Asus plan to launch a new smartbook early next year

Asus boss confirms that a Snapdragon based smartbook device will be released early next year

Last Thursday at an investor conference held in Taipei, Asus' CEO, Jerry Shen (pictured) announced the planned launch of a new smartbook early next year. Shen's optimism about the potential growth in the smartbook market is evident as Shanzai.com quote him saying that the new device 'could be the "secret weapon" that takes the company to a new "Eee PC-like peak"'.

In another investor conference held earlier this year, Shen stated that he didn't 'see a clear market for smartbooks'; perhaps he sees this device as a market defining product? The Asus smartbook will cost approximately 180 USD, but as yet we have no details regarding the planned specifications, although it is likely to fulfil the typical requirements of a smartbook.

Is there a future for smartbooks? The consumer will influence the fate of Asus' smartbook, and if it is marketed correctly, it could succeed. There is a lot of speculation regarding the role that a Smartbook should have in a person's technological life – it's fair to say that it lies somewhere between a smartphone and a netbook. They can offer longer battery life and a lower price than netbooks, and a larger keyboard and screen than a smartphone. As far as portability, they are small, but so were netbooks once, and their screens grew several inches to what is considered a reasonable size of around 10" today. Will consumers simply keep their smartphones and netbooks and merely stare curiously at the smartbook when it's released?

Bob Morris, ARM's director of mobile computing is quoted in the Guardian as saying that the low cost of smartbooks makes them an 'impulse buy' product, which would appeal to the 'general consumer'. Smartbooks have been in development for nearly 28 years according to the Guardian, but have failed to make an impact in the computing market. 

Asus has already had success with the EEE PC 701 4G with a 7" screen, and again with the release of its EEE PC 900 with an 8.9" screen. Why do Asus believe that smartbooks will be a good addition to their product range, when they are only marginally smaller than their netbooks? According to Shanzai.com, Shen believes that Asus' focus on competing with superior speed and lower costs will secure them a tenable position in the smarbook market, this is despite the speculation that a smartbook market will exist for very long, if at all.