Buying products from a local vendor means there are "lots of repair shops or places to get parts," said Wang Te-hua, 42, a notebook PC shopper at Taipei's Spring Computer Fair in early April.

The next step is often the vast China market, where buyers associate Taiwan with quality electronics and can easily recognize the Chinese-language company names.

The top brands aspire to more mature markets in Europe and North America, where they hope consumers will be willing to take a chance on a lesser-known name if it means paying a lower price.