Asus Eee Pad
Eee Pad Tablet Overview
The Taiwanese manufacturer Asus single-handedly built the netbook market with a combination of low price and solid mobile computing technology. But as Asus CEO Jerry Shen anticipates, the coming of the iPad and other tablets will cannibalize 10% to 20% of the netbook market. Now Asus is hoping to offset future decrease in netbook sales with a tablet device. At the CES this year, Asus displayed a non-functioning prototype of their tablet called Asus Eee Pad. DigiTimes reported that Asus’ entry into the tablet market will be put on display at the Computex trade show in June. Expected release is in July.
Will Asus be able to replicate its success in the netbook market with its Asus Eee Pad?
Features – Hardware and Software
Details about the upcoming Asus tablet are scarce, but one word on the street is that it will run on NVDIA’s Tegra chipset. This will allow the device to display high resolution (1080p) HD videos and 3D animation without using too many resources. No word yet about the Asus Eee Pad’s exact battery life though. The device will both have 3G and WiFi connectivity.
The Asus Pad will also be powered by Google’s Android OS and will have a 7-inch screen display with multi-touch capability. The finger-friendly tablet has a pretty chassis but looks a little thicker than the iPad. On the right side of the face the device are five control buttons. The power button is on the left.
Asus is also building features that the iPad lack such as support for Adobe Flash, USB for connecting peripherals, and 0.3 megapixel webcam. However, the Pad will offer the same storage capacity as the iPad’s cheapest model – 64GB flash memory.
The Bottom Line
Little is known about the Asus Eee Pad at this point, but with a $500 price point, we might be seeing a device as compelling as Asus netbooks.
Pros - Using Google’s Android OS can help enhance the Asus tablet’s performance. ARM CPU is also said to consume low power so we may be expecting good battery life on the tablet. - Support for Android OS lets you access all Google Apps. - The device is said to have multi-touch capability, allowing you to pinch, tap, or swipe your way in and out of the device. Cons - If what reports say is true that the Asus Eee Pad is around $500, then pricing will become its biggest drawback. Asus needs to go for a lower price if it wishes to compete well with the iPad.
Main Features • Android-powered tablet • 7-inch touch capacitive screen • 64GB onboard storage Key Features • Support for Adobe Flash
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