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ASUS CEO says PadFone coming to “Big US Operator” in 2014

The ASUS PadFone may be a relatively unknown name in the US outside of the tech-savvy circles but the company hopes to change that next year. With big ambitions for its phone-to-tablet convertible device, the company looks set to finally enter the ever-important US market next year.

A new Engadget report indicates ASUS CEO Jerry Shen is planning a “dual-series” strategy in 2014 with a high-end line for both Europe and the US. To date, the PadFone’s has sold a little over 10,000 units in Taiwan where the company considered it a test bed and Shen is more than pleased with those numbers.

“The fact that such an expensive device still managed to sell nearly 300 units per day in Taiwan means the user base is quite stable,” Shen said proudly. “So in June, I was confident enough to tell my team that it’s time to go mainstream. Without knowing our customers’ acceptance, I did not dare to go mainstream, because going mainstream requires a lot of effort.”

While Shen wouldn’t say which of the “big operators” in the US a “high-end” PadFone was destined for, he did indicate a second quarter 2014 launch. “Once this product is launched [in the US], we will definitely have no problem tackling Europe with the same product, because this US operator is very big.” Shen said confidently.

What will a new, next-generation PadFone bring to the US table that isn’t already being offered by other, more stable manufacturers? The company isn’t ready to unveil details, but is determined to keep improving the existing PadFone product as a “standard for our devices.” In all honesty, as unique as this idea might be industry-wide, I can’t foresee any scenario where this device is a hot seller in the US, can you?

via Engadget

 

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