The island's makers also face challenges, however. Taiwanese firms accustomed to operating behind the scenes may struggle for years to market their own products to a point where customers know and trust them. Some have no experience building a brand, while others put too little money into the effort.

Taiwanese firms targeting consumers "can't be successful unless they have very good marketing to accompany their brands," said Mike Clendenin, managing director with RedTech Advisors in Shanghai. Otherwise, he said, "consumers are going to be confused and stick with [what] they had before, like the HPs, Samsungs and Apples."

They must also be careful about competing with their contract manufacturing customers. Some deal with this by setting up separate companies that have almost nothing in common but the board of directors, and by avoiding markets where their top clients are most active.

Gigabyte Technology, for example, one of the island's biggest motherboard manufacturers, has a separate business unit that makes its PCs. "There would be a conflict for sure, otherwise," said company Senior Vice President Richard Ma.

Acer, which established itself as a PC maker 15 years ago, was the most valuable of Taiwan's high-tech brands in 2010, according to the consultancy Interbrand. HTC was second, and Asustek, known for pioneering the worldwide market for netbook PCs, was third.