Asus has always been on top when it comes to netbooks. The company launched the first Eee PC in October 2007 and it’s been a case of follow the leader ever since with netbook after netbook hitting the market with the same ubiquitous specs.

Asus has been shaking things up as of late and it seems 2009 is a year of change for the company. Recently showing off its all-in-one keyboard PC, dual-touchscreen PC at CeBit and the ever so girly foldable notebook (were the pink lights really necessary?) at CES, it seems the company is committed to offering new and exciting products. This week, Asus boss Jerry Shen says the company will debut voice controlled Eee products by the end of this year. Leaving aside the fact that Asus has about a thousand and one models in its Eee PC line, we really think the company could be onto something with voice controlled netbooks.

While Shen didn’t specifically say netbooks, we hope he’s just trying to shroud things in a shred of mystery. Netbooks have been a huge success with students as affordable, low-cost notebooks they can take to class and produce assignments on, not to mention Facebook and storing photos. However there seems to be a hole in the market with regards to netbooks and special needs. A netbook optimized for voice controlled software would likely be a big hit. There's also the keyboard limitations that come with netbooks. Tons of people have a problem with the smaller than normal keyboards and would likely find a voice control feature useful. Not to mention those who feel their typing skills aren't up to scratch.

The company is said to be working with third parties on the idea and we’re really eager to hear more about it. If Asus follows through on Shen’s “by the end of the year” talk, what kind of uses can you see for voice controlled Eee products?

Source : Tom's Hardware US