Cloud computing said to get personal under Asus.
They ve been hinting for weeks but now the rumour mill is on overdrive – as onlookers are convinced a personal cloud device is what the maker is going to pull out of the new products bag.
In a recent interview with IDG Asustek CEO Jonney Shih strongly hinted the core processor in the new batch of slates would pack a punch – sending rivals Apple flying, but he also alluded to some other impending launches.
It has also been tipped by Asus VP of Mobile Devices, Benson Lin, as a “market-changing” device similar to the company’s Eee PC computer which triggered the notebook revolution in 2007.
Confirmed by Lin as a “personal computing device” several bloggers now believe the mystery product will be unravelled at Computex this June.
“We will try to provide a ‘secret weapon,’ something we have not shown at this time but closer to the launch time we will show,” Chairman Jonney Shih said although failed to elaborate any further.
But he did say the following:
“When you talk about multitasking in the cloud, you also have to think about battery power and that’s where I think you have to decide what should be in personal computing and what should be in cloud computing.
” If Chrome tries not to rush too much to put everything on the Web, then it will be OK. Look at Apple, they put some things on the Web such as iTunes, and other things on the computer, and they are making a good mix.
” You have to think about the best balance between personal computing and cloud computing.”
He also said cloud computing was the hot technology for 2011 although the jury is still out as to whether his new cloud based device is tab or notebook device, if at all.
It could even be a mobile device, which until now the Taiwanese maker has largely shied away from.
“If we don’t have a unique product, we have no chance,” Lin added.
He also said his company would not be ruled by simply one OS and a mix between web based and local applications was the best way forward.
“You need to do a lot of work on the UI [user interface] and 2D and 3D graphics, and true typing and multitasking is important because sometimes you are doing a lot of things through the cloud,” he said.
The three new slates additions to be launched this year by the notebook maker include the Eee Pad MeMO, Transformer and the Slider are the latest offering by the Taiwanese computer maker, adding to their already top-selling Eee family of netbooks.
