DigitalDavao’s First Computex Experience is definitely a memorable one. Computex Taipei is one of the most sought-after tech exhibit in Asia.
We have been personally invited by friends Lester Avila (Mindanao Cyber Expo) and Jessie Tiongson (Bernardo Mod Chop) to join the said event. I can still remember how Lester tells us about the great things to see and experience there. Jessie on the other hand guided us on how to register and offered a helping hand in doing the process.
I did some research and tried the event online-registration as early as December 2018. I was quite unsure of how to register and to my dismay I found the site registration portal unavailable. I took a chance to email their support and seek for assistance. I was then informed that International Visitor online-registration will be opened by March 2019. That made me chill my excitement and waited for three more months to register.
Online-Registration as International Visitor was a breeze but I was a bit nervous because there was still a possibility for my registration to be DENIED. Just after twenty-four hours, I got an email containing the confirmation letter from Computex and got some info on where to pickup the event badge.
Upon our arrival at the Taoyuan International Airport, I quickly looked for the Computex Booth to collect my event badge. The booth was easy to find and the people there were very accommodating. I got my official event badge and to my surprise was Computex provided a five-day pass for Transportation. WOW! This just shows you how big this event is.
I booked an airbnb room at xinyi district near Taipei International Convention Center and Taipei 101. I chose this location thinking that the most of the event be at the TICC. My place was three to five minutes walk and day 1 was a rainy day. Lucky for me that my airbnb room has an umbrella ready for me.
At the TICC, Intel displays were all over the ground floor, from servers to robotics and surveillance. I was looking around and went to the second floor to check out other booths. Got informed that the second floor was for keynote events for media and visitors. I asked for and event magazine and learned about the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Hall 1. Two train transfers and about an hour of travel from the where I stay, this is where the free transport pass comes to play. I entered Computex Day 1 and was amazed of how big it was in the Nangang Exhibition Center. It was wonderland. It was everything as advertised and even better in person.
I saw the familiar brands like AsRock, InWin, Zadak, Ducky, G-skill and Silverstone to name some. This is just the ground level of the event hall. There are even more brands that I haven’t even heard of. Familiar fellow Filipinos had their banners displayed in their respective brand partners booth. (Jesse Palacio of JP Modified for G-skill and Mickee Lacerna of MadMods PC Modding for Zadak) I took my time to see the different booths and learn about their products. A single day is not enough to have all the info we need to share to all of our readers, take note this is just the first level.
The second day, I intended to see ASUS ROG, ASUS TUF, MSI, Alphacool, CoolerMaster and Biostar to name some. Got informed that they are located at the fourth level of the Exhibition Hall. So, I found my way to the fourth level and behold another level of enchanting tech brand gathering waiting to be explored. Microsoft was right at the doorstep from the west wing where I entered. I saw ASUS ROG and TUF booths holding many of the event goers, went to Alphacool booth to meet a new friend and see their gorgeous booth for watercooling parts, meet Jesse Palacio personally as he passed by the Alphacool booth. Everything was like lightning fast for me but it was actually taking the whole day. How I wish to stay longer as I look into the different gadget, part or side event. There was too many going on all at the same time and I could only focus on only one at a time.
Third day marks my last day, events are to last two more days but due to expense management I chose to only spend until the third day of the event. I told myself to enjoy every last second of Computex 2019 as this experience can’t be enjoyed by everyone. I went another go around level one to look for a friend’s computer display at the AITC Memory booth, the computer display was MONTARV2 a computer mod created by two Davao based computer modders (Arnold Calinawan and Davey Coscos). Both were supposedly invited to Computex, but Arnold was working in Japan and Davey had passport problems thus not making it to the event. I, personally am a fan of both due to their perseverance and skill. I saw the first version of MONTAR and seeing its version 2 at the exhibition hall was even better. I was proud of their work. I then went to the third level to see what’s on display and I found Taiwan Excellence display booth, saw them in Davao during the Davao International Marathon where they displayed items from the top Taiwan brands. With my time growing thin, I went back to the fourth level and was lucky to join MSI’s side-event Meet the Creative Minds. It was Colie Wertz Concept Artist and Modeler for Starwars and Marvel, talking about how he can use MSI’s powerful laptop to create his masterpieces. It was a quick one but I was all-ears while doing an FB live, it takes me back to my college days where I used to join events where successful creators share their wares on how they make their masterpiece.
I am not sure if I can still can attend next year’s event, I want to but still unsure. But I surely am fulfilled with my experience in Computex 2019. It was not a dream of mine, it was an experience shared to me by friends who I believe feels the same. An experience which not all of us can enjoy, but can be experienced by people who work on it and make it happen.