Some Taiwanese companies have developed reputations as leaders in technology, like Asustek which practically has invented the most popular category of personal computers today, the ultralight Web-oriented laptops known as netbooks.
They managed to develop such reputations as Taiwanese manufacturers along with Western technology companies have, for more than a decade, had a simple and mutually beneficial arrangement.
The Taiwanese companies built music players, laptop computers and cellphones to precise specifications dictated by customers like Apple, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola. The Western companies then slapped their familiar labels on the devices, marked up the prices and bombarded consumers with advertisements celebrating their innovative wares.
But in the last couple of years, that tight relationship has begun to fray. No longer content to lurk in the background, some of the Taiwanese companies have sought a more direct route to consumers - and the higher profits that come with owning a global brand.
Acer, for instance, has poised to overtake Dell as the world’s second-largest PC maker after Hewlett-Packard, has used its manufacturing might to produce powerful PCs that it can sell more cheaply than its competitors. And HTC developed the first smartphones to use Google’s Android operating system, becoming a showcase for the potential of the new software.
Moreover, Asustek ended last year as the fastest-growing PC company in Europe. Acer, which sells computers under its own name as well as through acquired brands Gateway, eMachines and Packard Bell, is the fastest-growing PC maker over all, according to the research company Gartner.
This year, many Taiwanese laptop computer makers are showing ultralight, full-featured laptops that cost less than US$600 and other machines that can operate all day on one battery charge. Meanwhile, American companies like Intel and Microsoft are talking about their chips and software aimed at very thin, cheap new laptops and computers with sophisticated touch-screen technology.
Next year, Computex could well stand as the showcase for breakthrough smartphones, as those devices approach the capabilities of basic PCs. Acer, Asustek and HTC stand out as the most prominent examples of Taiwanese companies entering the limelight.
In the last few years, Acer and Asustek have split off their manufacturing arms and chosen to compete directly against the likes of H.P. and Dell in the PC market with their own brands.
Acer started doing their own brand, and they started seeing their profits go up and up,” said Joseph Wei, who runs SJW Consulting, a Silicon Valley business that links United States and Asian technology companies. “So the Taiwanese government started to encourage more companies to follow this model.
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