MAKUHARI, Japan, 8 October 2003 — Asia’s largest exhibition of high-tech products opened here yesterday for a five-day run, with many major international firms showcasing flat-panel digital televisions and DVD recorders to lure tech-savvy consumers.
Almost 670 firms including 193 foreign companies exhibiting everything from semiconductor chips to computer-managed home security systems are taking part in CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technology) Japan. Organizers hope 180,000 people will visit the show, up from the 173,000 who came to last year’s event, said CEATEC spokesman Mikio Horai.
“Consumers’ interest in digital appliances, especially audio and visual equipment, has been rising every year as firms launch new and more sophisticated products,” he said.
“Terrestrial digital broadcasting will start in Japan from December. With that, many participating exhibitors are showcasing their latest digital television sets and recording media ahead of the Christmas sales season.” Among high profile exhibitors of the show, Sony Corp. attracted thousands of visitors as it displayed the latest addition to its popular PlayStation series: PSX. The device is not only a game console. Its numerous functions allow users to record up to 325 hours of television programs on PSX’s hard disk, play and record images on DVDs, and show photos taken by digital cameras.
“This is pretty impressive,” said Tokyo businessman Sota Kawashima, 26, as he watched Sony’s demonstration of PSX. “This is basically all-in-one as far as entertainment devices are concerned. I want one.”
Precision equipment maker Omron Corp. brought along its OKAO Vision system, which can assess the age group and gender of computer users. “Computers can recognize faces of older users and show large fonts and easy-to-use interface for them,” said Hiro Furukawa, assistant manager of Omron strategic technology marketing.
“By coming to this show, we wanted to solicit ideas for possible commercial applications for our technology,” he said.
Electronics giant Toshiba Corp. showed off its latest range of flat-panel televisions and DVD recorders that can be connected to the Internet so that users can control them via Internet-capable mobile phones.
“Toshiba believes we are at the stage where consumers are gradually changing their household appliances from analogue-based products to digital appliances. Our firm is offering products that allow the public to make smooth transition to the era of digital appliances,” said Shinji Matsukubo, Toshiba spokesman.
