Asustek Partners Up with AT&T in U.S. Push

By Eva Dou

Taiwanese PC maker Asustek Computer Inc. , known as  Asus, is partnering up with a major U.S. telecom carrier for the first time, in a renewed push into the U.S. consumer electronics market.

Asus this week launched its US$599 Vivo Tab RT as part of its Windows 8 product line. The 10.1-inch tablet, which has a quad-core processor from Nvidia Corp. and can be used with a keyboard dock, will be sold through AT&T in the U.S.

The world’s fifth-largest PC maker is hoping the partnership opens the door for its phones business. The first generation of Asus smartphones called Padfones, which launched this spring, only sold in the tens of thousands worldwide – not enough popularity for the product to launch in the U.S. market, Asus Chief Financial Officer David Chang said. The company is hoping for better a performance of the Padfone 2, launched this month. The device is a 4.7-inch Android phone that docks into a 10.1-inch tablet.

“We believe the AT&T partnership will be a help, as we try to improve our market share in the U.S.,” Mr. Chang said.

Taipei-based Asus is the fastest-growing of the world’s major PC makers by shipment percentage growth, according to Gartner but still has a limited presence in the U.S. The company has set its sights on the U.S. this year, banking on momentum generated by its partnership with Google on the popular Nexus 7 tablet.

Partnering up with AT&T will put Asus a bit more on the map with U.S. consumers, says KGI Securities analyst Angela Hsiang, as buyers will be able to get discounted prices on the hardware through a mobile plan.

Getting U.S. telecom operators to carry their products has been a hurdle for Asian mobile device companies. Asus’ larger competitor in Taiwan, Acer, does not have a carrier partnership in the U.S., and its tablets will remain Wi-fi only for the near future, company officials say.

Asus’ Windows 8 tablets also include the 10.1-inch Vivo Tab Smart, which runs an Intel Atom chip and is priced to compete with Microsoft ’s Surface at US$499. 

Both tablets can be locked into detachable keyboards, much like Asus’ existing Transformer Pad devices. Asus has been trying to find its niche in hybrid devices, such as its tablet-notebook crosses and phone-tablet combos.

 

 

Barbara Schoeneberger Neriah Davis