Computex participants bet big on wearables

TAIPEI ― Computex, one of Asia’s biggest information and communication technology trade shows, kicked off on Tuesday, highlighting a wide variety of cutting-edge technologies from smartwatches to smartglasses powered by energy efficient chips.

ARM, the British chip giant whose designs are found in more than 90 percent of global smartphones and tablets, drew attention from both the media and the tech industry as it announced it would be focusing on developing smaller and more powerful processors for smart gadgets.

ARM, one of the five-day show’s key participants, said it is developing a new chip design center here, which will focus on creating the next generation of its Cortex-M lineup.

Intel, the world’s leading PC processor, also has been ratcheting up efforts to jump into the wearables market.

Tom Foldesi, senior director of Intel’s New Devices Group, told the press that Intel’s development of wearable technology would concentrate on five concepts that could help improve people’s lives and offer them something that is “fashionable and personalized-style”.

Taiwanese computer maker Acer, one of 50 tech companies that showed off wearable devices, unveiled the Liquid Leaf, its first fitness smartband, with which users can also make calls and receive notifications.

Chris Chiang, Acer’s brand communications manager, said, “The product will hit the shelves in China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia first before launching in other global markets.”

Taiwanese tech firm ChipSip Technology unveiled its Android-based smartglass SiME.

“Around 1,000 units will hit the domestic market by the end of this year. As these are still at the experimental stage, they will be first available for developers,” said Norman Wang, a manager of the firm.

By Shin Ji-hye, Korea Herald correspondent
(shinjh@heraldcorp.com)