TechRadar recently caught up with Asus' Corporate Vice President, Eric Chen, in a wide-ranging interview in which the VP of the Taiwanese Eee PC computing giant told us more about his plans for an affordable, touchscreen, 3G-connected tablet computer – the Nvidia Tegra 2-powered Eee Pad.
When asked directly: "It looks like Apple is going to announce its tablet PC this month. Does Asus have any plans in that area?" the Asus VP gave us the following response:
"A slate? Yes, sure. We have the Eee Pad. Which right now is still under development. Basically, it will have an ARM CPU and a 3G connection so you are always connected to the internet, so just like with the Eee Book you are always connected.
"And you can choose to play video or something, when you like. Now the key is how to combine the content together. That will be the key. We have studied how people will want to connect to their content and also how they want to interact with the user interface (UI).
"You look at the iPhone, for example. The reason the iPhone is so successful – and call quality is really not that good – is the UI function, I think, is just the best. So this is also the way that we need to improve."
Specs and launch still tbc
To date, further attempts to find out more about the planned spec and launch date for the Eee Pad have proved largely fruitless. When asked about the near-future plans for Asus' new ultralight UL Series and for the Eee Pad and Eee Readers range, John Swatton, UK Marketing Manager at Asus told TechRadar:
"We are currently negotiating deals with Telcos and content providers and commercial partners."
Swatton would not be drawn on any further details on the Eee Pad's proposed spec or launch date, beyond adding: "We want to be able to offer our consumers that ideal combination of price, specification, functionality and performance [with the Eee Pad]."
Expect to hear more on Asus' affordable, Nvidia Tegra 2-powered tablet device very soon, with a number of other computing brands sure to follow in Apple's wake, following Steve Jobs finally unveiling his own tablet PC today.
Your comments (6) Click to add a new comment
saelboat
May 4th
6. Reports suggest that the real rival to the iPad is the Toshiba Protege M750, which has all the features of both machines and more importantly has an actual keyboard as well as the touch features.
Personally I think it's fills the gap between notepad and smart-phone a lot better than the Eee Pad.
Well, that's according to this article:
http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/news/2010/04/apple-ipad-underthreat-from-eee-pad-and-protege/
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jexmark
January 30th
5. @psyfur & eddpayton and everyone else. The picture in the article is NOT the Asus EeePad it is the new EeePC T101H with touch screen and rotatable screen.
http://www.siftwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/asuseeepadtabletnotebook.jpg
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psyfur
January 28th
4. Ugly as sin but I will mostly likely get this if it does have the tegra 2 chip and plays HD content
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eddpayton
January 28th
3. The Eee Pad is upside down in this picture. check out the logo in the bottom right corner lol
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chickenhead
January 28th
2. tegra 2 is a nice add,will just have to see once its out and the price i hope isnt as much as a cheap laptop,but you know new tech
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tfawcett
January 27th
1. ASUS was never going to compete with Apple on looks (this looks terrible), but Tegra 2 is a step in the right direction. I'd be interested in knowing the battery life. The Apple video made me laugh out loud when they stated the battery life is so good it lasts all day - 10 hours. My days have a lot more than 10 hours in them! I suppose I have to work some of those hours. ;-)
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