Posted 10/20/09 at 09:17:38 AM by Pulkit Chandna

Asustek was initiated into the Open Handset Alliance in December 2008 along with a few other handset manufacturers – the second generation of Android backers. Asustek chairman Jonney Shih recently told the Taiwanese media that his company will lift the curtain on its first Android smartphone later this year.

This means that we are a few weeks away from the launch of another Android handset. Shih was addressing the media along with Asus president and CEO Jerry Shen, who said he expects demand for netbooks to remain steady in 2010.

Android and netbooks are not the only things keeping Asustek’s top brass occupied. Chairman Shih said that the company is mulling an entry into the green technology market.

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Posted 08/25/09 at 05:02:39 PM by Pulkit Chandna

In June, Asustek paraded an Android-based Eee PC smartbook powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor at Computex Taipei. The device gave rise to speculation that a commercial variant was on its way.

Asustek CEO Jerry Shen has put all such speculation to rest. "Currently, I still don't see a clear market for smartbooks,” he said during an investors’ conference in Taipei. According to a PC World report, Asus executives have blamed the company’s scarce engineering resources for smartbooks getting consigned to cold storage.

Despite Shen’s statement, Asus could still sell smartbooks developed by contract manufacturer Pegatron, which also happens to be its subsidiary.

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Posted 07/02/09 at 02:33:03 PM by Andy Salisbury

Earlier this week Asus announced their RT-N16 router, which brings their “three ‘S’s’ – Speed for ultra-fast data transfers, Simplicity for unparalleled ease-of-use and ease-of-setup, and Security for absolute peace of mind when performing online tasks.” (Seriously.)

The RT-N16 will feature wireless speeds up to 300Mbps, use an innovative “EZ UI” which will let system administrators easily setup and manage their networks, as well as allocate bandwidth to suit specific needs. And lastly, it’ll sport WiFi Protected Setup (WPS), so that users can lock down their networks quickly and easily.

No word yet on pricing or availability.

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Posted 07/01/09 at 08:30:54 AM by Pulkit Chandna

Asustek seems to have grown tired of the 7-inch and 8.9-inch Eee PCs in its inventory. Perhaps that is why it has decided to slash the prices of the said netbooks. The 7-inch Eee PCs are now available for a meager sum of $153 in Taiwan. The 8.9-inch Eee PC 900A has had its price trimmed down to $219 in China. Benson Lin, president of Asustek’s Asia Pacific division, had earlier this year told Digitimes that the company would completely phase out its 8.9-inch Eee PC netbooks in 2009.

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Posted 03/27/09 at 08:01:03 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Asustek is now busy sprucing up its Eee PC range. The wafer-thin Fold/Unfold notebook, the dual touchscreen Flipbook and voice-controlled Eee PCs are some of the most innovative products on its release calender.

An optical disk drive (ODD) may be pale in comparison to all the scintillating stuff just mentioned, but it is still a big deal for netbooks to have one.

Taiwanese website Digitimes is reporting that the ODD-equipped Eee PC E1004Dn netbook will become available in mid-April. The website also claims to have learnt from its sources that Asus will be releasing the 1080HA, which is fashioned like the MacBook Air, in the month of May.

The E1004DN was showcased at CES 2009. It happens to be the first Eee netbook equipped with an ODD. Apart from the DVD drive, it will feature a 10” display, an Intel Atom N280 processor, 1GB RAM and a 120GB HDD.

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Posted 02/23/09 at 12:53:03 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Microsoft Windows’ hegemony in the netbook market is currently unimpeachable. Contrary to conjectures and forecasts, Linux has failed to take control of the netbook market, a segment tailor-made for it. But can an entirely new Linux distro reverse the trend?

Taiwanese company Asustek is said to be developing a special version of Google’s free Android OS for its netbooks. According to Samsun Hu, head of Asus’ Eee PC division, the company has dispatched a team of engineers to the task.

The company intends to have an Android-based netbook ready by the end of 2009. However, a commercial version is still not a certainty.

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Posted 01/15/09 at 08:16:59 AM by Pulkit Chandna

Asustek’s CEO Johnney Shih confirmed to the New York Times that the company is indeed working on a new smartphone that will bear the popular Eee name. Rumors regarding an Eee smartphone being in the works have been around for a while now. The phone would be priced reasonably.

According to Shih, the Eee phone might “become an interactive control” for a wide array of Asus devices that will be part of Asustek’s vaguely described digital home. Shih envisions a digital home embellished with interactive mirrors. Let us hope there is more to the idea than his fecund imagination.

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Posted 10/22/08 at 03:25:43 PM by Paul Lilly

It doesn't matter that most power users would rather use a desktop replacement notebook in place of a lower cost (and much longer lasting, in terms of battery life) netbook, demand is hot and Asus has plans to stoke the coals. Asus Chairman Jonney Shih sees his company shipping 20 million laptops in 2009, which would mean increasing its output by 77 percent.

Should Asus meet its lofty goal, it would become one of the world's top four laptop makers. Not all of the laptops Asus sells are low-cost units or ultraportables, but many of them are and the market for netbooks doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. According to iSupply, the global notebook PC market will grow 20 percent next year, with the netbook segment twice as active with a 55 percent growth rate. That puts Asus in good position, who's Eee PC line can be argued sports a name brand recognition advantage over its competition.

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