Asus Ventures Into Smart Household Appliances

Taipei, Dec. 18, 2009 (CENS)--With its wholly-reinvested company AGAiT Technology Corp. debuting an automatic vacuum cleaner, ECleaner, Asustek Computer Inc., a globally leading supplier of 3C (computer, communication and consumer electronics) products, has officially extended its reach to the market for household appliances.

Asustek has actively deployed its business in the industry of robotic products and successfully worked out the ECleaner, which will be launched in Taiwan and China at the end of this month as the earliest and under AGAiT Technology's own brand.

The smart vacuum cleaner is built with a photo sensor to automatically detect stairs to avoid falling down, and a pre-programming function for the most effective moving patterns when cleaning the floor. Besides, the product, with artificial intelligence, can automatically return to the battery charge base or resume cleaning whenever the built-in rechargeable battery needs to be charged or fully charged.

Obviously, industry insiders note, launch of the product is indicative of Asustek's attempt to diversify its business from 3C products into smart household appliances, and to square off against its Taiwanese counterpart Acer Inc. in other markets, mainly because Acer, the world's third-largest notebook PC brand, has acquired a stake in U.S.-based iRobot Corp., the leading supplier of automatic vacuum cleaners in the global market, since 1995.

Backed by cutting-edge production and cost efficiency, Asustek hopes to lower the selling price of the product to less than NT$5,000 per unit, only half that of iRobot's competing models, very likely to quickly explore the market.

Besides the ECleaner, AGAiT Technology has also launched a variety of PC peripherals, including keyboards, mouses and mobile hard disc drives, with all of which are promoted under AGAiT or Vento. In other words, Asustek has also been concentrated on development of sub-brands as Acer, who owns sub-brands as Gateway, Packard Bell and eMachine, according to industry insiders.