Asus is gearing up with new tablets PC to compete with Apple iPad

Asus is now coming up with a slew of tablet PCs to compete with Apple iPad. The Taiwan-based company is going to roll out a new Google Android based in March 2011 according to Asus CEO, Jerry Shen. Not named yet, the new tablet would cost $399.

The new Asus tablet will sport a 10-inch screen and will be run by Google Android version 3.0

There will be another tablet PC, EP101TC, sporting a 10-inch screen that would run ARM processor and would have Microsoft’s Windows Compact 7 OS. The device will have 64-GB storage and its look will resemble closely to that of the iPad and it would cost between $399 and $499.

During the Q2 financial results conference, Mr.Shen said, “If you want to compete with the iPad, you have to do more than just be less expensive, You have to offer more features. We want to spend more time perfecting the [Eee Pad line] before we launch,” he added. “We’re looking more at Q1 to launch the devices.”

Mr. Shen said that Asus would launch Eee Pad EP121, a pricey device to match with Apple iPad. The device will be either launched in December or January.

The Eee Pad EP121 will sport a 12-inch touch screen and an Intel Core 2 Duo processor. It will have Windows 7 Home Premium OS. Users would be able to convert the device into a laptop computer by hooking up with a keyboard dock. The device would cost around $1000.

In October 2010, Asus will also launch a Linux-based e-reader priced at $300.

Android-based ASUS Eee Pad at a price of $398?

In a bid to mount a serious challenge to Apple’s iPad, Asus is going to bring out a 10 inch tablet called Eee Pad EP101TC and it will run on Android OS. The tablet PC is supposed to come to the market on March 2011. Jerry Shen, CEO of Asustek, stated this price to journalists.  

When it comes to price, Asus is surely going to give Apple a run for its money. At this moment, the minimum price of an iPad is $499 and it has very small amount of storage.

Asus has quite a large number of software engineers working about Android. However, most of these engineers are working mainly for smartphones and according to a report of PC World, some of them will be moved to work for Eee Pad project.

It seems that Android is gaining ground in Tablet PC too. It has gained significant market share in smartphone segment.

While this product is targeted at Apple, it comes perhaps as a bad news for Microsoft too. Since Asus is giving a lot of importance to Android, some other companies may do the same thing while they make Tablets. So, Windows 7 is likely to get more cornered as the OS for Tablets. 

Asus Eee Pad: The main attraction at Computex 2010

The 30^th Computex Taipei has started from today. It is the largest computer trade show in Asia and the second largest in the world. On the eve of the show, on May 31, 2010, famous Taiwanese PC maker, Asus, unveiled its highly anticipated tablet computer, the Asus Eee Pad. Like Apple iPad, the Eee Pad is a device that can be used to read e-books, multimedia, compact PC and Internet device.

Asus Eee Pad is available in the two variations- EP101TC and EP121TC. The EP101TC has a 10inch screen and weighs 675 gm and 12.1 mm thick. The EP121TC has a 12 inch screen. The Apple iPad has a 9.7 inch screen which means the Asus Eee Pad will have better visual.

The Asus Eee Pad sports an Intel CULV Core 2 Duo processor which is more powerful compared to Apple iPad’s 1GHz Apple A4 chip.

Asus Eee Pad has ten-hour battery back up.

The Asus Eee Pad will come with a virtual keyboard and special docking station with a keyboard so that users can easily input text. It will also have a stylus and a front facing camera.

Asus Eee Pad will have Wi-Fi. There is also an HDMI, USB, memory card slot

which looks like a 3G SIM module. The Apple iPad does not have any USB which many users do not like.

The Asus Eee Pad will support Adobe Flash which the Apple iPad does not support that means you can browse many of your favorite websites on the Asus Eee Pad.

The Asus Eee Pad uses Windows 7 as its operating system. The Asus Eee Pad 121 has a different version of Windows 7 known as the Embedded Compact edition.

This is a major draw back for Asus Eee Pad because Windows 7 is mainly designed to operate in desktop computers. Though it has codes to support multi-touch devices but it is a multi-tasking software which does not work well in a small sized low powered machine. It would have been better if Asus had followed Apple’s footsteps and created a dedicated OS for the device. Instead of tailoring its Mac OS, Apple developed another OS for the Apple iPhone.

Asus is going to launch Eee Pad in 2011 EP101TC and EP121TC in 2011. The Asus EP 101 TC would cost $399 and EP121 would cost $499. This is far better than Apple iPad because the entry level 16GB iPad WiFi only model costs $499 and WiFi+3G would cost $629.