Netbook pioneer Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) yesterday showcased prototypes of its “iPad killer” and e-reader, in a move to seize a share in the two nascent segments amid the next wave of personal digitalization.
“We try to provide you with a lot of choices and have products for different segmentations,” chairman Jonney Shih (施崇棠) told a pre-Computex product launch yesterday where international journalists covering the trade fair also attended.
Eee Pad — Asustek’s answer to iPad — will come in models of 10 inches and 12 inches.
Contrary to iPad, which runs on Apple’s operating system, Eee Pad runs on Windows and “serves as a multimedia player, e-reader, compact PC and Internet device,” according to Asustek.
Eee Pad will come complete with features that iPad currently doesn’t support, such as USB ports, Adobe Flash and a Web cam.
Another killer application is that the 12-inch model will incorporate a special docking station-cum-keyboard, allowing users to manage productivity and portability at the same time, Shih said.
However, eager owners of the Eee Pad will have to wait quite some time as company officials confirmed that both models will only hit the market as early as the first quarter next year.
The 10-inch Eee Pad is expected to carry price tags of between US$399 to US$449, while prices of the 12-inch tablet are yet to be determined, the officials said.
The cheapest iPad model is currently selling for US$499.
Taiwanese makers, including Micro-Star International Co (微星科技) and Acer Inc (宏碁), have aggressively jumped on the tablet bandwagon after Apple Inc introduced iPad, which received an overwhelming response from consumers within the first month of its launch in the US.
The e-reader is another booming segment these companies are going after.
Asustek’s e-reader — which the company dubs “Eee Tablet” — is expected to be commercially available by September.
Retailing from US$199 to US$299, the 8-inch reader weighs around 500g and its battery can last up to 10 hours.
The gadget boasts real-time text annotation, as users can use one of the built-in notepad templates and have the option to store, sort, tag and organize their notes. It also features a 2-megapixel camera that allows students to capture screenshots of lecture slides.
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