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ASUS pulls out of Windows RT due to financial losses and 'industry sentiment'
This isn't a huge shock, given that ASUS has already publicly expressed woes about poor sales of its Windows RT products, but CEO Jerry Shen's latest comments have a surprising edge of finality to them. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, he said "it's not only our opinion, the industry sentiment is also that Windows RT has not been successful." He revealed that the company has taken a writedown on its stock of RT tablets, although he didn't reveal the size of the loss. He also said that, from now on, ASUS will solely make Windows 8 devices that run on Intel / x86 processors, due to the backwards compatibility with Windows software offered by those products. Meanwhile, NVIDIA has also predicted losses due to its involvement with RT, but it seems to be pushing ahead with a next-gen ARM-based Surface tablet regardless.
ASUS PadFone 2 hands-on in Taipei (updated with video)
Well look at this! Our lucky buddies over at Engadget Chinese managed to get an early hands-on with the brand-spanking new PadFone 2 from ASUS. As we mentioned earlier, the bulkiness of the original model is totally gone and we're still blown away by the combo's new weight. But first, the phone: in our hands, it really just feels like an enlarged version of the original PadFone, especially with the ripple pattern on the back, as well as the plastic chin at the bottom along with the slightly tapered aluminum bezel. We do love the new and larger Super IPS+ screen, which is much sharper than the old PenTile Super AMOLED display, and it no doubt has better outdoor performance as well. Additionally, the Android soft keys are no longer virtual -- you can access them below the screen at any time, and we dig that. While docking the phone into or pulling it out of the PadFone Station is hardly a challenge, there's some sort of magic that keeps the phone tucked into the bay no matter how hard our pals shook the tablet upside down (please don't try this at home) -- the geared rubber grip along the two sides of the bay are somehow responsible for this. The back of the PadFone Station has a rubbery texture that's essentially identical to its predecessor's, making it just as comfortable to hold, but only time will tell how durable the coating is. Software-wise it's just as snappy on the tablet as it is on the phone, and we noticed the switch between phone mode and tablet mode is now a tad quicker as well. It'll probably be easier to see once we have our English hands-on video, so stay tuned. Update: We've finally managed to upload our hands-on video -- it's right after the break. Watch how we kept shaking the PadFone Station upside down and the phone still stayed inside its bay (again, don't do this at home, kids!). Also, we have a demo of the phone's Instant Dictionary feature. It's very handy. Update 2: We've just been informed that the magical grip mechanism in the docking bay took over two years to develop. Nice one, ASUS!
ASUS PadFone 2 vs PadFone 1... hang out!
While getting their hands dirty with the ASUS PadFone 2, our guys over at Engadget Chinese also had the chance to compare it with the OG PadFone, and they came back with a generous batch of side-by-side shots. Here you can see how the phone itself is almost just a scaled-up copy of its predecessor, while the new PadFone Station slate loses some body fat by shedding the original docking bay cover, and we're certain that the battery has become denser and lighter as well to achieve this amazing diet -- we're talking about losing just over 200g here! Also apparent is the new 13-pin dock connector (MHL plus concurrent data, display and power) at the bottom of both the phone and the tablet. For the rest, we shall let your eyes do the work in the gallery below. Enjoy!
ASUS PadFone 2 unveiled in Taiwan, boasts quad-core CPU, LTE, NFC and lighter tablet (video)
Today's no doubt a big day for ASUS: while chairman Jonney Shih is gearing up to introduce the PadFone 2 in Milan later today, we just saw CEO Jerry Shen wowing the crowd with the same phone-in-tablet combo back in Taipei. Just as the recent leaks have shown, ASUS' surprisingly quick follow-up to the original PadFone is simply bigger and better in many ways, notably with a screen upgrade to 4.7-inch 720p Super IPS+ panel (with up to 550nits brightness thanks to Sharp's efficient IGZO LTPS technology), Qualcomm's awesome quad-core APQ8064 SoC instead of its dual-core sibling, 13-megapixel f/2.4 BSI sensor from Sony, 1.2-megapixel front camera, and a much slimmer PadFone Station slate -- partly because it no longer features a docking bay cover! New owners will be greeted by Android Ice Cream Sandwich, but ASUS promises a Jelly Bean upgrade soon. There's much more than meets the eyes so read on to find out more. Update: We've been notified that the phone's display is of the more mature LTPS nature instead of IGZO. %Gallery-168424%
NVIDIA and ASUS tease 7-inch Tegra 3 tablet with ICS and $249 price tag
You know things are about to get crazy when NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang and ASUS Chairman Jerry Shen are onstage at the same time. Here at NVIDIA's CES press conference, the two men just flashed a 7-inch Tegra 3 tablet with Ice Cream Sandwich. And guess what? It's going to cost $249! Got that? The same price as the much-slower, lesser-specced Nook Tablet. Given that the point of this brief tease was to prove how inexpensive tablets with current-gen innards can be, the men didn't dally with details like availability or even a product name. If these price wars continue, though, we'd almost rather ASUS take its time before sending this to market -- who knows what else we're going to see in the $250 range over the coming months? Update: It seems to be the MeMO 370T we saw earlier today, which means this slab is sporting an 8 megapixel camera, to boot. Billy Steele contributed to this report.
ASUS' Jerry Shen pledges 3D tablet, MeeGo and Android netbooks, plus a 2012 Windows Phone
ASUS (A-seuss) CEO Jerry Shen is rarely a man without a good quote or two for journalists and this year's CeBIT has been no exception. Sitting down for a chat with some Russian scribes, Shen outlined ASUS' general product roadmap, which includes a 3D tablet (the iPad 2-threatening secret weapon, perhaps?), Atom-based netbooks for both MeeGo and Android platforms, and a Windows Phone device that should be with us next year. An aside from his PR aide Mae Wang also states that ASUS aims to be second in the tablet market by 2012, with a giant five to eight percent market share. We're sure the Apple board are all shaking in their hemp sandals right now. Anyhow, hit up the source for the full story.
ASUS lays out Armdroid and Wintel tablet plans, we already feel overwhelmed
Leave it to ASUS to blast out an entire series of tablets that saturate the market in a single go. Many of these have already been mentioned, leaked, or even revealed at trade shows. But now we've got company president, Jerry Shen, filling in the launch details. Starting in December, ASUS will begin launching tablets in 7-, 9-, 10-, and 12-inch form factors. The 12-inch model will run Windows on an Intel chipset and be ready for purchase in January. Of interest, Shen says that Microsoft assisted in the development by making several enhancements to related technologies including touch control and the user interface. In March ASUS will launch a pair of 7 inchers (one with WiFi and the other with "3.5G" and phone functions) and another pair of 9-inch tablets (an ARM-based Tegra 2 model running Android and another Wintel tablet) with a price gap of $100. Of course, we've see a 10-incher around as well. That means we should see a grand total of five or six tablets from ASUS at CES in January. Fun.
ASUS downgrades Eee PC shipment forecast, blames iPad
Been waiting for evidence that the iPad will dent the netbook market? If you believe ASUS, that's already happened, with the Eee PC vendor reporting fewer sales in the second quarter relative to the first and downgrading expectations for the usual peak season of Q3. Apple's prodigious tablet is specifically named by ASUS CEO Jerry Shen as an invader that is "crowding out" netbook demand, though he remains firmly committed to the small and affordable laptop market. All the same, Shen does also point a finger to the horizon, where a trifecta of Eee Pads marches ever nearer with the intent to do battle with the iPad. So while netbooks aren't going away in a hurry, these latest numbers seem to suggest they're set to at least share the lower-end spotlight with touch-friendly slates, or rather Pads.
ASUS Eee PC 1218 said to be Ion-based, more laptops coming May 13th
We'd already gotten a good look at ASUS' forthcoming Eee PC 1218 courtesy of the Red Dot design awards, and DigiTimes is now reporting one of its key details: that it will indeed be Ion-based (we'd presume Ion 2, but that still remains unclear). What's more, the site has also offered some more confirmation of ASUS' Eee PC 1015 / 1215, and says that ASUS will also be launching some new laptops on May 13th, including some bamboo-covered models and some "multimedia-enhanced models." In other ASUS news, the site also has a few choice quotes from the always talkative ASUS CEO Jerry Shen, who repeated his assertion that netbooks will continue to outsell tablets, and further went on to get specific and say that ASUS expects to sell between seven and eight million Eee PCs in 2010, which would bring its global netbook market share to 20%. [Thanks, Sal]
ASUS CEO: netbooks will outsell tablets, Eee Pad to run 'Microsoft software'
ASUS CEO Jerry Shen sure is making the rounds this week talking up the company's upcoming entry into the tablet arena, but before giving up some more Eee Pad details he clarified that he doesn't anticipate tablet sales surpassing that of netbooks. The latter category is for personal computing while tablets are based on consuming content and Cloud computing. Shen said something similar when we spoke with him at CeBIT, but this time he also added that without Apple the tablet category would have been slower to ramp up. We'd say he's on the money with that one, but still he plans to launch an Eee tablet in early June at Computex. And though he mentioned there being a few versions, he revealed the "first phase will use Microsoft software." We don't know if that means the tablet will be Intel powered and run Windows 7, or pack a Tegra 2 processor and boot some version of Windows CE like we saw at CES. Regardless of what happens, we'd say Microsoft's happy to hear this all after this week's news.
Android Eee Pad to debut in June, could ship as early as July
We have more details on that impending Eee Pad for y'inz. Interested? Of course you are! Speaking at a conference in Taiwan, Asustek Computer chairman Jerry Shen recently announced that the device will get its official introduction at Computex 2010, the first week of June. With any luck, the thing will hit retail channels the third quarter of this year -- possibly as early as July, a DigiTimes' source reports. Shen said that the device is meant to be all the things that the iPad is not: expect Google Android, USB, an integrated webcam, and Flash, for starters. The aforementioned source went on to state that, after wireless provider subsidies are taken into effect, the thing should cost around $15,000-16,000 TD (or about $480-510).
ASUS CEO talks tablets, smartbooks and Windows Phone 7 Series phones
Ever wonder about the man behind the insane amount of ASUS products we cover? We do too, which is why we jumped at the chance to sit down with ASUS CEO Jerry Shen here at CeBIT. Our lengthy discussion covered just about everything you can imagine, but we've clipped some of the highlights together for you in the video below. We're particularly taken with his excitement over Windows Phone 7 and his disinterest in the smartbook category. As for that EeePad or future tablet? You'll have to watch to find out...
ASUS' Android-based 'secret weapon' smartbook launching in Q1
We got our first glimpse at a computing future filled with low-cost, ARM-based ASUS smartbooks running Android on a 1GHz Snapdragon processor all the way back on June 1st. Since then, however, the pencil-spinning boys in Taiwan have been poo-pooing plans to launch such a device due to what ASUS called an uncertain market opportunity -- or was it pressure from Wintel, we never can tell? Then yesterday, ASUS' Jerry Shen pulled an about-face at an investor meeting in Taipei with talk of launching a $180 smartbook in Q1 of 2010. Bristling with confidence, Shen goes so far as to call it a "secret weapon" in a category offering potential for huge, Eee PC-like growth. Well, with the first big-name smartbooks just starting to ship, even a dozen or so sales could be considered statistically significant. [Via Shanzai]
ASUS Android smartphone unveiling 'this year'
It's short and sweet but we thought you'd like to hear the good news doled out by ASUS chairman Jonney Shih and CEO Jerry Shen at a local press meeting in Taiwan today. Shih says that the company's first Android phone will be "unveiled this year," not next as originally rumored. For a second, it makes you wonder what's going to happen to the OS underpinning the ASUS-Garmin nuvifone G60 -- then you remember that you weren't going to buy that phone anyway.
ASUS Android smartphone unveiling to be 'this year'
It's short and sweet but we thought you'd like to hear the good news doled out by ASUS chairman Jonney Shih and CEO Jerry Shen at a local press meeting in Taiwan today. Shih says that the company's first Android phone will be "unveiled this year," not next as originally rumored. For a second, it makes you wonder what's going to happen to the OS underpinning the ASUS-Garmin nuvifone G60 -- then you remember that you weren't going to buy that phone anyway.
ASUS: Eee Keyboard to launch in October, C64 fans unite!
Looks like those DigiTimes sources were right: the ASUS Eee Keyboard will officially launch in North America and Europe in October. And while CEO Jerry Shen is keeping quiet on pricing, the original $400 to $500 estimates should hold-up. The Commodore 64-esque keyboard PC originally announced at CES in January features an integrated 5-inch display, 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB of memory, either 16GB or 32GB of SSD storage, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, HDMI and wireless UWB HDMI. And given the October launch, we're expecting this thing to run Windows 7 unlike the XP prototypes we've seen so far. Maybe Moblin too, if you want to save a nickle.
ASUS to launch Eee-book reader this year?
According to DigiTimes, ASUS president Jerry Shen says he plans to launch an Eee-branded ebook reader by the end of 2009 at the earliest. That's a tasty nugget of news all on its own. However, what would DigiTimes be without adding some good ol' Taiwanese rumor-mongering? As such, they add that MSI is investigating the reader market as well. But that's just common sense, we don't need "industry sources" to tell us that manufacturers are looking for ways to make money in new markets now do we?
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ASUS Eee Top climbing to 20- and 22-inches by June
Like the Eee Top all-in-one PC but 15.6-inches is just too wee for your taste? Fine, you'll have the chance to grapple with 20- and 22-inchers, according to ASUS CEO Jerry Shen, sometime in the first half of 2009. Drop Windows 7 into these touchscreen monuments to mediocrity and we're in.
ASUS: $200 Eee PC in 2009
Finally, the promise of the $200 Eee PC is, uh, promised again. Jerry Shen, apparently in a meeting with analysts, said that ASUS will launch an Eee PC priced at US$200 in 2009. He also said that 7- and 8.9-inch Eee PCs will be phased out of the market to be replaced by 10-inch models. Although that sounds like it opens the possibility for a 10-inch Eee PC for $200 we're not counting on it. Shen also noted that 70% of all Eee PCs are now loaded with XP (a latecomer to netbooks) and hard disk drives compared to 30% with Linux and SSDs. Microsoft, you win again.
ASUS CEO: Windows 7 touchscreen Eee PCs in mid-2009, $250 model on the way
We heard the rumor now ASUS' CEO, Jerry Shen, confirms in an interview with Laptop that ASUS will slap a touchscreen and Windows 7 into a new Eee PC sometime in the second half of 2009. A statement likely to make a few project managers at Microsoft uncomfortable as that cuts into the official early 2010 padding built into their Win7 Gantt charts. The touch-enabled Eee PC model(s) could come in the form of a convertible tablet although Shen wouldn't specify -- he only promised more details in Q1, presumably at CES. Unsurprisingly, ASUS has no plans to put Vista onto Eee PCs at all. Also noteworthy is the introduction of "more exciting" Eee PC rigs in Q1 and Q2 in prices ranging from $250 (yes, $250) to $700. Steadily inching closer to that ellusive $199 Eee PC. Other interesting points from the interview: Eee Top all-in-one PC will be released at the end of this month EeeStick (and compatible games) is to be released soon as both an Eee PC bundle and as a separate accessory (depending upon country) priced somewhere between $50 and $100 Two new "Eee products" (not Eee PCs if we read this correctly) will be announced in January Eee PC devices will be limited to 10-inch, and smaller displays -- Shen describes the netbook as a platform to consume content whereas a laptop is for creating content ASUS is focused on improving battery life and startup times on future Eee PCs -- adding more power, like dual-core Atoms, is not a priority
