Taipei, Nov. 24, 2011 (CENS)--The Taiwan-based Asustek Computer Inc., a globally known PC supplier, has launched the world's first quad-core tablet PC, dubbed Eee Pad Transformer Prime, in a bid to further increase its tablet product mix and price range so as to better hold its leading status among non-iPad tablet suppliers.
Eee Pad Transformer Prime is installed with Android 3.2, built with Nvidia's newest Tegra 3 processor and housed with aluminum alloy, and features a thickness of only 0.83cm and weight of 586g. The tablet, retailing for NT$18,000 per unit, is expected to contribute more than 15% to the company's overall tablet PC shipment this year.
Based on an estimate of 1.8 million tablets to be sold by Asustek, market observers have forecast that around 270,000 units of Eee Pad Transformer Prime will be shipped at the end of the year, when sales of the company's first-edition Transformer will also reach 1.26 million units.
However, Asustek admitted that it won't upgrade Eee Pad Transformer Prime's operating system into Google's newest Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) until December, a disappointment to its royal consumers believing that the tablet would run on ICS when launched.
The company just reported its combined revenue of NT$31.298 billion for October, for a 16.34% increase over a year ago. Worried by severe shortages of hard drives caused by floods in Thailand, the company predicted that its overall PC shipment in the fourth quarter will drop 5-10% from the third quarter.
| Asustek's 3 Tablet Models on Market |
| Model | Month Launched | Estimated Shipment in 2011 | Feature |
| Eee Pad Transformer | Apr. | 1.25 million units | World's first keypad attachment design |
| Eee Pad Transformer Prime | Nov. | 270,000 units | Use of world's first quad-core processor |
| E-Slider and E-Slate | Jul. | 180,000 units | World's first sliding keypad design |
Source: Asustek Computer Inc.
