Once upon a time, purchasing something "Made in taiwan" meant you were getting a cheap knock-off. But, thanks to Taiwan's rapid economic growth (warning: linked article is written by the Government Information Office of the country), it's even clearer today that this isn't true anymore, especially in the world of Mobile Devices.

An obvious example of this is HTC (High Tech Computer Corporation). Ever since the Taiwanese manufacturer became the hardware partner in Microsoft's push to make Windows Mobile dominant, it's presence on the worldwide mobile market is growing. A lot of service operators sell renamed HTC devices.

And according to ABI Research, by 2008 Taiwan will have shipped 281 million handsets; the research firm projects that more service operators will ask Taiwanese manufacturers to provide customized gadgets for their consumers, since Taiwan can depend on significant "cost advantages" like "setting up plants in mainland China."

I think this is great news for Smartphone and PDA users everywhere. As it becomes more apparent that there's money to be made producing gadgets for service operators, cutthroat competition will happen between manufacturers. New players may join the game, and veterans will have to work hard to stay in it. The companies that remain once the dust settles will have survived because they were able to provide better smartphones and PDAs at lower cost, and at the end of the day, it'll be consumers who'll enjoy the spoils of the victors.