Feb. 02, 2001

The increasing number of investments by Taiwan's major IT companies will boost the production volume of information appliance (IA) products 68% to 10 million units in 2001.

According to the latest projection by the Institute for Information Industry (III), IA products delivered by companies in Taiwan will increase to 10.92 units this year from the 6.47 million recorded in 2000. The production value will consequently increase to US$ 2.096 billion in 2001.

Researchers and analysts at the III said that the strong performance of IT manufacturers in Taiwan enables the large suppliers of PCs to make smooth forays into the field of IA products since products and technical know-how complement each other.

The Industrial Development Bureau under the Economics Ministry has helped organize an IA strategic alliance in Taiwan with a total of 236 Taiwan IA manufacturers as members. The alliance has stepped up efforts to invite leading international companies to set up research and design centers in Taiwan.

The Ministry is also organizing a delegation that will visit leading computer and IA companies in the U.S. in June to win OEM orders.

Major IA products include thin client PCs, Net TVs, screen phones, and smart handheld devices (SHDs).