BenQ's Lifestyle Design Center

Talking about BenQ's brand positioning, Lee said "we hope to bring enjoyment to our customers through our products."

The clear brand strategy saved BenQ half the time its local predecessors such as Acer Inc needed to boost brand awareness, Tseng said.

But, novel industrial design has been key to establishing the brand concept in BenQ's electronic devices, from digital music players to liquid-crystal-dis play (LCD) televisions, Tseng said.

"BenQ is gradually cultivating a cult following among its users, like Apple Computer Inc did with its popular iMacs and iPods. This is the highest goal a brand can achieve," Tseng said.

Lifestyle design was BenQ's core competitiveness area when the brand started out in 2001, Lee said.

"People were suspicious of this strategy. But, now we see followers taking the same steps as BenQ," Lee said.

Two years ago, Asustek Computer Inc, the world's largest motherboard maker, established a design center for its branded computers under the "ASUS" brand.

However, no significant progress was made until recently, when Asustek tapped into the consumer electronics market with its first mobile phone hitting local stores early this year.

Even before Asustek, BenQ set up its Lifestyle Design Center in 2001 to blend the brand's core value, "enjoy technology," with customers' anticipation f