Asus has announced plans to release their own eReader device. Details are scarce at the moment, but the reader will be part of the eee line and will, at the earliest, come out late this year.
So far, there doesn’t seem to be anything to indicate that Asus will be able to compete with the Kindle. But they do have one thing going for them: brand recognition. Asus has been one of the leaders in netbooks with their eee PC. By making a reader that belongs to the same family as their successful netbooks, there is some chance of brand loyalty coming into play.
Really though, I don’t know how Asus is planning to be competitive. They are, at best, a late entry into the eReader market. It is possible that they will offer some sort of well designed content delivery system, but will it make a difference if whispernet has been around for so much longer? There best bet would probably be to latch onto Barnes and Noble’s store, where Asus would only have to focus on hardware. Maybe when more details become public, we’ll have a better idea of how this will play out.
Hello,
Your comments are foolish and display your bias towards the Kindle.
I say this for two reasons:
Asus is a long term computer hardware player. Amazon cannot compete with Asus technology, Amazon can only pay someone else for their technology. Where is the intelligent decision siding here if you’re betting on a piece of hardware?
Amazon gets big kudos for innovation and ideas, no doubt. At the moment, they’ve created a PC niche. But Amazon is not a hardware manufacturer. Unless they have some very inventive personalities at Amazon and keep coming out with innovations, they will not be able to compete with Asus, or any other heavy R&D company. One could side with the argument of continued innovation from Amazon but the ridiculous Kindle price of $500 proves otherwise. Amazon is holding on tight and riding this short wave they have till the 3rd-4th quarter 2009, when the eReader ride comes to a screeching halt for Amazon.
EReaders are soon-to-be $99 items. You are foolish if you spent so much on an inexpensive item. Considering schools & military is enough argument to demonstrate the oncoming wave of ebook readers coming into human culture.
http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/19/many-details-about-the-kindle/
Enjoy!
http://www.examiner.com/x-18821-Virginia-Beach-Books-Examiner~y2009m9d1-Ereader-sales-set-to-explode-but-the-Kindle-may-not-reign-supreme