The surging oil price has drawn much attention to the development of renewable energies, in particular, solar energy. According to Solarbuzz, worldwide solar photovoltaic (PV) market installations reached a record high of 18.2GW in 2010, representing a 139% growth on year. Growth will continue in 2011 when the market of related manufacturing equipment is expected to climb 41% from a year earlier to US$15.2 billion, said the market research firm.TrendForce's statistics also suggests that the global solar cell production capacity is estimated at 20-25GW in 2011, and demand will continue to grow at 20-25% per year.Digitimes recently had a chance to talk to Leon Wang, senior supervisor of Marketing Center for NS Micro Motor Technology, to discuss how the rising demand for solar energy worldwide could generate new growth opportunities for his company. Specializing in the manufacture of computer fans and blowers, NS Micro Motor has expanded its product lineup specifically designed for use in PV inverters and uninterrupted power systems (UPS), and has grown its client portfolio to include Motech Industries and other major solar cell companies.The following is an excerpt of the conversation.Cooling solutions for solar applicationsNS Micro Motor has a complete portfolio of fan modules targeted at solar inverters and UPS. Similar to cooling solutions used for other different applications, those designed specifically for parts and components used in solar-powered devices require a certain degree of performance and stability. But the latter segment should also meet some special requirements such as the ability to resist weather of all kinds.As solar power systems must be installed outdoors to receive direct sunlight, parts and components used to build the installations will require a higher level of weather resistance than those used for other applications. Different countries around the world have varying climate and weather conditions. For instance, weather patterns in Europe and the Middle East are very different.Furthermore, in many countries, the difference between day and night time temperatures could be huge. For example, the desert regions of the Middle East have wide diurnal temperature ranges. Average temperatures are around 40 degrees Celsius during the day, but fall to minus 10 degrees Celsius at night time. Accordingly, components and parts used in solar installations may even comply with stringent military level specifications for temperature and humidity, waterproofing and dust resistance.In addition, PV system parts and components have to be certified in accordance with different standards for electrical equipment around the world. Products exported to the US must meet the IP laboratory standards while those to Europe are required to be VDE-approved. NS Micro Motor's cooling modules for solar applications all conform to both standards, joining Japan's Sanyo Electric, and Taiwan-based Sunonwealth Electric Machine Industry and Delta Electronics.Capability to meet stringent environmental requirementsAs solar power stations are usually located in remote areas, they require a higher level of cooling solutions that achieve a life expectancy of 100,000 hours compared to the generally-required 70,000 hours. In order to meet these requirements, NS Micro Motor has been constantly improving its manufacturing process technology and the use of select parts and components has become more strict.NS Micro Motor made inroad into the solar sector about six years ago, with Motech being its long-time partner. NS Micro Motor has steadily expanded its client base to include another major Taiwan-based solar cell supplier and a number of Japan-based companies. Meanwhile, NS Micro Motor's shipments for solar energy applications have enjoyed stable growth. The company now ships 30,000-50,000 fan modules monthly to the solar sector, and the proportion of sales generated from this new product segment is estimated at around 10%.In the market for cooling fans specifically targeting the solar energy sector, NS Micro Motor used to face strong competition from its Japan-based cooling module firms. However, over the last couple of years, NS Micro Motor and other Taiwan-based players have significantly enhanced their production capability. NS Micro Motor now also views its domestic peers including Sunon and Delta as major competitors.NS Micro Motor believes that the Japan nuclear crisis stemming from the March massive earthquake and tsunami has spurred demand for solar energy in many countries, and therefore the market outlook for 2011 is positive. The company is committed to satisfying all the demand with its existing PS and PE series of cooling modules.Founded in 1989, NS Micro Motor has grown to boast a capital base of US$42 million. Around three years ago, NS Micro Motor took over an R&D center located in Kaohsiung, and received more than 20 additional employees for a total of 60 R&D staff in Taiwan. Another 20 R&D personnel are stationed at the company's production base in Shenzhen, southern China, where the total workforce tops 1,000.

With Computex just around the corner, Digitimes decided to pay a visit to Taiwan-based video specialist AVerMedia to see what the company has planned for this year's show. President Allan Yang was on hand to tell us his thoughts about the company's direction and future trends in the wider industry.As Yang explained, AVerMedia has specialized in video technology since its inception in 1990. The company's early products focused on overlaying multiple analog video streams, but as video editing went digital, AVerMedia moved into video cross-conversion. AVerMedia's products enabled the conversion of PC VGA output to TV signals and vice versa, and sold strongly in the educational sector in particular.AVerMedia's next step was to bring TV signals to the PC, allowing digital recording of TV content and helping customers to get the most out of their existing equipment, something that Yang says is central to the company's philosophy. AVerMedia now offers a wide range of peripherals focused on streaming home content across different devices, with particular emphasis on integrating HD, digital broadcasting and the Internet. As Yang puts it, "Video anytime, anywhere - that's where we're going."Yang is unequivocal in his enthusiasm for HD video. "We believe high definition is the trend. Once you've used HD, it's hard to go back to SD. It's simply more persuasive, more immersive." While AVerMedia first moved into HD video capture 18 months ago, the company's lineup recently took an intriguing turn after its products proved a surprise hit in the gaming sector - a development that even Yang concedes took him "a little bit by surprise."When they looked into the situation more closely, the AVerMedia team was amazed at the sheer quantity of games-related video online, with literally hundreds of thousands of clips uploaded to websites such as YouTube and China-based Tudou. Further research showed that the Xbox360 and PlayStation 3 have a collective user base of around 100 million people, an enormous potential market. While most games consoles feature HD quality graphics, the video capture market was largely limited to SD, with the HD sector served exclusively by expensive professional products costing upwards of US$1,000. AVerMedia aims to fill this niche with a range of budget HD capture devices for gamers, to be launched sometime between now and August. Products will include an external PC-based capture solution with editing functionality, which passes video from the console through to the TV so the gamer can play on without interruption from the capture process; an internal video capture card for DIY enthusiasts; and a standalone box that keeps HD capture simple for console players that don't want the hassle of using a PC. The greatest selling point of these products is likely to be their price tag of around US$200, which Mr Yang says AVerMedia selected because the existing capture solutions cost far more than the games consoles themselves. As the first manufacturer to address this sizeable niche market, AVerMedia expects to see strong sales.AVerMedia also makes a line of more professionally-oriented video capture products known as DarkCrystal. DarkCrystal products are compatible with Adobe Premier Pro and include a full software development kit (SDK), allowing the development of dedicated apps for direct integration with other devices. Potential users include the medical industry, where a thriving market in HD capture is emerging as doctors find themselves under increasing pressure to justify and document every aspect of surgery, in order to avoid lawsuits.One of the hot topics at Computex this year will be tablets, and Allan Yang is looking forward to showing off AVerMedia's latest efforts on this front, which are perhaps best represented by the company's HomeFree range of "standalone network tuners". The HomeFree range combines either an analog TV tuner and a digital (DVB-T) TV tuner, or a pair of DVB-T tuners, with Wi-Fi connectivity, allowing a tablet user to watch one TV source wirelessly while a PC or laptop user watches another. Add in the household TV and that should be enough to avoid most family arguments about what to watch! Windows is naturally supported, while Mac OS support will come in June. The tablet end is implemented via a special app that even allows the user to switch channels and browse digital TV content guides. The app is currently only available for the iPad, but Digitimes was given a sneak preview of a forthcoming Android app with similar features. The HomeFree Combo model also builds in the company's IR Blaster technology and AV-in support, allowing PC/laptop users to control a DVD player once the HomeFree Combo has been set up to emulate the DVD player's remote control.Given the booming market for tablets and HD devices, Mr Yang is unsurprisingly upbeat about the prospects for AVerMedia and the video market in general. So what will AVerMedia be working on in the coming year? "Video is the key trend... along with networks and HD. Combining these to produce new products." With digital convergence, HD video and tablets all the topics of the moment, this year's Computex will provide a welcome opportunity for companies like AVerMedia to show what they can do in a sector where attention is too often focused solely on a handful of big name brands. If the products Digitimes has seen so far are anything to go by, Computex should prove to be an exciting affair for visitors and exhibitors alike.AVerMedia DarkCrystal HD Capture StationHomeFree ComboDarkCrystal HD Capture SDK IIPhotos: Company

Prior to Computex 2011, we wanted to get NVIDIA's opinions on a number of topics that affect both them and the industry. So in order to gain insight we sat down and had a conversation with Dan Vivoli, NVIDIA Senior Vice President of Marketing, and covered a variety of topics from mobile computing to cloud computing, to whether or not the PC can ultimately survive in the face of growing competition from tablets. Here's what Dan had to say and some takeaways that we had from our conversation.State of the computing industryNVIDIA has never been more excited about the prospect of GPUs then it is today. Everywhere you look, whether it's the latest super phone all the way up to the world's fastest supercomputer, you'll find GPUs front and center. Consumers really understand the benefits of an amazing visual experience, and they are demanding it in all their devices.Mobile leading the wayMobile computing is on a tear, as evidenced by simply looking at the cumulative shipments of iOS and Android devices. It took just two years to reach 20 million installed users. If you contrast this to how long it took on the Mac/Windows PC side, the same milestone took over eight years.But it makes total sense. If you think about it, the most personal of computers for consumers is currently their mobile device. Mobile devices follow users wherever they go and consumers expect the devices to be able to do all the things their PCs can do. Users want to be able to multi-task, to have super-fast web browsing, including support for Flash. Users also want to be able to play games on these devices and watch movies. As networks get faster and consumers have access to bigger data pipes, this demand for richer content will increase even more.This is the primary reason NVIDIA built Tegra. The company saw convergence coming and wanted to make sure it was at the forefront of this revolution. NVIDIA understood that the future of computing was all about delivering efficient performance at every level, meaning performance per watt per density will be critical in determining success for mobile processors.For example, a successful mobile computer based on the x86 chipset, such as the Macbook Air, requires a minimum of 25 watts of power. NVIDIA can provide even better comparable performance all around with a next- generation Tablet built on Tegra, and that device can be delivered on something less than a watt of power.When you start getting into such dramatic differences in terms of performance and capability per unit of power consumption, it makes a huge difference concerning what kind of device you can design and build. NVIDIA envisions that the market will increasingly see hybrid types of devices that can be used as phones, tablets and notebooks.Such convergence has been building for years, and the market is now starting to experience exciting and disruptive new applications and usage. For example the Motorola Atrix comes with a Lapdock so you can dock your phone and effectively use it as a notebook. The Asus Transformer is a tablet but also comes with a keyboard dock. System and application developers will only be limited by their imagination, and it's hard to predict what the imagination will unleash.As for consumers, they neither understand nor care about the laws of physics when it comes to what needs to go into the designs that provide these exciting new experiences. Consumers are not concerned with semiconductor or system design, or with the relationship between power consumption and heat dissipation. They simply want to do everything with their mobile device that they can do with their home PC. Consumers will expect their notebooks to provide all day battery life, and will expect their super phones to do all the things their PC can do.While consumer expectations are incredibly high, NVIDIA aims to exceed them. This is the main reason the company has been investing heavily in its Tegra family of mobile processors over the last five years. It's the reason NVIDIA was the first to market with the Tegra2 dual-core super chip and it's why it will be first to market with quad-core as well as with the Kal-El technology for Tegra it showed off this year at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.Tegra2 is the world's first dual core super chip. This means that it delivers extremely fast web browsing, up to 2x faster performance than competing solutions, and supports hardware-accelerated Flash so users can view the whole Web, a whole lot faster.It also features console-quality gaming because of its integrated GeForce GPU. NVIDIA has used this to bring games like Riptide GP that were XBOX 360 games over to Tegra super phones and tablets.NVIDIA did this by focusing its development on the ARM platform. NVIDIA believes ARM is an architecture that can deliver amazing performance per watt. It's one of the reasons NVIDIA chose it as the basis for its Project Denver, an NVIDIA-designed custom high-performance ARM core.NVIDIA believes that the computing industry is currently undergoing a disruption that is seen every few years, such as when the work station replaced the minicomputer as an industry standard or when the x86 platform took over the server market. The same kind of thing is happening now with ARM architecture becoming so pervasive that it will have an order of magnitude of more devices shipped in the computing market, providing application vendors to develop on the platform. The larger the platform the more it has going for it and NVIDIA believes it has every chance to be a major disruption in all levels of computing over the next 10 years. For example, earlier this year Microsoft announced it will be supporting Windows on the ARM-based Tegra platform.Don't forget the cloudAs mobile computing on superphones and tablets begins to take precedence, consumers will increasingly become used to accessing data and applications in the cloud. For example, currently most users of YouTube do not feel compelled to download the videos to their client device. In the future, this type of usage model will increasingly be adopted for various multimedia segments including music and movies. In 5-10 years, many consumers will likely completely forego the owning of physical CDs/DVDs, or even the bits on their hard drive. Instead consumers will own the right to things that can be immediately streamed to their client devices. Amazon has already introduced a streaming system using this business model.One of the key features of this paradigm is that there will be increased demand for computation in the cloud. Devices will still need to do local processing to handle decompression and decoding, but servers will also need to improve, especially when it comes to things like graphics computations in the cloud. It is already common knowledge in the industry that the best computing devices in this area feature the perfect balance of a powerful CPU and GPUs. The fastest supercomputer on the planet, the Tiahe-1A housed at China's National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin features powerful x86 CPUs paired with NVIDIA Tesla GPUs. Tesla is also featured in the fastest super computers in Japan, India and Italy.In addition, in the HPC (high performance computing) space, the Tesla GPUs delivers cluster-level performance in a power-efficient workstation. This "high density computing" allows every technical professional to have a dedicated high-performance supercomputer at their desk-side instead of building up a small cluster in the data center. In the HPC space packing as much performance as possible within fixed budget and power parameters is critical. By adding a GPU to a CPU NVIDIA is able to accelerate computing, and this is something the industry is really excited about. Developers with just a minimal amount of work can take small portions of their computing code and move it to the GPU using CUDA to get massive speedups in performance. This is game changing and the results are faster time to insight, something that is crucial in science.For example, in the medical field one of the potential dangers of getting a CT scan is the chance that the process of looking for cancer may actually cause cancer in some cases due to the fact it may take minutes of prolonged X-ray radiation exposure to produce the scan. The use of GPU acceleration to do computation in this field can reduce the amount of radiation needed to complete the scan while also allowing for higher fidelity results through filtering out data. Developments such as these show how advanced GPU accelerated performance can help directly save lives.Can the traditional PC survive?The PC is still going to be the central computing device for consumers, but as processing power increases in all devices, it will actually be the GPU that is the differentiator in these systems in the future. Even now, GPU attach rates in consumer desktops and notebooks are at their highest levels ever. In fact, more than half the consumer PCs today, ship with discrete graphics. This is a trend that NVIDIA believes will continue to grow as consumers expect more from their PCs.However, no matter what can be done on a handset or tablet, users will still be limited by the size and power consumption and there are several applications and many different uses of the classic PC where there is a lot more headroom, including gaming and professional applications. For many years there is going to be a happy cohabitation between traditional PCs and mobile computing devices and consumers will be the beneficiary.In the gaming industry, for example, whether it is smoke in the form of fluid dynamics or an added level of realism through NVIDIA PhysX technology, it will be the GPU that will process a lot of that computation to deliver a jaw dropping experience. NVIDIA understands there is still a whole lot that needs to be done in the traditional personal computer, as well as graphics, areas. More and more the problems of creating the reality users experience and face in real time games requires a combination of the visual as well as the simulation of the environment around the user.During Computex Taipei 2011, NVIDIA will feature demos from companies such as Epic and Crytek that shows off what creative people can do when you put amazing technology in their hands.Investment in Tesla pays offVivoli concluded by stating it is clear that whether it's mobile computing, computing in the cloud, or computing on a PC, NVIDIA is well positioned to be the leader in all these areas. The company made a bet on mobile computing five years ago when they built their Tegra family. This gamble is paying off now as the mobile market is taking off and sales of super phones and tablets are sky rocketing. On the PC side, NVIDIA's focus on GeForce continues and they're constantly raising the graphics bar for what's possible on a PC. I can't wait to see what some of the next gen games will look like. I'm sure they'll be truly cinematic experiences. On the cloud front, NVIDIA's commitment to GPU computing is also paying off. As more data moves to the cloud, companies will need powerful processors that can compute all of this data. That's where NVIDIA's Tesla family comes in. Whether it's the latest super phones or the fastest supercomputer, what was clear at Computex 2011 is that NVIDA is the only company that has a strategy and product line that can address all of these markets.Tesla supercomputer helping to produce safer CT scansNVIDIA Tesla supercomputerNVIDIA helping power supercomputersNVIDIA Tegra-powered phoneNVIDIA Tegra delivering amazing graphicsPhotos: Company

Mobile communications technology is a constantly evolving field. Rather than always trying to keep up with the latest developments, sometimes taking a different strategic tack will work just as well. While NTT docomo came out second-best in the battle for the iPad 3G Japanese market this year, the Personal Wireless Router (PWR) from another NTT company NTTBP (Broadband Platform) created a new opening. A Taiwanese IT vendor played a role in creating the new blue sea market as well. In this report, we visit NTTBP President Tadao Kobayashi to find out about NTTBP's strategy for next-generation wireless networks.The constantly expanding range of mobile Internet services and the length of the industry chain signify that it is becoming increasingly difficult for traditional telcos to control every single development. They must adopt more flexible strategies and ally with more strategic partners to respond to the new challenges.Japan has now surpassed North America and Western Europe to become the largest wireless broadband market in the world and the demand for mobile Internet is continuing to grow rapidly. As the largest telco in Japan, NTT docomo has come under increasing pressure from other competitors such as SoftBank over the past year. (SoftBank secured exclusive Japanese rights to Apple's iPhone and iPad. Both products have proven to be wildly popular in Japan.)Realizing that the popularity of smart phones and the iPad will lead to a surge in demand for network bandwidth, NTT docomo responded by releasing the Personal Wireless Router (PWR). The PWR complemented the public Wi-Fi network deployed by fellow NTT subsidiary NTTBP throughout Japan and quickly gained solid consumer support. While NTTBP usually works quietly behind the scenes, its role in the success of the PWR has increased its stock with the Japanese communications industry.During the interview, NTTBP President Tadao Kobayashi explained that NTTBP's role is that of a network infrastructure provider. NTTBP is the overall integrator and administrator for the public Wi-Fi networks of NTT business units such as NTT East, NTT West, NTT docomo and NTT Communications. It has also set up more than 7,000 base stations in airports, train stations, schools, hotels, cafes and even train carriages throughout Japan. Expanding its services to include smart phones has helped boost NTTBP's data traffic business by several fold.Kobayashi said that Wi-Fi is gradually becoming the standard wireless interface for portable electronic products. Wireless Internet is now increasingly being integrated into notebooks, smart phones, handheld gaming devices and tablet PCs, so the bandwidth demand is continuing to expand as well. "A huge amount of infrastructural investment is required to deliver Wi-Fi grade speeds over LTE (4G) networks. Wi-Fi is low cost and does not involve expensive spectrum licensing fees either, making it an investment that offers very high returns."Kobayashi thinks that NTTBP can use the newly created demand as an opportunity to set up a new business model. "A new market however lacks a precedent, so the process of going from thinking up a concept to securing the support of your partners is therefore very difficult." Nevertheless, this is a process that all original products or inventions must go through and Kobayashi is more than willing to share this experience with Taiwanese vendors looking to move up to the next level.The MOEA Industrial Technology Research Institute has never spared any effort when it comes to looking for international business opportunities. Industrial Development Bureau section chief Long-fon Hsieh said: "By promoting partnership opportunities with major international companies and learning from their development processes for innovative applications, we can help Taiwanese companies develop even more original and localized value-adding application services. This will help enhance the added value from Taiwanese ICT products as well."Kobayashi first met with team leader Chih-yuan Liu and deputy team leader Chi-lung Wang from the ITRI ICT Laboratories five years ago. Thanks to the efforts of the ITRI, NTTBP began working more closely with Taiwanese companies. Apart from sharing NTTBP's own Wi-Fi operations savvy with Taiwan, the ITRI and NTTBP began a technical exchange program last year as well. The latest joint project is power-saving software for smart phones and smart home sensing applications.Commercial confidence means actual PWR sales figures are not available but Kobayashi revealed that triple-digit growth is expected next year, so Japan will assuredly significantly increase its purchases of wireless gateways from Taiwan. When the associated applications and services are expanded to China, the Americas, and Europe, Taiwanese businesses will benefit as well."There is still a great deal of potential in Wi-Fi!" says Kobayashi. NTTBP is now studying the next generation of Wi-Fi communications standards. The interfacing and compatibility issues between PWR products and LTE (4G) networks are being worked on as well. Kobayashi noted that wireless networking is unlicensed, unlike 3G and even 4G networks. It is also free from the restrictions of licensed bands as well, so 3G and Wi-Fi will complement rather than conflict with each other.Digital convergence is now an established trend and users are increasingly coming to expect seamless IT services. The MOEA IDB is now actively promoting partnerships between embedded system vendors and value-added application or content service providers. The partnership will focus on developing the value-added application services derived from digital convergence. The "Create International Supply Chain for Embedded Software Industry" project, commissioned by the MOEA IDB, and being executed by the ITRI, for example, is based on identifying partnership opportunities with major international vendors such as NTTBP. These projects will enable local companies to set up value-added application services suitable for Taiwan and introduce their successful business models to the business market. This will in turn lead local embedded systems, value-added application or content service vendors into emerging blue sea markets.NTT docomo recaptures Japanese mobile market with support of Taiwanese IT vendors and a flexible Wi-Fi strategyPhoto: Company

Thermal management has always been of critical importance in the high tech industry, but it has taken on an even more critical value as energy savings has become more important due to green concerns and the increasing use of mobile devices. Taiwan-based TEAMCHEM is at the forefront of thermal management through its production of flexible ceramic thermal conductive adhesives that can help reduce heat inefficiencies in LED lights, TVs and even for building materials. Below, Dr. Tod Yeh of TEAMCHEM discusses related trends in the industry.Q: Green energy is currently a hot topic in a number of industries. In your opinion, what are some of the current trends and challenges for green energy in the high tech industry, and how is TEAMCHEM involved in facing these challenges?A: In recent years, the awareness of global warming has brought an environmental point of view to a number of industries, including the high tech sector, where research has focused on conducting heat more efficiently in order to reduce carbon emissions and avoid waste.In the LED industry, conversion efficiency is currently the most crucial issue the industry faces. The conversion rate of light energy output in current LED street lamps is only 20%, so another 80% is still converted from electrical energy into heat energy. This 80% energy depletion is an environment killer, and wasting the opportunity to help a system produce useful output power.TEAMCHEM has been very involved in this trend through our focus on developing LED thermal conductive adhesives for aluminum panels, by using our flexible ceramic thermal conductive adhesives.Q: What are flexible ceramic thermal conductive adhesives?A: Flexible ceramic thermal conductive adhesives provide heat transfer between heat-generating components and cooling devices. The adhesives are made of nano-grade ceramics that serve as a thermal conductive substrate.For TEAMCHEM, our recipe contains a flexible, special high-temperature resistance resin that gives the flexible ceramic thermal conductive adhesive a tolerance pH range of 3-11 with acid/alkali resistance properties, as well as being sprayable, anti-static and self cleaning. The color of the adhesive can also be tailored according to customer demand.Q: What types of LED applications are these adhesives targeting?A: At first it was players in the LED street lamp industry that came to TEAMCHEM for assistance in solving light depletion problems caused by anodized or paint protection treatment of lamp housing. The issue was that this type of treatment prohibited the lamp heat from dissipating properly, resulting in increased internal temperatures and leading to light depletion in the LED epitaxy.The heat resistance of flexible ceramic heat conductive adhesives is almost as low as metal. In addition, not only can it conduct heat effectively, it can also protect the lamp from the external environmental erosion. In general, it is much cheaper than using a traditional process.Q: Are there any other new applications that ceramic heat conductive adhesives are suitable for?A: We are always looking for more applications that are suitable for our solution, and in this way we can support our Taiwan partners. The most powerful winning strategy of Taiwanese manufacturers when competing against South Korea and Japan technology is innovative thinking. In the R&D battle, the only chance to win is to produce products faster and better.Taiwanese companies have already deployed flexible ceramic heat conductive adhesives in solutions such as equipment housing, internal cooling modules, heat sinks for chipset and circuit board, aluminum heat sink modules and solid-state capacitors generating high temperatures.Recently we are seeing heat conductive materials being targeted as an ideal solution for numerous applications, such as in LED TVs, monitors, motor coils, solid state capacitors, communication base station cooling modules, desktop/laptop CPU or GPU heat sink modules and even for paint for green building materials.Q: How does your solution work?A: This kind of thermal resistance solution will drop the temperature of the main heat source of circuit boards at first, then the heat conducted through cooling fins or cooling modules will also fall and then transmit and dissipate the heat. Comparing this to conventional thermal engineering methods and techniques, this new overall thermal resistance solution can reduce the system temperature up to 7~10 degrees Celsius.In terms of applying our solution, at present, one kilogram of our spray can cover 40-50 square meters, and the material cost is below NT$90/square meter.Q: LED TVs are currently becoming very popular. Can you tell us how your solution can be applied for LED TVs?A: The thing we observed in the development of LED televisions is that although super large, these systems are super thin. The market was dominated originally by Japan's Sony, who was the pioneer, but South Korea's Samsung Electronics has now caught up.How have these South Korean and Japanese manufacturers been able to make such thin LED TVs? The answer is not in their ability in mold technology, but in heat conduction technology. The Japanese already inherited this ability from their earlier experience in producing thin and light notebook PCs, as they established solid thermal solution concepts.Success in producing such thin solutions must begin in how fundamentals are thought about; meaning heat conductive modules should not be placed in reaction to produced heat but must be thought about when designing the system.At TEAMCHEM, we inspect all aspects of the design, from the IC chip, capacitor resistance, keyboard air convection, vent design, housing thermal conductivity and thermal material. This is done to minimize thermal resistance at every step of product development. The final accomplishment is temperature reduced and dissipated effectively.If done right, a solution can be as thin as a feather. We've seen in it in notebooks, and now we are seeing it with 55-inch LED TVs. The heavy and bulky rear TV cover becomes a beautiful aluminum heat conductive panel.Once the overall thermal resistance is reduced, the output power can increase and heat still dissipates, so the system's power consumption is also much lower than in the past.Q: You mentioned building materials as well. How are builders using your solution?A: Building materials manufacturers discovered that the properties of this kind of flexible ceramic thermal conductive adhesive are different form traditional rigid waterproof insulation paint. Rigid waterproof insulation paint is used to create a thermal barrier, and generate a protective coverings film between the gaps of the roof wall. But the heat cannot be discharged.The flexible ceramic heat conductive adhesive will reflect the heat source itself, and can also reduce the thermal resistance for heat conduction. The flexible adhesive will penetrate into cracks and continue being flexible, which can effectively prevent the infiltration of moisture. Its anti-static properties will also prevent dust from sticking on the surface. The material itself is lead-free, halogen-free, non-toxic pollution free, and is a biodegradable organic material.Digitimes was not involved in the creation or production of this sponsored content.

A long-term fixture in Taiwan’s motherboard industry, Shuttle phased out its motherboard business at the end of 2004, and now focuses its business around its XPC small-form-factor (SFF) PCs. DigiTimes.com recently spoke with product marketing vice president Jonathan Yi about competing in the motherboard market as a second-tier player and the challenges Shuttle now faces in growing its XPC business. Q: Although executives from Shuttle have mentioned that the company quit the motherboard business, the company has never made any official statements. Can you tell us why Shuttle left the motherboard business? A: Shuttle had been in the motherboard industry for over 20 years. However, over the past three to four years, this business was not providing us with any profits. As a second-tier vendor, we were at a disadvantage, considering that first-tier vendors usually have 40-50 motherboard models on the market and another 20-30 models under development, while second-tier motherboard vendors have to try to compete with only 10-15 models. Actually, if you look at the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE), you will see that most second-tier motherboard companies have not been making any profits over the past few years. So, rather than splitting our resources by continuing to invest in a losing proposition, we decided it would be a much better return on investment if we focused all of our R&D on XPC development. Q: Do you think other second-tier motherboard companies will have to face similar decisions in the future, meaning do you see consolidation in the market? A: If you look at Taiwan’s motherboard industry, about 100 million boards are shipped each year, and the first-tier vendors – Asustek, ECS, Gigabyte and MSI – account for about 80% of the market. So, that leaves very little room for the 10-15 second- and third-tier companies that still produce motherboards. In addition, the clone PC market is shrinking, as more and more consumers are buying PCs from the top 10 brands, and this trend is affecting the overall growth of the motherboard industry (according to MIC, Taiwan’s motherboard shipments only increased 3.6% on-year in 2004 and the volume is expected to increase only 2.3% in 2005). In response to this trend, companies such as Asustek and Foxconn are cutting their costs and aggressively looking to expand their market share, which is making things even harder for second-tier makers. In my personal opinion, three or four motherboard companies will account for most of the market in the future. There will be a place for some second-tier makers, but they will have to adjust to the structure of the market in order to survive. For a company like Shuttle, we cannot survive on 150,000 motherboards per month. Maybe that is a business for a company with less than 100 employees. The future will be that of a second-tier comprised of much smaller companies that specialize in niche or emerging markets. The companies need to find a niche where the larger players are not paying attention. For us, we originally found our niche market with our XPCs in Japan. We have now grown our XPC business to the point where we can compete with first-tier motherboard vendors on brand-name and technology, so we do not need to rely on the motherboard business any more. Q: Are SFF PCs still a niche market? A: Well, in one sense SFF PCs are not a niche product, in the sense that all first-tier motherboard companies have marketed this type of product. However, companies like Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Dell have not really targeted the market, and the total shipment volume of is still only a small percentage of total PC shipments, so it is most definitely a niche market. Q: Is it an advantage for Shuttle that the SFF PC market is still niche, in that you don’t have to compete with larger players such as HP and Dell? A: Not really. If companies such as HP and Dell entered the market, they might bring Shuttle down, but we do not think that way. As I mentioned, we have built up our brand in the market and we have confidence in our products. Apple is just as famous as those other large brands, and the introduction of the Mac mini has not impacted our shipments one way or the other. However, those big brands do have a strong influence in the PC market and if they entered the SFF market, the overall shipment volume would most certainly grow, which is what we want. We want to expand the market, as that is the way to grow profits. Shipment growth is the nature of the PC business. The key to a company’s success, though, is the manner in which it increases its shipments. Q: If larger brands enter the SFF market, would you pursue OEM relationships with them, being that you have in the past had OEM relationships with some vendors marketing SFF PCs, or do you want to push your own brand? A: We are not really interested in pursuing any OEM business and it is not only because we want to market our own-brand. It is not that simple. Our experience is that the OEM mentality is different from the one we want. The goal in the OEM business is to aggressively cut your costs, which ultimately hurts your innovation and quality. We do not want to be constrained by this kind of cost-down mentality. We currently produce 12-15 models per year and we have a lot of other experimental models that never make it to market. That is where we are spending our R&D money, on technical innovation and product design. Q: Shuttle is quite well known in the gaming and enthusiast markets. Will you continue targeting this market, or will you also try to produce some more mainstream products? A: In general, the price difference between our XPCs and standard PCs in the mainstream market is a challenge for us to overcome. For example, Dell can sell an entry-level system for US$499 whereas we would sell a similar system for US$699, due to the smaller size, quieter noise level and special design of our product. Mainstream customers have not yet been willing to accept that bump in price. However, on the higher-end of the market, the difference is less pronounced and users are willing to pay a little extra for the added features. As a result, we have tended to focus on developing products for the enthusiast and professional segments. However, although this segment accounts for the bulk of our shipments, over the past six months our sales have been flat at 40,000-50,000 units per month. Before that, our shipments were growing. We believe that perhaps the barebones market has reached the saturation point. Over the past four years, we have shipped about 1.5 million XPCs, and I believe some 70% of these products are still on duty, meaning that we have not hit the start of the replacement cycle yet. Of course, some enthusiasts do change their systems quite often, but that is only a small proportion of the market. For more mainstream users, they may expect to use the product longer, maybe every four years. We have not figured out the exact replacement cycle yet. But since our products are priced higher than mainstream PCs, we believe that users will be able to get more mileage out of them, which means a longer replacement cycle. Q: How about the market for systems? A: In general, the systems market is for users who cannot assemble the systems for themselves. When it comes to things technical…forget about it. They just want to surf the Internet. They are also looking to pay mainstream prices for their products. For example, Dell can sell an entry-level system for US$499 whereas we would sell a similar system for US$699, due to the smaller size, quieter noise level and special design of our product. Mainstream customers have not yet been willing to accept that bump in price. However, on the higher-end of the market the difference is less pronounced and users are willing to pay a little extra for the added features. So, for the past year we have focused on introducing products for the enthusiast and professional segments, and most of our systems sales have been from those segments. However, as I said earlier, perhaps the shipment level has peaked. If we were able to design a mainstream product that maintained the quality, performance and sound level of our current XPCs, while also narrowing the price gap with competing mainstream PCs, then we would see a big spurt in our XPC sales. However, growing the mainstream market has the risk of alienating your customers on the high-end. There is still debate within our company on the importance of the lower end of the market. Some in our company think we should remain only in the high-end, while others believe we should introduce more mainstream products. There is no conclusion yet, meaning that any developments here are still in the discussion phase. However, if we want to stay in the market over the long-term, we will have to seriously consider mainstream products. Q: Although your gross margins were above 10% in the first quarter of this year and the company made a profit, you had losses of NT$76 million in the fourth quarter of last year. Can you say anything about Shuttle’s financial status? A: Well as we discussed earlier, Shuttle exited the motherboard business at the end of last year, so there were a number of things that had to be written off. However, the big reason was the appreciation of the Taiwan dollar. In fact, the depreciation of the US dollar continued to affect our business into the first quarter of this year, which means our profits should have been even better for the last quarter. Another contributing factor to last year’s disappointing four quarter was the fact that our gross profits were lower. We did not have any strong product launches, which tend to give a boost to margins. However, the situation improved greatly in the first quarter of this year, with the launch of our nForce4-based XPC. Our second quarter results should be even better than the first, as the exchange rate is steadier and the new product effect is there. Q: Can you tell us what is the outlook for the rest of the year? A: Well, since we did not have any profits in the fourth quarter of last year, we are quite aware of the need to remain profitable. That is the short-term goal for the rest of the year. We will not be trying to expand our market share using pricing strategies this year. However, we will still introduce a total of 10-12 new products for this year. We may also look to expand our business in developing markets, such as in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) markets. In these markets we can have a great deal of improvement. Q: Will you add more new products at Computex? At Computex, we are introducing our dual-core solution based on Intel’s 945 chipset, as well as being the first SFF PC company to introduce a SLI (Scalable Link Interface)-supporting SFF PC. In addition, we are developing our concept of the digital home, and we will be showing our streamlined Pentium M-based M1000, which we introduced at CeBIT earlier this year. This product will be released sometime this summer at the same time as our widescreen 20-inch LCD is launched. Q: Are you optimistic about the market for the digital home? A: The digital home is still a long way off. In terms of hardware, software and the user interface, we think it still has a long way to go. However, compared to the PC market, it has much more of an upside. At this point, companies need to get involved by introducing products. Unless you get involved in the early stage, you will end up being a follower, which may mean sacrificing your quality or profits. Shuttle product marketing vice president Jonathan Yi Source: Company

Although the PC industry has always seen variations of small-form-factor (SFF) PCs, it was only when Shuttle Computer introduced its first XPC about four years ago that the segment really took on a life of its own. Shuttle is now widely recognized as the pioneer of the SFF movement, and Ken Huang, Shuttle vice president of systems development, is considered the chief architect of the SFF concept at Shuttle. DigiTimes recently met with Mr. Huang to talk about the history of the XPC and how the product changed the company, as well as the challenges Shuttle now faces in the SFF market. Q: Shuttle is considered the industry pioneer of small-form-factor PCs. Could you briefly review the circumstances that led you to develop this market? A: Shuttle has been in the motherboard industry since 1983. However, as PC growth began slowing several years ago, the industry began falling into decline. With standards set by Intel, IBM or even Microsoft, motherboards had become a commodity product, which left little room for motherboard companies to earn a profit. At Shuttle though, we noticed that IC design was progressing at a fast pace, and this development opened up new opportunities in motherboard design. So, we decided to design a motherboard that was much more compact than the industry standard, which was ATX at the time. You see, ATX boards are quite large and support a number of expansion slots, but IC design had improved to the point where more and more functions were being integrated onto the chips. This meant that more features could be incorporated within a smaller motherboard footprint, and less expansion slots were needed. Our partner on our first project was VIA, and we designed a 17×17cm board for them. What is now the Mini ITX platform is actually based on that original 17×17cm board design. When we first started selling this motherboard, our sales were not that strong. An interesting reaction to our design was that customers took a look at the much smaller motherboard and immediately assumed that it was less powerful and had fewer features than a standard motherboard. Another problem we faced at the outset was that we were still using an ATX chassis with the motherboards, which left a lot of empty space inside the chassis. This also led customers to believe that the design was lacking features. So, we realized that we had to develop our own chassis for the motherboard, and we developed the cube-type chassis, and the product became the XPC. The first XPC we sold was the SV24, and we targeted the Japan market. Customers loved this product, and our sales did very well. Q: Aside from size, what were some of the key differences between your XPC small-form-factor computers and more traditional computers? A: The thing about our new form factor was that it created a truly “desktop” PC, and moving a desktop PC to the tabletop was actually a revolutionary process. It introduced a number of challenges that PC vendors had not really dealt with before. Traditionally, a desktop PC sits under the table, far away from the user and out of the field of vision. However, with the XPC, users were only about 50cm away from the product and always within line of sight, making acoustics, aesthetic design, and accessibility much more important. The first version of our XPC did not take this close working relationship into account and produced a noise level similar to standard PCs – about 50dB – and this was unacceptable to our customers. Since then, we have made noise reduction a central issue in our XPC product development, and our current XPCs produce 30-40dB on average, which is very similar to the background noise level of an average living room. Also, when the PC was sitting under the desk, users did not worry about the appearance, the external design, of the product, but once we moved the PC to the “desktop,” users became much more aware of the style and look of the product, and in turn much more demanding. Shuttle was a leader in bringing style to the PC, and our XPCs were some of the first products to introduce an aluminum chassis and stylish bezels. In addition, moving the PC to the desktop made it much more accessible, so users wanted a much more user-friendly device. We were one of the first companies to include a front-panel interface in our computer designs. We included USB, earphones and firewire connectors on the front panel of our early products, and we have continued in that vein, providing even more multimedia connectivity on the front of our XPCs, including S/PDIF and 5.1 audio. We also pay special attention when planning the layout, so for example our card reader is placed near the top of the computer, where it is much more accessible. Q: How did the XPC change Shuttle? A: Shuttle was in the motherboard business for 20 years, but this could never be a successful business for us as it is based on price and volume, and less on know-how. So we exited the motherboard business completely, and we now focus on our XPC business. However, although XPCs are the focus of our business, we also sell the components that help complete the total XPC experience. For example, most of our systems are sold as barebones units, so we also offer our customers products such as keyboards, mice and DVD burners that match the style and craft of the XPC. In addition, since our product is a portable solution, we found that we had to design our own LCD monitors. Portable monitors need to be rugged, and although it is easy to purchase rugged monitors on the market, it is very difficult to find high-performance rugged monitors, especially ones that are portable and stylish. We are also looking to expand our business by doing special chassis designs for companies that want total-immersion branding. We are way out in front of this trend, and to tell you the truth, we are waiting for the market to catch up with us – and it will. Look around and you will see product placement everywhere; there is even a Hello Kitty computer. Last year, we did a special project as part of our sponsorship of the World Cyber Games (WCG) 2004 Grand Final held in San Francisco. Every competition and administration machine was an XPC with full WCG branding for the event. During and after the show we sold all of the 1,000 or so units we built for the event. It was very gratifying. Q: So how successful has the company been? After all, although it is possible to make PCs smaller and with a nicer appearance, this does add to the cost of the product. Do people really want this type of product – meaning, are people willing to pay more for a small-form-factor PC? A: Speaking strictly in revenue terms, our sales were flat in 2004, but you also have to realize that we were phasing out our motherboard business last year. In terms of the XPC business, though, in the past most of our sales have targeted the DIY market, which means professional users. In this segment, we have been able to develop a strong following, especially among what we call the buzzmakers, people who spread the word to their friends, families and colleagues, letting them know how great the product is. However, no matter how much the buzzmakers talk up the product, they can’t go around building systems for everyone, so the DIY market is limited to more professional users. That’s why, in order for us to be more successful in the long term, we have started to provide complete systems to develop our business in the consumer segment. Selling complete systems in the consumer segment is new for us, though, and since our product is so special, it requires us to devote a lot of resources to educating the market. In addition, we are spreading the awareness on our own, as few companies offer a solution like ours. However, the market is interested in products like this, and we are confident in the direction our company has taken. Look at Apple. They have just come out with the Mac mini. Why? Because that is the future of the PC, combining stylish design with a small form factor. Shuttle is already there. Compare the PC market to any other market. Think of cars; most people would find it strange if over the past 20 years, every car on the market looked the same, with vendors only upgrading the engines. But this is actually the case in the PC industry. “PC” stands for personal computer, and we have set about making it a more personal product, adding an aluminum casing and a more stylish design, instead of offering beige boxes like every other vendor. Most PC companies are unimaginative, and their actions demonstrate how they believe that PC stands for “price equals cost.” At Shuttle, on the other hand, we believe that hi-tech can have style, and that is what people want. Q: So Shuttle is evolving from a motherboard and barebones PC vendor to a provider of complete solutions. What are some of the challenges you face in this transition and what percentage of your shipments will be complete systems this year? A: In transitioning to a complete systems provider, we have had to further develop our logistics network, as finished products require more consideration for customs, taxes and local after-sales support. In addition, we have had to increase our ability to secure financing and more reliably forecast our sales, since as a system provider we need to outlay more money for CPUs, memory, and other components, whose volatile pricing requires good inventory control. We estimate that about 10% of our sales this year will be complete systems, but we are taking it slow. In North America, we sell direct, through e-commerce sites, but we also sell systems through the retail channel at CompUSA and BestBuy. The Europe market is being developed through our office in Germany, which acts as a clearinghouse for the rest of Europe. Q: Do you see recent developments with Apple’s Mac mini and Intel’s pico-BTX solution as a threat to your business or as a positive development? A: We think the Mac mini is very positive for Shuttle. Apple is a major IT company, so people will look at what they are doing and start paying more attention to the small-form-factor market, which will help it expand. For Apple, though, its growth will be limited by the fact that the Mac operating system is not really expected to win over more than 5% of the market. At any rate, Shuttle is the leader in the small-form-factor segment for style, performance and quality, so we are the ones who will benefit as the market expands. At Shuttle, we like it when our competitors advertise, because they draw more attention to the small-form-factor segment, even though they lack the quality, style and depth of product that Shuttle provides. Q: . . . and pico-BTX? A: Shuttle does not see pico-BTX as being a threat. In fact, we are the only company to have a pico-BTX solution already selling in the channel. However, at Shuttle, we consider our self-developed Integrated Cooling Engine (ICE) heatpipe technology a more advanced thermal solution. Our ICE technology has a thermal efficiency of 0.16 but the thermal efficiency of pico-BTX is 0.33. However, we also believe that companies will have difficulty figuring out the thermals for pico-BTX, especially for graphics cards. The pico-BTX standard calls for an even airflow over the motherboard, but some of the more powerful fans used on high-end graphics cards will disrupt this airflow. This is mostly due to the BTX-designed placement of the graphics card in the chassis, which makes the thermals difficult to control. Even our current solution, the XPC SB86i, is meant to be used as an integrated graphics solution. However, in the long term we think BTX will help our competitors more than us. They are not as devoted to the details of their products as we are, so they will be very willing to just follow an industry standard set by someone else. At Shuttle, we will have a full lineup, featuring our own designs, as well as pico-BTX solutions. Q: What is the future of your mini-PCs, and would you consider offering cost-down solutions to expand the market? A: Consumer products are one of the future products, and we are looking to target the general market with our complete systems. At the same time, however, we will continue to target power users. Shuttle is the market leader in terms of thermal design, and our biggest advantage is in the performance market. Even though we are seeing chip designers aiming for a plateau in the energy consumption of their products, you have to consider that their designs are coming in ever-smaller packages, which makes it more difficult to control the thermals. Nevertheless, Shuttle now advertises thermal support for 3.8GHz and beyond, and our P-chassis features a 350-watt power supply. In terms of cost-down. Shuttle focuses on solutions, not costs. So, the reason Shuttle products may be more expensive than the competition is because we offer more features. Of course, we are concerned about reducing our costs, but not at the expense of quality. For the SFF market to grow, it will not take lower costs but a more educated market. If you look at other products on the market, people are willing to pay more for products they like. The problem facing our market is that most people are not even aware that these products are available. Ken Huang, Shuttle vice president of systems development Photo: company Shuttle SB77G5 XPC Photo: company Shuttle XP17 LCD monitor with XPC Photo: company Total immersion marketing Photo: company