Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), the world’s No. 6 PC brand, is gearing up to give its online content store a boost with plans to introduce a movie rental service and a slew of Flash-based Web games in the near term to rival Apple Inc’s iPad.
Asustek is in talks with Net-flix Inc, a US flat-rate online video rental service provider, and aims to roll out the features in its “@vibe” content store in the second quarter of this year for its tablet users, according to a company source familiar with the deal.
Netflix’s subscribers surpassed 10 million at the end of 2009.
Netflix’s video rental service is currently available for iPads and iPhones, and the project with Asustek will introduce contentfor devices running on the Android operating system (OS), the source said. There have been some glitches to overcome in the new OS, especially whena device is running on an Nvidia chipset, but the team is fixing the problem, the source added.
Asustek is expected to adopt the same business model, charging a monthly flat rate for users to watch the latest Hollywood movies offered by Netflix.
In addition, Flash-based Web games — something that Apple Inc’s devices do not support — will be in the introduction pipeline during the second half of this year.
The company is working with various content providers around the world to produce localized content for users in different countries, the source said.
@vibe currently provides music, books, radio, magazines and newspapers for users to download onto Asustek’s Eee PC netbooks — and soon, tablets for free or at a fee.
Launched in 2009, @vibe was originally an added-value feature for Eee PCs, but Asustek has regularly updated its content store and is integrating the service for its tablet users.
In Taiwan, @vibe works with UDN Group and MagV to offer downloads of electronic newspapers and magazines.
“We are not competing with Apple in the application store space. All mobile phone makers and other PC makers are instead banking on Android Market, which is gaining momentum by the day,” the source said.
By carving out a niche, offering its own content store and leveraging the thousands of applications offered by Android Market, Asustek hopes to differentiate itself from competitors in the highly competitive tablet PC market.
The company yesterday officially launched its first tablet, “Eee Pad Transformer,” in Taiwan. The model will go on sale in the UK next week and the US early next month.
Featuring Android 3.0 and an Nvidia Tegra 2 system-on-a-chip, the Transformer weighs 680g. It has an optional keyboard -docking station as well as two cameras — 5 megapixels at the rear and 1.2 megapixels at the front.
The price will range from NT$14,900 (US$506) to NT$19,990 for Wi-Fi models. No immediate information on the release of the 3G model was available.
Asustek chairman Jonney Shih (施崇棠) said sales of the Transformer — its flagship model — will account for half of its 2 million targeted tablet shipments this year.
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