Asus has gone on record as saying that it doesn’t see the point in launching 7-inch tablets in the UK, a market where 10-inch tabs traditionally have more luck.
The word comes from Asus’ UK marketing manager John Swatton, who claims that the decision to pull the Tegra 3-powered tablet is due to the fact that the company doesn’t “see a demand for the 7in tablet at the moment.”
Instead of launching that tab, which sells in the US for a highly reasonable $250 (£162), Asus will be focussing on pushing the upcoming Asus Padfone (pictured) “which is a smartphone and tablet hybrid.” Swatton revealed that the Padfone “will be formally announced at Mobile World Congress next month.”
Asus’ game-changing iPad rival
While it seems a gamble to rely on a tablet that also requires customers to buy a phone, there’s definitely more profit to be made from a 10-inch tablet than a 7-inch. As to why Asus thinks that’s the case in the UK rather than the US? It’s probably an issue with the size of the market versus the inherent marketing costs.
Asus is onto a winner in the tablet game, having managed to position itself as the go-to company for Apple-haters. The Asus Transformer line of tablet/laptop hybrids is gaining fans fast, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens when the Padfone touches down next month.
