Asus readying Android-based Eee phone?

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 29 Oct 2008 at 10:02

Asus will launch a smartphone based on Google's Android operating system in the first half of 2009, according to reports.

The report comes through Digitimes, which cites company sources. The report goes on to claim the smartphone will initially appear in Asus's home market of Taiwan, before "customised models for overseas clients" are offered.

That customisation may also see the smartphone rebranded, with the company name switched out for something more familiar to western customers. This could see the company launch an Eee phone. Not a wild suggestion given that Asus is now liberally splashing the brand across everything from budget laptops to motherboards.

Asus already builds Windows-mobile powered smartphones, though they have yet to win the recognition achieved by compatriots such as HTC, builder of the first Android smartphone, the T-Mobile G1.