Asus Prepares to Tussle with HTC in Smartphone Market in 2009

Asus is on target to ship between 300,000 and 400,000 handsets by the end of 2008, which isn't nearly as many as the company would have liked. Part of the lower than expected shipment numbers can be attributed to not having enough models to choose from. So far in 2008, Asus has launched just seven new smartphones, or only half as many as the company had hoped with its initial target of 13 to 15.

Going into 2009, Asus plans to make a bigger push into the smartphone market with at least 10 new models, almost all of which will support 3G and come with a touchscreen. Both the transition to 3G and developing handsets based on Google's Android platforms have prevented Asus from releasing as many models as it would have liked up to this point, but according to industry sources in Taiwan, Asus has strengthened its R&D to address both of these areas. If Asus meets its new goals for 2009, it could prove interesting as Asus and rival handset maker High Tech Computer (HTC) try to one-up each other with new devices.