Johnny Shih, CEO of Asus, has announced that the company is looking at an Eee-branded phone... and that it may run Android as well.
Speaking to TechRadar at Asus' keynote speech at CES 2009, Shih said that the company was looking at a 'two-pronged' approach to simple, easy to use devices, meaning a device that can be "put in the pocket, play MP3s, offer GPS services, works like a PDA and offers Mobile TV altogether," according to Shih.
Given that Asus has recently joined the Open Handset Alliance, the organisation behind Android, TechRadar asked Shih about the company's plans to use the OS.
Momentum
He commended the "momentum" Google has already built with the Android system, and he also said the company is looking into using it, either with an Eee PC or the Eee Phone, with a number of companies already looking at importing the Android interface to the Eee PC model.
Shih also commented that Asus didn't see Apple, with its successful iPhone, as a direct competitor, instead seeing it as the model others should be looking to emulate after unveiling a number of touchscreen devices at this year's CES show.
"I think Apple has done a great job [with the iPhone], in fact what they've done is our model. We've done a lot of study on Apple."
From CES 2009
