ASUS claims surprise to counter iPad 2

ASUS has a "secret weapon" to wield against the next iPad, chairman Jonney Shih hinted in an interview. The four new tablets at CES were just the start and would be accompanied by something else. He wouldn't tell Computerworld if it was a tablet at all and was adamant that it had to wait until the launch.

The executive claimed to know what processor Apple is using in the new model, but he didn't say whether this was going on credible rumors or if he had any inside knowledge from his position as a Taiwan industry leader. Most expect Apple to use a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 chip that would be as good or better than the NVIDIA Tegra 2 in ASUS' tablets, but Shih was convinced he would have the performance edge.

"We very carefully chose our tablet processor, the NVIDIA Tegra 2, and to really compete it will take [Apple] some time. You know, [NVIDIA] is well known for graphics."

He was nonetheless complimentary to Apple and thought it had a "good mix" of services that were both on the computer and the web. Trying to compete would be difficult for anyone that wasn't using Android or Windows. It would also be "different from the Wintel era" with less restrictions and more competition, he explained.

ASUS' drift away from Windows was reflected in its CES lineup, as most of its introductions were focused on ARM-based Android slates and not Intel-based Windows hardware.

By Electronista Staff