Asus Wants a Cool UI for its Eee Pad
The Asus Eee Pad will feature an ARM CPU, Nvidia's Tegra 2, and a possible March 2010 ship date.
TechRadar recently spoke with Asus' Corporate Vice President, Eric Chen, in regards to the company's planned Eee Pad. The executive said that Asus is currently studying how people want to connect to their content, and how they want to interact with a user interface (UI). He said that the iPhone is a big success not because of its quality of calls, but because of the slick UI.
"Basically, [the Eee Pad] 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," he told the site. "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."
Unfortunately, TechRadar wasn't able to pull additional technical specs from the corporate VP. The details are somewhat slim: the Eee Pad will feature a touchscreen, stylus, and will be visually powered by Nvidia's Tegra 2. However, based on Chen's comments, it's possible that the OS will feature an iPhone-like interface that will make it easy for users to access games, tools, the Internet, and more.
John Swatton, UK Marketing Manager, told TechRadar that the company is currently in negotiations with Telcos, content providers, and commercial partners. "We want to be able to offer our consumers that ideal combination of price, specification, functionality and performance [with the Eee Pad]," he said.
It's speculated that the "affordable" Asus Eee Pad could hit the market as early as March, however it's more than likely that the device won't hit shelves until Q2 2010.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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pharge hmm... if iPad sounds funny and bad to everybody... does this Eee "Pad" sound anything better?Reply
hmm.. sounds like the name of something "Pad" is getting popular in the tech world.
guess at least Apple has done one ground breaking thing... they make "Pad" popular in the Tech world... and.. guess soon make "Pad" an acceptable name for Tech stuffs...
By the way... the Eee Pad.. looks small... wondering how much it will be?
By the way, "The executive said that Asus is currently studying how people want to connect to their content, and how they want to interact with a user interface (UI)"... will that make it to this Eee Pad which is schedule to be released around Q1-Q2 this year? -
AdamB5000 I would like to have a nice pc-based, thin, flat, touch-screen computer ("slate," if you will) with decent computing power, wifi and good battery life all in a thin, fairly light-weight casing that costs less than $400.Reply
Let me surf the web on the couch with little hassle while I watch football on Sundays! When I'm up to poop I can toss it on the nearby cushion without having to worry about breaking anything, tripping over a cord or folding up a screen. -
arlandi @nukem950: that's a great name Nukem Pad. and also don't forget to make it vapourware! :))Reply -
No Pc based pad please what Intel currently offers is absolutely subpar to Tegra 2. I'd rather have full hd output decent 3D performance no fans good performance and long battery life than Atom + Windows on a pad.Reply
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JohnnyLucky AdamB5000 - My girlfriend already does that but without the touch-screen. She has an ultra thin wireless laptop.Reply