Inside the Most Depressing Tech Show: Computex Faces Post PC Era

The Computex trade show used to be a hot ticket, with flashy music acts and technology industry luminaries. Now? Those who show up bemoan the decline of PCs and its many dependents.

Walking the subdued floors found hardware vendors despondent about their chances in a hyper-competitive market and consumers who increasingly favor smartphones instead of PCs. On the trade days, before the show was open to the general public, booth after booth was filled with high-tech gadgets and idle sales staff drinking tea, with virtual reality demonstrations one of the few to draw a crowd.

“This year was the worst," said Mike Yu of Shenzhen BBen Intelligent Technology Group Co., which makes high-end customized laptops on demand.

It was the countless desktop computers and laptops launched at the Taipei World Trade Center in years past that cemented Computex’s reputation as Asia’s must-see technology event. But with PC sales hitting lows not seen since 2007, and new rival shows more focused on mobile devices, many industry attendees were left questioning its relevance in an age dominated by brands like Apple Inc. that prefer showing new products at its own events.

The Taipei show, which wrapped over the weekend, has also been a showcase for Taiwanese technology companies through brands such as Acer Inc. and Asustek Computer Inc. while also providing a platform for the Microsoft Corp. software and Intel Corp. processors that power their machines.

Link to article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-05/inside-a-depressing-trade-show-computex-fades-in-a-post-pc-era