Even a strong Wintel proponent would have to conclude that the summer barometer readings for public opinion have been shifting significantly from netbooks to smartbooks, with some pundits declaring the former category dead. What, then, is to account for Asus CEO Jerry Shen’s (pictured here) decision to be so contrarian?
Earlier in the week, the Asus decision to hold off on release of a prototype smartbook based on Android was attributed to the company’s fear that Android on any platform but a smartphone might be orphaned by Google’s efforts to re-steer compute platforms to Chrome. But Shen’s comments to an investor conference cast aspersions on all aspects of ARM-based platforms, with Shen saying he sees no unique selling point for smartbooks based on ARM.
One U.S.-based distributor who has dealt with Asus desktop and notebook products for many years, told us off the record that he sees the Asus reticence as having little to do with either ARM or Google. Rather, he said, pressures from the financial community “are making Shen feel like every product development effort has to be justified five times over. Asus is not really known for breaking molds, and maybe he feels like smartbooks just aren’t there yet.”
Admittedly, Asus has not been helped by Google’s shifting promotional sands where smartphone meets smartbook. Android and the future Chrome OS may share a common Linux base, but with different services and I/O models, the two environments may diverge rather than find common features. But financial conditions cannot explain all of Asus’s caution, as PC World points out that Asus could simply resell existing smartbooks developed by its partner Pegatron.
Based on the number of manufacturers producing prototypes and the interest expressed in ARM-rich platforms such as Snapdragon and Tegra, however, one would have to conclude that for now, the pressure is on Intel to show continued momentum for Atom. Nokia, for example, is following up its Booklet 3G with an ARM product, according to Taiwan ODM sources quoted in DigiTimes. Meanwhile, EE Times tells us that MIPS Technologies is working on multiple fronts to add media player and progressive-video support to Android.
Maybe we will find that Shen simply is resorting to undue conservatism as Asia stays in recovery mode from the 2008 recession. Or maybe Asus is backing the wrong horse.
Loring
