The Asus slate will partner Nvidia’s Tegra processor with an enhanced Android OS and will make its debut at Taiwan’s Computex 2010 trade show in June.
Asus looks to be the first of many PC builders to take on Apple’s iPad in coming months.
The Taiwanese tiger will use the annual Computex trade show to unveil its new Eee Pad slate, which will combine Nvidia’s ARM-based Tegra processor with the Android OS.
The Eee Pad is expected to sell for US$480-510 and will be bundled with 3G access by local telcos. Broader retail release is tipped for Q3.
Taiwan trade publication
DigiTimes reports that the Eee Pad will include a USB port, integrated webcam and support for Adobe Flash, and that Google is working with Asustek to enhance the Android OS to suit the touchscreen tablet.
In an interview earlier this year with
Forbes
magazine, Asustek chairman Jonney Shih said that he considered
“netbooks are the best combination of personal computing and cloud
computing, but between netbooks and smartphones and e-readers, we think
there will be a space for something like a tablet or slate PC.”
Asus expects Eee Pad shipments to reach 300,000 units by year’s end, but allows that the device would also reduce netbook demand by 10-20 percent.