ASUS Eee e-Book Reader to Be Launched Before Year's End

ASUS, one of the world's leading vendors of mini-laptops, better-known as netbooks, has recently confirmed plans to launch a new product, part of its growing line of Eee-branded devices. The device in question will become available as the company's first e-book reader, which will likely compete with similar products from the likes of Amazon or Sony. According to the company's CEO, the Eee-branded e-book reader is scheduled to arrive before the end of this year, although specifications and other details are yet to be made available.

In a recent news-article on Digitimes, Jerry Shen, ASUS' CEO, has confirmed that the Taiwanese company is planning to launch an e-book reader under the Eee brand. The product is expected to make a debut on the market before the end of 2009. Unfortunately, Shen was tight-lipped when it came to the technical specifications of the device or how his company planned to establish a content delivery platform. Nevertheless, the device could become a competitor for Amazon's successful Kindle e-book reader.

Digitimes' report also makes reference to another Taiwanese company, which, according to industry sources, is also evaluating the potential of the e-book reader market. The manufacturer in question is MSI, which is also an important player in the netbook market, with plans to be the first to launch a new system based on Intel's next-generation Pine Trail platform. One of the reasons behind MSI's indecision is that, while e-book readers are cheaper to manufacture (compared to netbooks), establishing a content delivery platform can be a challenge.

The report is yet to be confirmed by any of the two companies, but it's clear that the e-book market is gaining momentum, especially since more companies are considering entering it with a product of their own.