We already called on potential smartbook manufacturers to put up or shut up and thankfully, it looks like they have chosen the former…
Taiwanese computing giant Asus has today thrown its support behind the fledgling platform after CEO Jerry Shen stated the company will ship its first smartbook in Q1 2010. China Times reports that although Shen didn’t go into specifics about the machine, the target is an ultra-low price point of just 6,000 TWD (circa £110/$185). If Asus can get anywhere near this, the line between smartbooks and netbooks will be clear for all to see.
Asus appears to be committed for the long haul too, with Shen saying an “innovation and brainstorming committee” would be founded in March with the objective of bringing cutting-edge second-generation smartbooks to the 2010 CeBIT and Computex shows. He added that the right combination of price and performance could see smartbooks eclipse the success it has already had with the Eee PC brand.
Interestingly, all this represents something of a U-turn from Asus and indeed Shen himself who only back in August said “Currently, I still don’t see a clear market for smartbooks”. This outburst came just two months after Asus had demonstrated a prototype 1-GHz Snapdragon-based smartbook at Computex 2009 (picture courtesy of tweaktown.com).
How times change…
Gordon
