Asustek Chairman Vows 'secret Weapon' for IPad 2

From PC World: The chairman of Asustek Computer, Jonney Shih, noticed the growing thirst for mobile computing early on. When he challenged his engineering teams to design a new, more mobile computer, they came up with the netbook, a mini-laptop with extended battery life designed to keep people connected to the Internet while on the go. Netbooks became a global phenomenon.

Now, the company's innovative product, the Eee PC line of netbooks, faces a threat from tablets such as Apple's iPad. Shih sat down with IDG News Service (IDGNS) to talk about how his company will face the next generation of Apple's popular tablet, iPad 2, with a "secret weapon" to be unveiled when the time is right.

He also discussed the second wave of the computing revolution, predicting ever more mobility. He said only three mobile OSes will survive the current battle for users, and that companies, including Asustek, will have to find new ways to provide online services to customers.

IDGNS: Asustek launched four new tablets at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year, yet everyone expects Apple to launch the iPad 2 at any time. What does the new iPad mean for all the tablets coming out now? Won't it make them obsolete?

Shih: Well, we already know some of the details of that device, such as what kind of processor they chose... We very carefully chose our tablet processor, the Nvidia Tegra 2, and to really compete it will take [Apple] some time. You know, [Nvidia] is well known for graphics.

View: Article @ Source Site