Asus Wants to be Another Apple; Has Killer Product

News
By Marcus Yam
published

An 'Apple' for the PC enthusiast. Could it be a match made in heaven?

We know that, when it comes to design, Apple has a distinct flavour in its offerings – many of which appear to be polarizing in various tech camps. Regardless of how you may feel, Apple's design strategy is often influential throughout the industry, with both good and bad being taken. (The unibody metal designs are superlative, while the glass covered LCD screens are awful.)

Rather than just look upwards at Apple's trendy style, Asus is now aiming to achieve a status on the very same level. According to a report from Digitimes, Asus chairman Jonney Shih said that the Taiwanese computer company is aiming to become "another Apple." Instead of adopting a closed-ecosystem like Apple, however, Asus aims to do it with the help of open source platforms with ARM and Google software. Of course, Microsoft and Intel will be there too.

Shih also added that Asus will have a "killer product" ready for a June debut, though the brief story didn't go any further beyond that.

Best speculations right now point to an Eee Tablet that'll undercut the Apple iPad at below $500 levels but provide better capabilities with an Nvidia Tegra 2, giving it 1080p video muscle.

Or maybe it's just the Eee Keyboard finally releasing.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
46 Comments Comment from the forums
  • wildwell
    I don't get it, where does Apple come in here? A lot of companies are working on tablet PCs now, smartphones, metal or carbonfiber laptops, etc. Is Asus wanting to make their products look like Apple's?
    Reply
  • kronos_cornelius
    I like the specs. I'll get two of those please.
    Reply
  • xxicrimsonixx
    Sounds good to me... I have already gotten on the bandwagon. I have 3x ASUS monitors, an ASUS laptop, and an ASUS motherboard or two... I think that they will be great being the next "Apple" for the PC enthusiast.
    Reply
  • kronos_cornelius
    I'll get two, but T91 style, I should clarify.
    Reply
  • applocalypse
    They won't be able to stand against the coming Applocalypse.

    Jonathan Ive is the first rider, and the iPod his white horse. He is the false prophet spreading music downloads to the masses like some kind of new religion. Many unsuspecting souls were baptized in the digital river of iTunes.

    Jon Rubenstein is the second rider, and the Palm Pre his red horse. He spreads conflict and war with his coming, inciting the masses to fight for the iTunes they longed for. He is the trickster, wearing many faces and USB identifiers in his quest to sew hate among the unsync'd masses.

    Steve Jobs is the third rider, the iPad his dark horse. He brings with him famine and drought, starving the masses of their multimedia sustenance and cheap books. His vision is singular in purpose, because people don't need to have multiple visions going at the same time anyway.

    Who can predict the forth rider's identity, and what pale horse he will ride. Although it could be Steve Jobs, since he has been looking rather pale lately. But that rider will bring death to the computer world as we know it, the broken corpses of desktops and laptops crushed beneath the onslaught of handheld devices. The seals have been broken, the riders have unleashed their evil plans upon the world. Nothing can be done to stop what looms ahead.

    The Applocalypse is upon us.........doom....Doom.....DOOM!!!!!
    Reply
  • mlopinto2k1
    Marcus, are you trying to tell us something???
    Reply
  • kronos_cornelius
    applocalypseThey won't be able to stand against the coming Applocalypse. Jonathan Ive is the first rider, and the iPod his white horse. He is the false prophet spreading music downloads to the masses like some kind of new religion. Many unsuspecting souls were baptized in the digital river of iTunes. Jon Rubenstein is the second rider, and the Palm Pre his red horse. He spreads conflict and war with his coming, inciting the masses to fight for the iTunes they longed for. He is the trickster, wearing many faces and USB identifiers in his quest to sew hate among the unsync'd masses. Steve Jobs is the third rider, the iPad his dark horse. He brings with him famine and drought, starving the masses of their multimedia sustenance and cheap books. His vision is singular in purpose, because people don't need to have multiple visions going at the same time anyway. Who can predict the forth rider's identity, and what pale horse he will ride. Although it could be Steve Jobs, since he has been looking rather pale lately. But that rider will bring death to the computer world as we know it, the broken corpses of desktops and laptops crushed beneath the onslaught of handheld devices. The seals have been broken, the riders have unleashed their evil plans upon the world. Nothing can be done to stop what looms ahead. The Applocalypse is upon us.........doom....Doom.....DOOM!!!!!
    And then, will have the second coming of http://linuxhub.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/android-logo.jpg
    Reply
  • STravis
    I used to be a big Asus fan (mobo's and stuff) but had some bad experiences. Gigabyte scratches my itch now.
    Reply
  • festerovic
    applocalypseThey won't be able to stand against the coming Applocalypse. Jonathan Ive is the first rider, and the iPod his white horse. He is the false prophet spreading music downloads to the masses like some kind of new religion. Many unsuspecting souls were baptized in the digital river of iTunes. Jon Rubenstein is the second rider, and the Palm Pre his red horse. He spreads conflict and war with his coming, inciting the masses to fight for the iTunes they longed for. He is the trickster, wearing many faces and USB identifiers in his quest to sew hate among the unsync'd masses. Steve Jobs is the third rider, the iPad his dark horse. He brings with him famine and drought, starving the masses of their multimedia sustenance and cheap books. His vision is singular in purpose, because people don't need to have multiple visions going at the same time anyway. Who can predict the forth rider's identity, and what pale horse he will ride. Although it could be Steve Jobs, since he has been looking rather pale lately. But that rider will bring death to the computer world as we know it, the broken corpses of desktops and laptops crushed beneath the onslaught of handheld devices. The seals have been broken, the riders have unleashed their evil plans upon the world. Nothing can be done to stop what looms ahead. The Applocalypse is upon us.........doom....Doom.....DOOM!!!!!
    exceptional LOL
    Reply
  • elel
    Nice re-write. I like asus, have 6? of their products (incl. an Eee pc) and none of them have let me down.
    Reply