Electronics firms often talk about breaking away from the low-margin world of original design manufacturing into more lucrative own-branded products, but few ever make it beyond a few hastily produced devices and some splashy short-term marketing.
One company looking to break that trend is Mio Technology - the Taiwan-based subsidiary of manufacturing and logistics giant Mitac International.
Mitac is banking on Mio's range of Mio Digiwalker GPS-enabled devices to give it the brand name it lacks having built a US$15 billion business in the 1990s on the back of product design and manufacturing - as well as logistics - for the likes of Dell, Fujitsu and Siemens.
'Compared to Nokia and Motorola we are still weak as a brand [having launched Mio in 2002], but if you put all our capabilities together we are quite unique - with software development capabilities and end-to-end embedded PDA systems and communications technology expertise in both design and manufacturing,' said Mio Technology general manager Samuel Wang.
'We may have a chance to win this market if we combine these areas of expertise effectively.'
Mitac's mainland history traces the same path as many Taiwanese and international companies in the 1990s. The company was part of the manufacturing boom in Guangzhou from 1993, before expanding operations to the Kushan Export Processing Zone outside Shanghai. The next step will be to the provinces of Hubei, Hunan or Jiangxi, in line with Beijing's efforts to develop the interior.