MEGA IT shows may be taking place every quarter, but if sales and visitor numbers at the just-concluded Comex 2007 are anything to go by, consumers and exhibitors are not showing signs of roadshow fatigue just yet.

Over the last four days Comex 2007 drew over 700,000 visitors to its 300,000 sq ft show halls which were spread across three floors of the Suntec Convention and Exhibition Centre.

In keeping with the Chinese seventh lunar month tradition of getais and auctions, some exhibitors were even seen standing on their booths with microphones in hand, peddling time-limited deals for MP4 players, thumb drives and portable hard disks at bargain basement prices.

The annual technology gadget extravaganza, now into its 16th year, was moved to the city centre from its former show ground at the Singapore Expo in Changi. The switch to a more accessible location appears to have gone down well with exhibitors as vendor participation saw a jump from 750 companies in 2006 to 780 this year.

Familiar names like Microsoft, Canon, Creative, Samsung, LG and Sony all lent their weight to the event, along with smaller IT resellers like ATF and MemoryWorld.

Coupled with the improved economic outlook for Singapore, Eastern Directories, the company behind Comex, has also raised its sales outlook for this year's show.

While exact numbers are being tabulated, an Eastern Directories spokesman said the sales target for Comex 2007 has been set at $50 million, up from $35 million in 2006.

His optimism is shared by some of the exhibitors in the show. "We hope to see a 40 per cent increase in sales for IT products (this year) from last year's sales at Comex," said Ng Long Shyang, vice-president of sales and marketing for telecommunications and IT solutions at Samsung Asia.

Rival LG Electronics is also looking for a bountiful harvest. "We expect our sales to be as good, if not better than the PC Show and IT Show," said Howard Lee, managing director of LG Singapore.

Comex, the PC Show and IT Show are three of the four annual technology fairs that have been tugging at the purse strings of IT shoppers, the last one being Sitex which is organised by the Singapore infocomm Technology Federation.