Asus Eee Pad to hit channel in July

Some of you may remember the "Asus & Acer retaliates to Apple's iPad" thread (link here) from a couple weeks ago. Now it's official and more details are revealed.

"Asustek Computer chairman Jerry Shen has announced, at a conference in Taiwan, that the company will introduce its tablet PC, the Eee Pad, at Computex 2010, scheduled between June 1-5, and is aiming to launch the device in retail channels in the third quarter of 2010, which sources from component makers revealed will be late July.

To compete against Apple's iPad, Asustek has strengthened the Eee Pad's industrial design and has cooperated with Google to adopt its Android platform. Asustek will also add features that iPad currently does not support such as USB, integrated webcam, and Adobe Flash, Shih noted.

As for the impact of tablet PC, Shih expects the device reduce overall netbook demand by 10-20%. The company is also monitoring the tablet PC and e-book reader markets closely to prevent related products stepping into each other's demand and will maintain flexibility to launch products that suit the fast-changing market demand.

The sources estimated that Asustek's Tegra-based Eee Pad will be priced at NT$15,000-16,000 (US$479-510) after bundling with telecom carrier services, and total shipments will reach 300,000 units in 2010.

In additional news, Micro-Star International (MSI) is also ready to launch its tablet PC, the M Pad, in the third quarter of 2010, but is conservative about initial shipments to prevent inventory buildup. MSI's current strategy is to observe Asustek's Eee Pad sales performance before deciding the strength of its shipments and marketing push."

Source: Digitimes

 

That's about the price of 16GB iPad in the market out there, isn't it?

 

Yes, the 16GB iPad is priced at $499

 

something tells me that the apple ipad is going to dominate.

 

Well they have a great base of apps already set up which is a very big deal.
I have to admit the iPad is pretty amazing even with no FLASH the screen is top notch.
Is the EEE tablet going to use the Snapdragon Cpu?
Any idea on the screen res and size?
How many GB's of storage?
Competition is a good thing, it would be nice to see exactly what they have to bring to the table.

 

i am counting on economy of scale to increase function and decrease price in a couple of years. i played around with one last week. as nice as the ipad is, it still seems to me that it is a giant iphone. if i did not already have a netbook, i would be tempted, though. my asus netbook has made me appreciate having a lightweight, portable device with long battery life that also runs office apps.

however, in a couple of years, i can see myself carrying an ipad like device instead of bulky paper files when i am on the road. louisiana does not have the greatest cell phone or g anything coverage. i am hoping that in a few years both will improve to make "the cloud" more practical. i think ipad like devices are well suited for a cloud friendly enviroment.

 

oh.. who am i kidding. when msi and asus release their 'pads, i am likely to sell the netbook. reading my initial post made me realize i *mostly* have talked myself into one already.

 

I-Pad, E(ee)-Pad, M-Pad... dammit people, get more creative.

 

These companies are only trying to cash in on the "Pad" name since it's already proven itself to be a big fat cash cow.