Asus to expand netbook range in India

Company aims to sell over 50,000 units this year

Taiwanese tech major Asus, which sees a demand for netbooks loaded with attractive features in the Indian market, today launched a new compact computing device at a price of Rs 14,999 here.

The company is looking at expanding its netbook range in the coming quarters and aims to sell over 50,000 units this year.

"Netbooks witnessed strong growth between 2007-2011 but then other devices like smartphones and tablets caught on. With the current features and functionality that we are introducing today, we are confident that the product will be successful in the Indian market," Asus India Country Manager (System Business Group) Peter Chang told PTI.

Streamlined curves, compact dimensions and a tactile finish, the device is designed to complement on-the-go computing requirements, he added.

"This is the first device in the category. We will bring more devices in this and the next quarter. We expect this range to comprise 10 per cent of our portfolio and sales volumes among laptops," he said.

The Asus EeeBook X205 is designed for students and young professionals, weighing less than one kg. With 11.6-inch size, it comes with Windows 8.1 operating system and over 500GB of cloud storage space.

Powered by Intel Atom quadcore processer (up to 1.83 GHz, 2M), it has 2GB RAM, 32GB onboard memory (supports microSD up to 128GB), VGA camera and a 38Whrs battery.

It will be sold through eCommerce major Flipkart and later be available across Asus exclusive stores.

According to hardware industry body MAIT, notebooks and netbooks taken together recorded a consumption of 6.84 million (68.4 lakh) units between April 2013 and March 2014.

Separate numbers for the netbook category were not disclosed.