Asus
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| Type | Public (LSE: ASKD TSE: 2357) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarters |  Taipei, Taiwan |
| Area served | Global |
| Key people | Jonney Shih, CEO and Chairman; TH Tung, VP and founder; Ted Hsu, VP and founder |
| Industry | Computer hardware Electronics |
| Products | Motherboards, graphics cards, notebooks, PDAs and others (see complete list of categories) |
| Revenue | ▲ US$ 22.9 billion (2008 [1]) |
| Net income | ▲$0.84 billion USD (2008 [1]) |
| Employees | 100,000 (2008 [1]) |
| Website | www.asus.com |
ASUSTeK Computer Incorporated (ASUS) (traditional Chinese: 華碩電腦股份有限公司) is a Taiwan-based multinational company that produces motherboards, graphics cards, optical drives, PDAs, notebook computers, servers, networking products, mobile phones, computer cases, computer components, and computer cooling systems. Commonly called by its brand name ASUS (pronounced ah-soo-ss or [a'sus] in IPA and commonly mispronounced as ay-sus), it is listed on both the London Stock Exchange (LSE: ASKD) and the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE: 2357). In 2007, one in three desktop PCs sold was using an ASUS motherboard; and the company's 2007 revenues reached US$6.9 billion.[2][3]
ASUS is listed in BusinessWeek’s InfoTech 100 and Asia’s Top 10 IT Companies rankings. It is the number one in quality and service according to Wall Street Journal Asia and leads the IT Hardware category of the 2008 Taiwan Top 10 Global Brands survey with a total brand value of US$1.324 billion.[4]
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[edit] Corporate information
[edit] History
ASUS was founded in 1989 in Taipei, Taiwan by TH Tung, Ted Hsu, Wayne Hsieh, and MT Liao - all four were computer engineers from Acer. The name ASUS originated from Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek mythology.[5] The first three letters of the word were dropped to give the resulting name a high position in alphabetical listings.[5]
In 2005, shipments from ASUS, ECS, Gigabyte, and MSI totaled 104.86 million units. ASUS led with 52 million units, followed by ECS with 20 million, MSI with 18 million, and Gigabyte with 16.6 million.
ASUS also produces components for other manufacturers, including Sony (PlayStation 2)[citation needed], Apple Inc. (iPod, iPod Shuffle, MacBook), Alienware, Falcon Northwest, Palm, Inc., HP, and HP's Compaq brand.
[edit] Relationship with Intel
In the early 1990s, Taiwan-based motherboard manufacturers had not yet established their leading positions in the computer hardware business. Any new Intel processors would have been supplied to better established companies like IBM first, and the Taiwanese companies would be forced to wait for approximately six months after IBM received their engineering prototypes. [6]
When the Intel 486 was released as engineering samples, ASUS decided to design its own 486 motherboard without having a 486 processor engineering sample on site, using only the technical details published by Intel and the experience they gained while making the 386 compatible motherboards. When ASUS finalized its 486 motherboard prototype, they took it to Intel's base in Taiwan for testing. Unsurprisingly, there was not a formal greeting when they arrived. It turned out that Intel's own 486 motherboard prototype had encountered design flaws, and Intel's engineers were rectifying it. The ASUS founders exercised their experience with the 486 and had a look at Intel's malfunctioning motherboard. Their solution worked, to the Intel engineers' surprise. Intel then tested the ASUS prototype, which functioned perfectly. This marked the beginning of an informal relationship between the two companies – ASUS now receives Intel engineering samples ahead of its competitors.[7]
ASUS is one of the main supporters of Intel's Common Building Block initiatives.
[edit] Corporate restructuring
As of 3 January 2008, ASUS has been in the process of restructuring its operations. The company will be split into three distinct operational units: ASUS, Pegatron, and Unihan. The ASUS brand will be used solely for first party branded computers. Pegatron will handle motherboard and component OEM manufacturing. Unihan will focus on non-PC manufacturing such as cases and molding. In the process of restructuring, the highly criticized pension plan restructuring effectively zeroed out the current pension balances. Previous employee contributions were returned.[8]
[edit] Open Handset Alliance
On 9 December 2008, the Open Handset Alliance announced that ASUSTek Computer Inc. was one of 14 new members of the organisation. These "new members will either deploy compatible Android devices, contribute significant code to the Android Open Source Project, or support the ecosystem through products and services that will accelerate the availability of Android-based devices."[9]
[edit] Timeline
- 2002: Formed subsidiary Asrock.
- September/October 2003: debuts in the cellphone market with the J100 model.[10]
- September 2005: releases their first PhysX accelerator card.[11]
- December 2005: enters the LCD TV market with the TLW32001 model, initially only available on the Taiwan market.[12]
- January 2006: ASUS announced that it would be cooperating with Lamborghini to develop its VX series.[13]
- March 9, 2006: ASUS is announced to be one of the producers of the first Microsoft Origami models, together with Samsung and Founder. Samsung and ASUS devices expected by April 2006.[14]
- August 8, 2006: announced joint venture with Gigabyte Technology.[15]
- June 5, 2007: ASUS announced the Eee PC at COMPUTEX Taipei 2007.
- September 9, 2007: ASUS started to support Blu-ray by announcing the release of BD-ROM/DVD writer PC drive, BC-1205PT.[16] It has been followed by the release of several Blu-ray based notebooks.
- October 31, 2007: launched their PDA/smartphone range to the UK market.
- January 3, 2008: ASUS formally splits into three companies: ASUSTeK, Pegatron and Unihan.[17]
- August 2008: ASUS refuses to accept responsibility, or provide support, for the incompatibility of its A8N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard with Windows XP SP3, thereby tacity refusing to guarantee that any of its manufactured components' will remain compatible throughout the entire lifespan of a given Windows platform (in this case, the ubiquitous Windows XP operating system).[18] UPDATE: As of 12/26/2008, there is a beta BIOS update that potentially fixes the issue. Users are only urged to update to this version should their system display relevant symptoms.
- August 12, 2008: ASUS creates a new motherboard (ZT23) capable of clocking a processing speed of 120GHz, a record
- August 22, 2008: Details of the N10, a mid-level version of the Eee PC, leaked online[19]
[edit] Manufacturing facilities and service centers
As of January 2006[update], ASUS has manufacturing facilities in Taiwan (Taipei, Lujhu, Nankan, Kweishan) and in mainland China (Suzhou), Juarez, Mexico, and Czech Republic (Ostrava) with a monthly production capacity of two million motherboards and 150,000 notebook computers.[20] The ASUS Hi-Tech Park, located in Suzhou, China, covers 540,000 square meters, roughly the size of 82 soccer fields.
ASUS operates 50 service sites in 32 countries and has over 400 service partners worldwide. Support is available in 37 languages.
[edit] Sub brands
[edit] Eee
ASUS has generated a lot of buzz with its Eee-branded line of products, led by the Eee PC netbook. Since its launch in October 2007, the Eee PC has garnered numerous awards, including Forbes Asia’s Product of the Year[21], Stuff Magazine’s Gadget of the Year and Computer of the Year[22], NBC.com’s Best Travel Gadget, Computer Shopper's Best Netbook of 2008, PC Pro's Hardware of the Year, PC World's Best Netbook, and DIME magazine’s 2008 Trend Award Winner.
ASUS has since added several products to its Eee lineup, including Eee Box, a compact nettop, Eee Top, an all-in-one touchscreen computer housed in an LCD monitor enclosure, and Eee Stick, a Plug and Play wireless controller for the PC platform that translates users’ physical hand motions into corresponding movements onscreen.
[edit] ROG
In 2006, ASUS established the Republic of Gamers (ROG) to develop PC hardware especially for gamers and overclocking enthusiasts. ROG products represent the highest end in ASUS’ range, and are characterized by premium components and proprietary innovations.
[edit] ASUS original features
ASUS has introduced a number of original features and tools that complemented its products, especially motherboards. The table below lists them, together with some third-party technologies, rebranded under ASUS-specific names (note: the acronym AI, which prefixes many of the feature names, stands for ASUS Intelligence).
ASUS is known for its extensive cooling solutions on its enthusiast's motherboards and video cards. Many incorporate a large copper cooler that does not require the presence of a fan.
| Name | Year of introduction | Product | Description | Patented |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI NET | 2002 | Motherboards | Diagnoses LAN connection problems before starting the OS |  |
| AI NOS | 2005 | Motherboards | Non-delay Overclocking System. A dynamic overclocking technology | |
| AI Proactive | 2004 | Motherboards | a blanket term for all AI enhancements | |
| AI Quiet/Q-Fan | 2003 | Motherboards | Controls fan-speed to requirement for noise management |  |
| Audio DJ | 2005 | Motherboards and notebooks | Allows playing Audio CDs without turning the computer on. Notebooks supporting this feature normally have play/pause, stop and other control buttons on the front, where they are accessible even when the notebook is closed. | |
| Express Gate /Lite | 2008 | Motherboards | On boot-up, the user is given the option to boot a version of Linux stored on some Flash memory on the motherboard. Users can surf the internet and use Skype, IM, YouTube, webmail and internet file downloads without booting into another operating system. | |
| ASUS EZ Flash | 2004 | Motherboards | Allows update of the BIOS through a non-boot floppy which just contains the new BIOS image. Built-in with the BIOS firmware and can be accessed by pressing ALT+F2 during the power-on self-test | |
| C.P.R. (CPU Parameter Recall) |
2004 | Motherboards | Automatically restore default CPU settings at reboot when the system fails due to overclocking. | |
| ASUS CrashFree BIOS | 2004 | Motherboards | If the BIOS becomes corrupted, CrashFree BIOS 2 allows the user to perform a recovery using the motherboard support CD. | |
| Color Shine (or Colour Shine), Crystal Shine | 2006 | Laptop LCDs | ASUS marketing names for the anti-reflective LCD technology. | |
| GameFace Live | 2004 | Graphics Cards | A multi-player audio and video chat solution allowing online gamers to see and talk to each other while playing. As of 2006, it is limited to DirectX games and allows up to eight simultaneous players. | |
| GameLiveShow | 2004 | Graphics Cards | Allows gamers to broadcast | |
| WiFi-AP | 2005 | Motherboards | WiFi AccessPoint module bundled with some motherboards, Notably the P5E3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP@n that includes 802.11n. | |
| Music Alarm | 2007 | Motherboards | BIOS feature makes the computer play music from a CD at a user-defined date. | |
| Q-Connector | 2006 | Motherboards | Front-panel connectors plug into this block. The block is then plugged into the motherboard for easy removal and installation. | |
| Stack Cool | 2006 | Motherboards | The back of the motherboard is designed for optimal heat dissipation of onboard components. | |
| AI Gear | 2007 | Motherboards | Uses adjustable profiles to change CPU frequency and Core voltage to minimize noise and power consumption. | |
| O.C. Profile | 2006 | Motherboards | Allows users to store multiple BIOS settings for distribution or sharing. Settings can be stored in CMOS or as a separate file. | |
| GreenASUS | 2006 | All | Products with this badge comply with the RoHS initiative. | |
[edit] Controversies
[edit] Piracy Controversy
It has been discovered ASUS has been selling a number of laptops that contain (on both the physical machine and the recovery media) cracked and pirated software, together with confidential documents from Microsoft and other organizations, as well as internal documents, and sensitive personal information including CVs. An ASUS spokesperson promised an investigation at "quite a high level", but declined to comment on how the files came to be located on the machines and recovery media.[23]The pirated software is believed to have been accidentally copied over from a flash drive during the unattended installation of Windows Vista, due to a parameter in the "unattend.xml" file on the personal flash drive used to script the installation. [24][25]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "2008 Global 500: #363 Asustek Computer", Fortune , 2008
- ^ Chipsets/Motherboard Statistics by CPU-Z, retrieved August 2008
- ^ ASUS official website news, retrieved August 2008
- ^ 2008 Top Taiwan Global Brands announced today(2008/10/23)
- ^ a b Russian-language interview with Alexander Kim, October 2003
- ^ 巨獅傳奇：華碩成長為世界500強的故事
- ^ 巨獅傳奇：華碩成長為世界500強的故事
- ^ [http://www.dailytech.com/New+ASUS+Corporate+Structure+Zeroes+Employee+Pensions/article10206.htm "New ASUS Corporate Structure Zeroes Employee Pensions", DailyTech, 3 January 2008
- ^ http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/press_120908.html
- ^ J100 Phone from ASUS
- ^ ASUS PhysX Card Ready
- ^ ASUS enters LCD TV market with TLW32001 32" LCD TV
- ^ ASUS and Lamborghini Join in Comprehensive Partnership
- ^ Microsoft Unfolds Origami at the 2006 CeBIT expo
- ^ ASUStek and Gigabyte form joint venture
- ^ "ASUS BD-ROM/DVD writer drive" (2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-09.
- ^ New ASUS Corporate Structure Zeroes Employee Pensions
- ^ WindowsXP SP3 and ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe MoBo
- ^ Pictures of Eee PC's big brother leak online
- ^ Data retrieved from Asus' official website.
- ^ Product of the Year: Asustek's Eee PC
- ^ Stuff Gadget Awards – Eee PC wins gadget of the year
- ^ PC Pro: News: ASUS ships software cracker on recovery DVD
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
[edit] External links
- Official Website
- Linux on ASUS Laptops (user experiences)
- Asus Wl 500 premium Open WRT Howto: WiFi router for the Huawei E220
- ASUS FTP in Taiwan - for the most up-to-date drivers. (Asus is very slow to update their subsidiary-sites (e.g. Germany), so check here)
- ASUS Forum Troubleshooting and Reviews
- ASUS launches ‘ASUS CEO Program’ in five pioneer universities
- Open firmware forum for ASUS Routers with oleg firmware
- Pegatron Official Website
