Trade show Computex fades in post PC era

Hong Kong

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 (personal computers) and its many dependents.

Walking the subdued floors found hardware vendors despondent about their chances in a hyper-competitive market and consumers who increasingly favour 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 Shenzh…