ASUS developing Eee tablet PC?

ASUS may have a tablet version of the Eee PC ready as early as June, says Australia's Current. Regional retail manager Emmanuele Silanesu says that the company is looking into a touchscreen device in a form other than "just a clamshell" and might make its debut at the industry benchmark Computex show, which starts June 3rd. Specifications aren't revealed, though ASUS has made a point of introducing past Eee PCs with low-power CPUs like the Intel Atom, built-in flash storage, and at least the option of Linux as its operating system.

This year's expo serves as the one-year anniversary of the introduction of the original Eee PC, making it a potential candidate for the launch.

Silanesu all the same cautions that the computer at its late development stage still holds a chance of being rebadged as a non-Eee PC model. Its role as a tablet is significantly different enough from existing models that it doesn't belong in the line, he says. ASUS has already said, however, that it's developing desktops and smart TVs under the Eee PC brand and thus is willing to expand beyond simple notebooks.

Filed under: computers, industry
Other story tags: Intel, Linux, ASUS, Atom, Eee PC