickness, Chen said. The in-built battery can last for up to six hours or for 10.5 hours for its all-day-computing series.

"ASUS is also the first company to launch netbooks using touch-screen technology, with many innovative supporting software features developed by the company," she added.

The single-touch Eee PC Touch is scheduled to go onto the market at the end of June, but a new model with a multitouch-enabled tablet will also be introduced later this year to coincide with the launch of Microsoft's Windows 7, Chen said.

In line with this year's theme of "WiMAX on the MOVE" at Computex Taipei, Intel demonstrated its latest application of WiMAX modules in laptops, which enable swift access to the Internet wherever the computer is.

As to netbooks, Stanley Huang, director of Advanced Technical Sales and Services at Intel Asia Pacific, said in a press release that compactness and conserving power are the focal point for netbook development.

"Following the success of the Atom CPU that is specially designed for netbooks, Intel will introduce the next generation Atom CPU, featuring higher integration," he said.

Regarding the new generation notebook PC operation platform, Consumer Ultra Low Voltage or CULV, Huang stressed that it is for ultra slim notebooks equipped with full features, and highlights low power consumption and long battery life.

Computex Taipei 2009 -- Asia's biggest IT exhibition and the world's leading ICT procurement platform -- will run until June 6 and is expected to attract 35,000 international buyers and generate US$20 billion in business.

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