TAIPEI—Asustek, the Taiwanese company that pioneered the netbook, joined the battle to take on Apple's iPad, unveiling a tablet computer at a trade show that will run on Microsoft's software.
Speaking ahead of Tuesday's official start of the Computex trade show, Asustek executives said new device, called the Eee Pad, will start selling in the first quarter of next year. The touch-screen tablet personal computer will use Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system and Intel's Core processor.
In a potentially risky move that underscores the importance of software in the burgeoning tablet market, Asustek will also launch an application store, like Apple's App store. Long a hardware maker, Asustek has far less experience developing consumer software.
"We want to provide a content service as well, because it is very important," Asustek Chairman Jonney Shih said at a news conference. "We aim to enhance [consumers'] Internet mobile experience."
The tablet will be put on sale in the first quarter of next year, with prices expected at between $399 and $449. Mr. Shih gave few details about the application store, but said Asustek will develop it jointly with Intel and that the store will also run on Windows.
Asustek's announcement, which was expected, marks a limited victory for Microsoft in the intensifying battle over whose software will control tablet PCs, a segment that has been gaining increasing attention since Apple unveiled the iPad in January. That device, which came on the market in April, has already sold at least two million units.
ASUS will be showing Eee Pad EP101TC and EP121 tablets which use different versions of Windows to hit different market segments. According to the IDG News Service, the EP121 aims at the laptop world, with a 12-inch screen, Intel Core Duo processor and Windows 7 Home Premium operating system. The EP101TC is more netbook-like, with a 10-inch screen, Windows Embedded Compact 7 OS and NVidia Tegra silicon on the inside.
Acer and MSI are expected to show tablets at Computex joining, according to Gearlog, companies like Dell and Sony that have already announced plans for tablet computers this year. All the tablets showing and announced follow a theme of using Windows software and filling perceived holes in the hardware specs of the iPad.
While reviewers and power users have pointed out the iPad's lack of a camera, SD memory card slot, USB port and other features, two million sold units in under 60 days indicates that many don't see these shortcomings as fatal. The iPad does have an operating system with a user interface designed for touchscreen use, a user interface that Windows 7 can support but only as a secondary method of control and input.
Apple's competitors are betting that a rich hardware feature set and (possible) lower price will attract users who see the potential in an ultra-portable tablet but aren't ready to join the Apple universe. The iPhone has shown that, while Apple can make a market that includes rivals, the Cupertino tech giant will keep most of the market for itself, leaving competitors to pick up the price-sensitive or Apple-averse for themselves.
The tablets of Computex may move the market forward, but for now it's Apple's market that everyone else is trying to play in.
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