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ASUS wants to be "another Apple"

ASUS chairman Jonney Shih has successfully guided his company through the spinoff of their manufacturing arm Pegatron (whom Apple is already ready to do business with), and in the process stated that he wants the computer maker to become "another Apple," but one based on open-source platforms like Google's Chrome OS and Android platform and chips sourced from ARM. However, ASUS is also carefully leaving the option of Windows/Intel products on the table to "suit consumer demand" -- or in other words, "keep ASUS solvent." He also hinted at a "killer product" launch in June, which Electronista sees as a thinly-veiled hint of ASUS's forthcoming Eee Tablet, the company's answer to Apple's iPad.

As for their ambitions to become an "open Apple," good luck to them. So far Chrome OS and Android have both seen adoption rates best described as "niche," and Linux has been a widely-espoused "open" alternative to Windows and OS X for over a decade (in which time, they've gained little traction in the marketplace). Chrome OS and the Android platform certainly have the potential to become successful, but it seems odd to pin ASUS's future success on the hopes of "open" platforms that have yet to catch on with the average consumer. I won't go so far as to say that ASUS's ambitions are doomed to fail before they've begun, but if they really want to become "another Apple," they have a hard road ahead of them.

[Via Electronista]