r next month, becoming one of the first companies marketing the ultra-mobile product for the developing world. Developed in conjunction with Intel Corp., the Asustek laptop with a 7-inch screen will also come in a more sophisticated model that will target the developed world, said company chairman Jonney Shih.
"It will be a laptop that's easy to learn, easy to play and easy to work with ... one targeting both the emerging and mature markets," Shih said in an interview.
More than 500 engineers, mostly from Asustek's bases in Taiwan and China, were involved in the development of the low-price laptop, Shih said.
A simple model of the product will be priced at US$199 (euro147) at the retail level, while one with more features will sell for between US$245 and US$299, he said.
Using the Linux operating system, the laptop will carry the company's ASUS brand, Shih said.
Intel and the nonprofit organization One Laptop per Child have aimed to bring inexpensive, affordable laptops to the most remote and poorest children in the third world.
Some analysts expect the low-price laptop to sell well in the developed world because of its mobility and ease of use.
Asustek said early this year the company hoped to produce half a million of the low-price laptops this year. Officials later said the volume could be sharply cut because of the late launch and the shortage of a few key components.
Asustek is the world's largest maker of computer motherboards. Of the 138 million desktop personal computers sold worldwide last year, 56 million units, or about 40 percent, were built on ASUS brand motherboards.
A latecomer in making laptops, Asustek is now among the world's top ten laptop makers.
