Computex 2005 - Day 3 Tidbits

Displays? (Or lack thereof)

If there was a letdown this year, it was in the displays. While all of the big Taiwanese manufacturers were here, usually there are entire halls filled with nothing but displays with impressive specifications. Unfortunately, hard times have fallen on LCD panel manufacturers outside of the big three ( LG.Philips, Samsung/Sony and Sharp) and the smaller companies are starting to really hurt.

AUO, famous for their low response time 6-bit LCD panels in all but the largest LCD TVs, posted losses for the second quarter in a row. The company vows to ride out the oversupply of panels on the market, but if the number four panel manufacturer is having difficulty turning a profit, the little guys don’t have a chance.

One of those little guys, Chi Mei Optoelectronics, barely had a presence at the show this year (compared to their booth last year that took up several spots). Ultimately, a consolidation of the market is probably better for end users as the LCD spot market becomes a thing of the past – hopefully, removing the opportunity for Tier 2 manufacturers to start flooding the market with low quality displays.

BenQ, Sampo and AG Neovo had booths at the show, but you can tell the attitude was more subdued than it has been in the past. No high resolution 19” displays or new single digit response time panels graced our presence this time around. CES is the better show to view new display technology, since it isn’t primarily limited to just Taiwanese manufacturers like Computex, but hopefully, we don’t have to wait until January to see innovation in a rapidly consolidating industry.

More coverage tomorrow!