CEATEC JAPAN 2007

Duration

October 2nd - 6th 2007

Location

Makuhari Messe (Nippon Convention Center)

Exhibition Trends

The CEATEC JAPAN exhibition was held for the eighth time in 2007. Under the theme "Experience the Frontline of Digital Convergence," the event brought together the latest technologies, products, systems and software--reflecting the age of digital networking created by the convergence of communications, information and imaging. It attracted 895 exhibiting companies and organizations, including 348 overseas entities from 20 countries and regions outside Japan. With a total of 3,199 booths, CEATEC JAPAN 2007 outstripped the preceding year's exhibition in both scale and participation level. A noticeable feature was a stronger international flavor than previous years, attributable to growing overseas interest in the exhibition. With 65 more overseas participants compared with 2006, this strong international contingent represented 39% of total exhibitors.

The exhibition attracted 205,859 total visitors over the five-day period. This record-breaking total also exceeded the organizers' target of 200,000 visitors. There were two main factors behind the high level of attendance. In addition to widespread interest from industry and the general public keen to see the myriad cutting-edge products on display, extensive daily coverage by newspapers, television, the Internet and other media also contributed to the show's popularity. A new attendance record for a single day was created on the fourth day, Friday, October 5, when the exhibition hosted 52,194 visitors. Such figures indeed attest to the growing recognition among a wide crosssection of society of CEATEC JAPAN as a comprehensive trade show for cutting-edge IT and electronics.

The exhibition was divided into the Digital Network Stage and the Electronic Components, Devices & Industrial Equipment Stage. To accommodate the increase in exhibitors and provide an enhanced visitor experience, this year we added three more halls (9, 10 & 11) to Halls 1-8 used last year. The large exhibition took up the entire floor area of Makuhari Messe for the first time since 2001.

The Digital Network Stage, which occupied Halls 1-3 and 9- 11, was divided into two zones: the Home & Personal Zone and the Business & Society Zone. The zones showcased new technologies and products for home and business, including digital home appliances, wireless networks, car electronics and broadcasting applications. Many vendors of digital home appliances gathered in Halls 9-11, where they used all sorts of elaborate themes to display their wares in booths that were larger than previous years. Flat-panel displays were a particularly popular group of products. While last year's exhibits reflected competition to see who could produce the largest screen, the focus this year had shifted to making the thinnest panel. Visitors marveled at Sony's organic EL television and Sharp's and Hitachi's ultrathin panels measuring several millimeters to several centimeters thick. Companies such as Microsoft (a first-time exhibitor), Fujitsu and NEC demonstrated new directions in digital convergence by displaying cutting-edge technologies using high-speed broadband networks.

The theme of the Electronic Components, Devices & Industrial Equipment Stage was "Electronic Components and Devices Sustaining Monozukuri Innovation." It featured the booths of manufacturers of electronic components and devices that sustain rapid technological developments and develop the technologies and products that create new industries and markets. Various kinds of sensors proposing new user interfaces proved very popular among visitors this year. On display were many cutting-edge technologies offering new possibilities for electronic devices, such as touch panels and acceleration sensors, as well as image recognition technologies. Enthusiastic efforts by component manufacturers to create more business opportunities were evident in the lengths to which exhibitors went to stage presentations that made complex technologies easy to understand. Digital convergence represents the coming together of previously independent technologies, products, industries and markets under the umbrella of digital technologies, as well as the absorption of such technologies into new industries and markets. At the same time, the expansion of information technology (IT) infrastructures has led to new convergence in such areas as broadcasting, communications and the Internet. All of these factors are combining to create new businesses and markets. At last year's exhibition, some barriers to this convergence were still visible. At CEATEC JAPAN 2007, however, we saw tangible evidence of the reality of convergence. Visitors were able to sense the approach of new business styles and lifestyles, as they were surrounded by a plethora of cutting-edge technologies, products and services with added value created by digital convergence amid huge changes to our society, lifestyles and commerce.

Exhibitors: 895

Visitors: 205,859