Asus: will not launch sub-$500 notebook

Asus has denied that it plans to launch a sub-$500 laptop into the Australian market despite strong industry suggestions of an impending launch.

Managing director, Ted Chen, said a dive into the sub-$500 market was not a reality as there would be no value in it for dealers or customers.

“If you create cheap notebooks then you would have to remove Microsoft Office and then why not think about removing hardware to create a sub-$399 market,” Chen said.

He believed Asus’ channel strategy was not compatible with the introduction of such models.

“We want to help all our dealers make good money, sustain margin and overhead no-one wants to see cheap notebooks,” he said.

The comments follow an international report suggesting that several Taiwanese vendors, including Asus, were due to globally launch sub-$500 notebooks.

According to IDC analyst Sager, Asus by far has been the most successful of the late entrants to the notebook arena.

However he said Asus would such a price point if it did launch a sub-$500 product.