Asustek Computer will introduce two tablet PCs this month, one with a detachable keyboard and another with a sliding keyboard, Taiwan’s semi-official Central News Agency reported. The products will join a tough market dominated now by giants such as Dell and Acer.
At the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week, Asustek will show a tablet with a sliding keyboard and a 10-inch screen running Android, the news agency said. Another Asustek tablet on display at the same show will have a detachable keyboard and will run Windows, the report said. Both products will belong to the Asus Eee Pad product line.
Detachable keyboards favor users who do a lot of typing but the devices may cost more than other tablet PCs, making sales tricky, said Eddy Tseng, a hardware researcher with SinoPac Securities in Taipei. An Acer x86 tablet released last year, for example, has struggled with costs, he said.
“If you’re doing a lot of data key-in, the keyboard is an advantage,” he said. “But the cost will be higher, so when it goes to market there’s a disadvantage.”
The company that pioneered netbooks is striving for a double-digit share of the global tablet PC market this year.
Last month Asustek said it believed the non-Apple segment of the overall tablet market would reach 10 million to 15 million units this year.