Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) plans to start selling an array of tablet computers — including hybrids that are something between a laptop and a tablet — with the hope that variety is the best weapon against Apple Inc’s iPad and other similar gadgets.
Asustek chairman Jonney Shih (施崇棠) unveiled the new devices on Tuesday ahead of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. They included the Eee Pad Transformer, which is a laptop that splits in two to function as a tablet, and the Eee Pad Slider, a tablet with a keyboard that slides out of its left side.
“We admire companies like Apple that offer great innovation, but they provide very limited choices for the customers,” Shih said. “Different kinds of customers have different kinds of needs and the best way to better serve them is to provide choice.”
Asustek, which essentially created the market for low-price netbooks with the 2007 launch of the Eee PC line, will need this strategy to pan out if consumers gravitate toward tablets as quickly as analysts expect. And Asustek hopes the Transformer and its other tablets will be among the winners.
TRANSFORMER
When using a full-sized keyboard docking station, the Transformer appears to be a black laptop, but once opened its screen detaches by sliding out of a slot on the keyboard’s edge.
The device’s touchscreen will measure 10.1 inches diagonally and is 1.25cm thick.
Shih said the Transformer would run the upcoming Honeycomb version of Google Inc’s Android software, which will be more geared toward tablets than the current version for smartphones. It will get up to 16 hours of battery life and include an Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor.
The Transformer is set to begin selling in April for between US$399 and US$699, depending on its configuration. The company has not said how much memory it will include.
SLIDER
The Slider will have the same hardware features as the Transformer — including the same processor, 10.1-inch screen and Android operating system — but its keyboard won’t be detachable.
The Slider, which will be 1.8cm thick, is scheduled to be sold starting in May for between US$499 and US$799. Shih did not say how much built-in memory it will have.
Shih presented two other tablets as well: The Eee Slate, which appeared to be the same tablet he showed at the Computex expo in Taipei last year, and the Eee Pad MeMO.
The Slate, which will run Microsoft Corp’s regular PC operating system, Windows 7, will come with a 12.1-inch touchscreen that has 1280-by-800-pixel resolution. It will include a 34GB or 64GB hard drive and a more powerful Intel Core i5 dual-core processor.
The MeMO will have a 7-inch touchscreen and a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It will run the Honeycomb version of Android.
The Slate will cost from US$999 to US$1,099 and be available this month, while the MeMO is set to go on sale from US$499 to US$699 in June.
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