ASUS plans to enter US smartphone market in 2014
ASUS has enjoyed a variety of successes with its Android tablets, perhaps most notable among them being the Transformer series and the Nexus 7. Despite this, it has little presence in the US's smartphone market, something the maker aims to change in the coming months. Speaking to the folks over at All Things D, ASUS's chairman said the company is looking at entering the stateside smartphone market in 2014.
ASUS has been particularly active with pushing its Padfone and FonePad, the first of which features a fairly impressive 4.7-inch smartphone that docks into a 10-inch slate, making it a complete tablet rather than just a handset. The FonePad is the inverse to that gadget, being tablet-sized with cell phone functionality, allowing for users to make calls.
While both devices are nice, they're of the hybrid variety, and overall the smartphone aspect of the maker has been slight in the United States, though other markets have seen some impressive handsets from the company. Some reports began to surface this afternoon that the company will be changing this next year, something that was collaborated by statements made by ASUS's chairman Jonney Shih in an interview.
According to Shih, ASUS has been networking with US retailers and carriers, something it says is a necessary component for experiencing success in the market. While not impossible, the maker certainly has its work cut out for it at this point, with Samsung and Apple both having a massive presence in the market, and with LG, HTC, Sony, and other companies battling to dominate the rest of it.
The 2014 timeline doesn't seem set in stone, with Shih saying that 2013 isn't a likely candidate for an entrance in the market, and that 2014 is instead "more reasonable." Whatever the company does bring to market, it could very well be a high-end offering, if its recent devices are any indication. Rounding out the interview, the chairman hinted that there's more coming in the Transformer series.
SOURCE: Android Community