asus

ASUS has launched (and will be launching) multiple products that run Windows RT / 8. A family of laptops branded under the VivoBook umbrella, the S200 and S400, are solutions for those who require a light, thin notebook that sport touch screens and all the bells and whistles for Windows 8. We recently invested in an S400 to see what all the fuss is about with this mid-range notebook. We must admit - we're pleased with the experience on offer.

The 2013 Consumer Electronics Show is just now getting warmed up and we are already seeing a nice presence with Windows 8 tablets. While ASUS may not be offering any Windows Phones, they have announced three impressive Windows 8 tablets and a nifty looking Ultrabook.

The ASUS VivoTab (pictured above) is a 10.1" tablet that features an Intel Atom Z2760 dual-core processor. The tablet is 9.7mm thin and weighs in at 580g. The display offers a 1366x768 HD resolution. Other features of note includes NFC support, 8MP rear camera, 2MP front facing camera and ASUS SonicMaster Audio. The VivoTab does have a TranSleeve Keyboard accessory that can pull extra duty as a tablet cover and stand.

Brendan Arndt from Three gives us a nice first look at their upcoming Asus Windows RT (Vivo Tab) tablet and it's looking good.

While many are wondering how WinRT tablets are going to sell in traditional markets, one thing is certain, the mobile industry is set to embrace these quickly. Unlike the Surface RT device, the slender Asus unit will come with built in support for connection to a mobile operator. The 10” device gets the once over in the following video. Make sure to read on past the break!

Asus seems to have leaked it’s pricing for its coming Windows 8 tablets and convertibles prompting some to leap to their word processors and get on the fear, uncertainty and doubt bandwagon.

We all know that pricing for tablets is an extremely sensitive subject, just yesterday we looked at Steve Ballmer’s interview to see what he had said about Surface pricing. Even though some sites announced there were new details surrounding pricing, we found it was the same message we already knew. Headlines such as “pricing comes in high, demand likely low” and “Windows 8 Tablets: Born to fail” seem wildly premature. We take a look as these leaked prices and what they could mean.

In addition to Microsoft's Surface line of tablets, which were announced back in June with great fanfare, four other major device manufacturers will be releasing their own Windows RT tablets later this year. Asus, Samsung, Lenovo and Toshiba have all signed on to produce Windows RT tablets.

Microsoft took a very measured approach to selecting what OEMs would be allowed to produce the first generation of Windows tablets, according to the Chinese Economic Times. The three Windows RT ARM chipset manufacturers, Qualcomm, NVIDIA and Texas Instruments, were limited to partnering with up to two manufacturers.

It's well known now that Asus has had an odd relationship with Microsoft and Windows Phone 7. The OEM was committed early on to make a Windows Phone and to be one of the first to market, yet they seemed to have pulled out, nearly disappearing form the scene. Forbes has a recent interview Benson Lin, Asus' corporate vice president and the general manager of its mobile devices unit, where details are finally shared as to what happened with Asus, Microsoft and the E600.

In short, Asus was constrained by their Garmin partnership (which eventually soured), limited production ability, little access to the U.S. market and essentially being hesitant on whether or not WP7 would be supported by carriers and more importantly, consumers. So they did get cold feet. The reason why the Asus E600 even exists is because Asus went to production and made 5,000 of them before pulling the plug. Now those phones serve as developer devices by circumstance, but not by design.

Regarding their future, Asus is using Mobile World Congress to evaluate whether or not to jump back onto the Windows Phone bandwagon. That's actually not uncommon as we've heard in back channels that MWC is where next year's deals are all made--where people place their bets on new technology. That's why the Nokia deal is so important as we're hearing carriers are ecstatic over the partnership. That gives WP7 a lot more momentum going forward and while Asus says that match up won't have an effect on their decision, we can't but think that it will.

Source: Forbes

While the 2011 Mobile World Congress is still about two months away, rumors that we will see some new Windows Phones announced during the conference are surfacing. Leading the rumors is the ASUS E600.

The E600 is still a bit of a mystery with very little detail being leaked on the companies first Windows Phone 7 device. The phone is rumored to be heading to AT&T and dispels any rumors that ASUS was shying away from Windows Phone 7.

Other potential new phones making an appearance at the 2011 MWC could include one from Acer (the other "A" manufacturer), the CDMA phones (Trophy and 7 Pro) and a GSM 7 Pro.  We keep hearing Acer is going to join the Windows Phone 7 crowd but have yet to see much movement.

We're also expecting more details on the Windows Phone 7 China launch at the 2011 MWC. This will also generate new phones from Lenova, ZTE and Huawei that could be showcased at the 2011 MWC.

Source: Digitimes, via: unwiredview

In what is probably not a huge surprise, according to Digitimes, the Garmin-Asus relationship is coming to end January 2011 after a short 2-year flirtation. Sales of branded Garmin-Asus devices really never made waves (seven in all were released) so it makes sense to end this experiment. In addition, it was told to CNet Asia, that they had no plans to deliever a WP7 device. This contradicts an earlier report which suggested that a Q1 2011 WP7 device would happen.

This also begs the question of what was that Asus phone we saw awhile ago running WP7--it does seem to be solely Asus branded phone, so perhaps they're already on the go to deliver some new wares (we actually really like the brushed metal look on this device; see video here) No word from Asustek on their WP7 plans have been confirmed though.

Also, in related news, HTC is reportedly working more closely with Garmin rival TomTom to bring better mapping solutions to its devices. We've already seen this on some Euro HD2 handsets, though no word if this will also come to Windows Phone 7.

Source: Digitimes; via ZDNet Asia

Who would have thought that one of Asus's prototype (?) phones featuring Windows Phone 7 would show up in Pakistan (via Twitter)?

Nothing is known about the CPU, radio, camera or what carrier--all we can tell is it's a black slab with a nice brushed metal face. Not to shabby, but obviously those specs for Chassis 1 are pretty strict with little in the way of differentiation so far.

Will we ever see Asus in the U.S.? Probably not anytime soon, but hey, we're hopin' they make a deal somewhere, sometime.

[Shaistajafri (Twitter) via Pocketnow]