Asus chairman: “Android is improving very fast”

[vodpod id=Video.15577917&w=670&h=551&fv=videoGUID%3D%7B2A16FA04-A4C1-45E8-BFE9-A5E3510D3ABD%7D%26amp%3Bplayerid%3D4001%26amp%3BplyMediaEnabled%3D1%26amp%3BconfigURL%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwsj.vo.llnwd.net%2Fo28%2Fplayers%2F%26amp%3BautoStart%3Dfalse]

Asus chairman Jonney Shih sat down for a fireside chat with the Wall Street Journal columnist Walt Mossberg at the AsiaD conference yesterday to talk tablets, smartphones, cloud computing and general trends in our industry. The interesting Google tidbit came at the end of a preview video, included above. Of Android, Shih said:

I still believe that Android is improving very fast.

Shih advertised the upcoming Transformer device which functions both as a thin Android tablet and a notebook when docked to an aluminum-clad keyboard dock which houses a battery as well. Together, the two batteries in the device and the keyboard dock can provide juice for up to 16.5 hours. The new Transformer launches November 9, Shih said.

Google currently is disadvantaged in the tablet space, no denying that. However, the search Goliath has a strong momentum going in the broader ecosystem, with device makers building Android products spanning tablets, smartphones, ultra portables and what not. It’s the same ecosystem approach Microsoft tapped to achieve Windows monopoly and reduce the Mac’s market share to a single-digit figure. Google, of course, unveiled the new Galaxy Nexus smartphone with Samsung and Ice Cream Sandwich software that supports both smartphones and tablets.

In doing so, Google bets it’ll counter Apple’s tablet momentum and the more than 150,000 iPad-optimized apps. Google’s mobile chief Andy Rubin said all smartphone apps written for Ice Cream Sandwich will scale to tablets. As a result, the number of apps for Ice Cream Sandwich tablets will swell very quickly. Meanwhile, Android’s user experience guru Matias Duarte called the iOS interface “juvenile” and stressed Google is starting to take user experience seriously. Apple is also taking some heat from its carrier partner from Sweeden which warned a sixth-generation iPhone, which is in the works, will be “run over by the others” unless Apple finally adopts 4G LTE technology.