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ASUS launches Eee Storage, takes your Eee PC to the cloud... kind of
Apparently Jerry Shen and the homegirls / boys at ASUS want to get a slice of that sweet cloud pie. According to a report, the computer-maker has launched a service called Eee Storage, which provides 20GB of online storage for Eee PC users, as well as access to downloads of around 3,000 pieces of free software and games. The company hopes to expand the service -- which uses a drag and drop interface for file management -- into a full blown "store" where users can download music and "various other content." In the picture above you can see Jerry demonstrating the service to a group of bemused high school reporters.
Force3D, Asustek, GeCube roll out Radeon HD 4850, 4870 series cards
AMD has already gotten its official business with its new Radeon HD 4850 series out the way, and it now looks like the flood of various iterations is in full swing, with at least three manufacturers already pushing cards out the door. Among the first out of the gate is relative upstart Force3D, which has not only let loose a Radeon HD 4850 card, but a Radeon HD 4870 as well, the latter of which AMD still seems to be staying mum about. As HEXUS.net reports, however, this particular version will boast a core frequency of 750MHz, along with 512MB of GDDR5 memory and an effective clock speed of 3,600MHz. According to DigiTimes, Asustek also has a pair of similar Radeon HD 4870 cards set for release, along with a pair of HD 4850 cards packing 1GB and 512MB of DDR3 memory, while GeCube seems to be content to launch just a single 4850 with 512MB of DDR3 memory. Hit up the links below for the full rundown of specs, which unfortunately doens't include prices just yet.Read - HEXUS.net, "Force3D jumps the gun, launches its Radeon HD 4870"Read - DigiTimes, "Asustek and GeCube launch ATI Radeon HD 4850-based graphics cards" [Via TG Daily, thanks Kris120890]
Garmin's Nuvifone to be manufactured by ASUS?
Word on the street (and by "street" we mean mysterious corners of the internet) is that Garmin's upcoming Nuvifone will actually be manufactured by the ubiquitous and varied ASUS. According to "industry sources" -- that rare breed never seen yet often heard -- the two companies have been working on the device for the past two years, with the computer-maker lending a hand in the RF technology department amongst other things. The sources further claim that the Nuvifone will be the first in a series handsets, with plans to roll out new models through 2010... the year we make contact. More on this breathtaking bit of news as we get it, faithful readers.[Via Unwired View]
ASUS P560 sports Windows Mobile 6.1, many acronyms
Buried underneath the hoopla surrounding the announcement of ASUS' Lamborghini-branded ZX1 at CeBIT, the more mellow P560 was also announced, featuring pretty much every spec the average WinMo buyer could want these days in a package that speaks far, far less about the car you're driving (or wish you were driving, anyway). HSDPA, WiFi, 3.2 megapixel autofocus cam, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, GPS, microSDHC slot, 256MB of ROM, 128MB of RAM, and Microsoft's freshest build of Windows Mobile Professional -- 6.1, that is -- all have managed to find their way into the P560's unassuming shell. Not bad, though the €500 (about $772) price tag could scare a few folks away when it launches next month.[Via Navigadget]
Laptop battery shortage should end by Q3
After a fire at LG Chem, li-on batteries have been hard to come by for companies like Asus and Quanta. But fear not, laptop lovers, because it looks like the battery plant is getting things back in order. According to Sung Fu-hsang at Simplo -- a battery manufacturer that relies on LG Chem -- the li-on supply will return to normal by Q3 2008. So how bad is the current shortage? Asus CEO Jerry Shen noted that his company could have sold a lot more than 5 million Eee PCs were it not for the problem.
Asus formally splits into three companies
Asustek's plan to promote and build the Asus brand has always involved splitting the company into three distinct units, and it looks like the company has finally gone ahead and taken that step -- say hello to the new Asus, which only makes Asus-branded computers, Pegatron, which will handle OEM, mobo, and component manufacturing, and Unihan, which will concentrate on casing, modules and other non-PC manufacturing. Pegatron and Unihan are expected to continue the former Asus' manufacturing tasks with little to no dropoff or transition, but there's a nasty little surprise in store for employees of all three new companies: their former pensions have all been cancelled, and the clock started anew as of January 1. No wonder they named these companies after rejected Decepticons.
IBM tries to stop Asus imports over patent violations
In what's becoming a common strategy by patent plaintiffs to try and speed up the settlement process, IBM has asked the United States International Trade Commission to ban imports of Asus computers due to claimed patent violations. The two companies had a patent license that expired in December of 2004, and IBM says Asus has continued to use the disputed tech since that time, in both Asus-branded machines and machines it's OEM'd for others, like Apple and Dell. IBM isn't getting specific about which patents are being infringed, except to say that it's three patents that cover "important aspects of computer systems, including power supplies, computer cooling and computer clustering capabilities." As always with ITC hearings, there's a 45-day window for the Commission to make a determination, so you may want to snap up that Eee PC sooner rather than later.Disclaimer: Although this post was written by an attorney, it is not meant to be legal advice or analysis and should not be taken as such.
Forbes tells the tale of the Eee PC
Although it's just beginning to trickle out to consumers, it already looks like the Eee PC is going to be a hit -- and just like all potentially game-changing devices, the Eee has a backstory featuring fits of inspiration, handshake business deals, pressure-packed development, and, of course, some late interference from Microsoft. Forbes got the whole tale from Asustek CEO Jonney Shih and other executives, and it's good one: inspired by the interest in the OLPC, Jonney decided to develop an inexpensive laptop for adults, and Intel enthusiastically jumped onboard when it realized the market for all its Classmate PC tech could be much bigger than educational sales. A late offensive from Microsoft -- which realized that Asus was about to sell between three and six million Eees in the first year without Windows -- resulted in the option to boot XP, but Jonney still pushed to perfect the Linux build on the device, saying, "We want to create a revolution. We can't afford to put out a bad product." In the end, it seems like that Jobs-like push for perfection paid off, since we've yet to read a bad review of the Eee -- now if only Asus would ship a few more.
Nokia and others launching "iPhone-like" gear by Q2 2008?
Taiwan's OEM reporting pulse -- DigiTimes -- claims that handset makers Asustek, BenQ, Compal and Arima Communications are all "aggressively developing iPhone-like products" for 2008. According to their sources, the devices will run on Microsoft's Windows Mobile platform and target business markets with features such as 3G and GPS. DigiTimes' sources also claim that Nokia will release its Symbian-based "iPhone-like handset" in the first half of 2008. True or not, that's a lot of Apple hate-bait to swallow this early in the morning.
Palm Treo 500v hits FCC via Asus
Historically, Palm's had manufacturing relationships with HTC, Foxconn, and Inventec for its Treo line, but it seems they've turned to Asus for the Treo 500 series. How do we know? The FCC tells us so via the device's filing from one ASUSTek Computer Inc. of Taipei, Taiwan. We can understand shying away from HTC -- maintaining a meaningful business relationship with a company that's whipping your butt competitively can be awkward at best -- but we can't help but wonder what led Palm to turn to an entirely fresh ODM relationship this time around. Was it looking to inject some fresh insight for the 500's creation, or did the order simply go to the lowest bidder? Of course, none of this changes the fact that the handset's me-too design and pedestrian feature set arguably leaves it at a competitive disadvantage before it's even released, but at least we can toss a little sliver of that blame Asus' way this time around.
DigiTimes mongers-up new iPods with touchscreen and WiFi for Wednesday
As if you need another source "confirming" the launch of new iPods at Apple's September 5th event, along comes DigiTimes riding their wave of Taiwanese component manufacturing insiders. According to the folks who brought us the Powerbook G5, Apple is due to drop a new Inventec Appliances manufactured, flash-based widescreen "iPod video" with touch-interface (widely rumored to carry the iPod Touch brand) sporting WiFi and an iPhone-like UI when it ships "at the end of this month or early October." Also in the cards is a Foxconn manufactured iPod nano with more storage and iPhone-like UI at the same prices as existing models and higher capacity iPod shuffles from Asustek. So yeah, it falls in line with all the other rumors but that doesn't mean we're buying it.
ASUS to split OEM business -- look out HP, Dell
Brace yourselves old school PC players, Asustek has just unveiled their plan to become more competitive. Like HTC before them, Taiwanese Asustek Computer will begin pushing their ASUS brand front and center. To make this happen, Asustek's OEM business will split from their branded business under the new names of Pegatron (PC-related manufactuing) and Unihan (casing, modules, and non-PC goods) starting January 2008. Trouble for the establishment, maybe, but nothing short of good for us consumers.
O2 Asia has four Windows Mobile models for 2H, ASUS left out
O2's Taiwan and Hong Kong chief has reaffirmed the company's long-standing commitment to rolling out Windows Mobile devices, recently commenting that it'll roll out four new models in the second half of 2007. That's good news for Quanta, Arima, and Gigabyte -- the ODMs taking on those orders -- but O2's partnership with ASUS has been scrapped, allegedly because it adopted Intel's 3G chipsets for its models when Qualcomm's are considered to be snappier. All four new models will rock out with Windows Mobile 6; one will be an entry-level piece with EDGE data while the other three will all burn rubber with downstream speeds of "at least" 3.6Mbps. At least this explains O2's untimely cancellation of the Xda Zinc, we guess.[Via Pocket PC Thoughts]
Asustek to show off gear aplenty at Computex
Asustek looks to be taking advantage of this week's big Computex trade show in Taipei to show of its latest round of "rock solid, heart touching" gear, which the folks at Infoworld has thankfully rounded up for us. As is often the case, not everything on display is entirely new, including the company's previously announced super-upgradeable C90 laptop, and its A33 "media player," which is actually more of a media center, packing a DVD burner, 320GB hard drive, dual channel TV tuner, Bluetooth, and 802.11n WiFi. Among the newer products are a pair of Internet radios, one of which, the Asustek Internet Radio 3 (AIR 3), boasts an iPod dock on the top, along with a USB port to let you play tunes off a USB stick. Look for it to set you back about $400 when it's released later this year, while the iPod-less AIR 1 radio will only run you $200. Also announced are a pair of 2 megapixel webcams, one with an autofocus lens and one without, costing $110 and $90, respectively. In addition to showing of its wares, Asustek's also talking a bit about some of its future plans, saying that it expects to launch its first high-definition disc player by the first quarter of 2008, which it says will "likely" be a Blu-ray device.
ASUS intros J502 slider
Don't be fooled by its impressive spec sheet -- the J502 has nothing but feeble GPRS to keep its data pipeline moving along. That alone is enough to render ASUS' latest slider dead in our eyes, but we'll go through the motions and hit up the otherwise-lovely features anyway: 3 megapixel autofocus cam, 2.4 inch QVGA display, TV out, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (including A2DP), and a rather creative SMS remote control feature that allows the owner to control a variety of functions from afar -- lock, format, call forward, and so on. Of course, if the phone's stolen, we imagine one of the first things on the thief's mind is switching out the SIM, so ya better hurry if you want to wipe it. No word on a release date, but expect the 14.7mm slider in your choice of red and black when it drops.
Asustek firms up Classmate PC plans, prices starting at $249
While we already knew that Asustek was planing to build some low-cost laptops based on Intel's Classmate PC platform (the reference design of which seen above), we didn't quite have a complete picture of exactly what the company had in store. Asustek's now clearing things up a bit further, however, revealing that the systems will in fact be sold under the Asus brand, with production set to begin in July. Unfortunately, it looks like they won't come in at the $199 price point we heard earlier, instead starting at $249 and going all the way up to $549 (with four different models falling in that range). Not so clear, however, is how far each of those will vary from Intel's reference design, which centers around a 7-inch LCD, Celeron M 900 processor, and a mere 256MB of RAM.
Asustek building Classmate PC, prices start at $199?
This one's not quite as clear as we would wish, but here's what we've got: Asustek is prepping to launch a series of cheap laptops based on Intel's Classmate PC platform in the second half of this year, which will go up against (what else?) the OLPC XO. What we can't quite figure is if Asustek is building these OEM-style for Intel branding (shown above), or if it's just using the design to line its own pockets -- it could really go either way. The best news is price, since we've been rather worried about that $400 tag that's been kicked around, more-or-less officially, for the Classmate PC. Apparently the 1GB SSD version of Asustek's 7-inch Classmate PC will start at $199, with price points at $249, $299, $399 and $549 for capacities all the way up to 40GB. Ah, nothing like those educational laptop warm-fuzzies on a cold Monday afternoon.
Asustek's XG Station ripped apart
It appears that, like many of you, the folks at 4Gamer were skeptical of Asustek's claim to bring high-end graphics capabilities to any ExpressCard-equipped laptop with its XG Station rig. So, like any reasonable person, they decided to rip into the device to see just what's going on. As you can see above, they did indeed find a full-size PCI Express graphics card packed inside -- an Nvidia GeForce 7900 GS, specifically (just one of the options available) -- which itself is mounted on board with a readily accessible PCI-E slot. That would seem to at least open up the possibility of replacing the card down the line, even if you can't just buy a barebones unit right off the bat. Unfortunately, there's still no word on pricing or availability, so it looks like you'll have to live with those integrated graphics for a little while longer.[Via The Inquirer]
Say it ain't so: O2 kills Xda Zinc
It's not terribly often that we're here to tell a sob story about a European carrier killing off a hotly-anticipated handset prior to release, but alas, it does seem to happen from time to time. Such is the case here, where O2 first delayed the ASUS-supplied Xda Zinc -- a rather delicious Windows Mobile QWERTY slider, if we do say so ourselves, replete with 3G data -- and now has apparently deep-sixed it entirely, claiming it wasn't up to snuff with its "testing requirements." To be fair, O2's Xda line of Windows Mobile-based devices is deep and wide enough to accommodate nearly any user's needs, Zinc or no, so we're not going to be sending any flowers or cards expressing our condolences. If anything, ASUS might be the one needing consolation here, with the Zinc possibly proving to be a breakout handset for the company in Europe's white-hot smartphone market.
Nintendo searching for more Wii manufacturers
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Nintendo_searching_for_more_Wii_manufacturers'; Nintendo has struggled to meet the Wii's demand in every region, so much so that retailers have accused the company of planning "strategic shortages." Four months after the console's initial release, it's still unlikely that you'll be able to find a Wii on store shelves.Up until now, Foxconn Precision Components has been the sole manufacturer behind the Wii's assembly. Nintendo hopes to increase its production by taking on an additional manufacturing partner, researching offers from Asustek Computer, Compal Electronics, Inventec, and Wistron.It's great that Nintendo is looking to increase the amount of systems it ships out, but how long will it be before we see the benefits of this partnership? It was already evident that the Wii's supply was constrained months ago -- why didn't Nintendo bring in a new manufacturer then?[Via Next Generation]
