Asus

Asus is one of the top companies in the home computing and general computing sector. It is a technology giant based in Taiwan, offering a wide assortment of products to meet the needs of all users. In this articles we will see everything you need to know about Asus, the importance of the company, its history, its most important merits and its wide range of products.

Index of contents

Everything you need to know about Asus, one of the biggest giants of computing and technology in general

AsusTek Computer Inc is a Taiwanese multinational company of hardware and electronics for computers and phones, based in Beitou District, Taipei, Taiwan. Its products include desktop PCs, notebook PCs, netbooks, mobile phones, network equipment, monitors, WIFI routers, projectors, motherboards, graphics cards, optical storage, multimedia products, peripherals, portable devices, servers, workstations, and tablets.. The company is also an original equipment manufacturer (OEM).

We recommend reading our article on Internal connections of the motherboard and its functions

Asus was the 5th largest PC vendor in the world in 2017. Asus appears in BusinessWeek's “InfoTech 100” and “Asia's Top 10 IT Companies” Rankings, and is ranked No. 1 in the IT Hardware category of the 2008 Top 10 Global Taiwan Brands Survey with a total brand value of $ 1.3 billion. Asus has a primary listing on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under the code 2357, and a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange under the code ASKD.

The company is generally known as "Asus" or Huáshuò in Chinese. According to the company's website, the name Asus comes from Pegasus, the winged horse from Greek mythology. Only the last four letters of the word were used to give the name a high position in the alphabetical lists. The company's slogan / motto was “Rock Solid. Heart Touching ”, then“ Inspiring Innovation. Persistent Perfection ”. It is currently "In Search of Incredible".

Asus history, from its foundations to resounding success

Asus was founded in Taipei in 1989 by TH Tung, Ted Hsu, Wayne Hsieh and MT Liao, all four having previously worked at Acer as hardware engineers. At this time, Taiwan had yet to establish a leadership position in the hardware and computing business. Intel Corporation would supply any new processor to more established companies like IBM first, and Taiwanese companies would have to wait approximately six months after IBM received their engineering prototypes.

According to legend, the company created a prototype for a motherboard with an Intel 486, but had to do so without access to the actual processor. When Asus reached out to Intel to request a processor to test it, Intel itself had a problem with its motherboard. Asus solved the Intel problem, and it turned out that the Asus motherboard was working properly without the need for additional modifications. Since then, Asus has been receiving engineering samples from Intel ahead of its competitors.

In September 2005, Asus released the first PhysX accelerator card. In December 2005, Asus entered the LCD TV market with the TLW32001. In January 2006, Asus announced that it would cooperate with Lamborghini to develop the VX series of notebooks. On March 9, 2006, Asus was confirmed as one of the manufacturers of the first Microsoft Origami models, along with Samsung and Founder Technology. On August 8, 2006, Asus announced a joint venture with Gigabyte Technology. On June 5, 2007, Asus announced the launch of the Eee PC on COMPUTEX Taipei. On September 9, 2007, Asus announced its support for Blu-ray, announcing the release of a BC-1205PT BD-ROM / DVD Disc Burner PC Drive. Asus subsequently released several Blu-ray based laptops.

In January 2008, Asus began a major restructuring of its operations, dividing into three independent companies: Asus (focused on branded computers and applied first-brand electronics); Pegatron (focused on OEM manufacturing of motherboards and components); and Unihan Corporation (focused on PC-free manufacturing, such as cases and moldings) In the restructuring process, a heavily criticized pension plan restructuring eliminated existing pension balances. The company paid all contributions previously made by employees.

On December 9, 2008, the Open Handset Alliance announced that Asus had become one of the organization's 14 new members. These "new members will implement 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."

In October 2010, Asus and Garmin announced that they would end their smartphone partnership, as a result of Garmin deciding to drop out of the product category. The two companies had produced six Garmin-ASUS brand smartphones in the past two years.

In December 2010, Asus released the world's thinnest laptop, the Asus U36, featuring Intel Core i3 or i5 processor voltage standard (not low-voltage) with a thickness of only 19mm. In January 2013, Asus officially ended production of its Eee PC series due to declining sales caused by consumers increasingly switching to tablets and Ultrabooks.

Asus product range: smartphones, tables, notebook PCs, desktop PCs, sound cards, graphics cards and much more

Asus products include 2-in-1 convertibles, laptops, tablets, desktop PCs, mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), servers, computer monitors, motherboards, graphics cards, sound cards, DVD drives, devices of computer networks, computer components and computer cooling systems.

Smartphones

Asus also released many Android-based smartphones, predominantly with Intel processors instead of ARM, and often with two SIM slots. Asus is currently highly influential in large mobile markets such as India, China, and other Asian countries. It is known as the ZenFone series. Ahead of the ZenFone line, Asus launched phones with features like the Asus v70 and smartphones running Windows Mobile in the mid-2000s.

First Generation (2014)

• ZenFone 4 (available in 4-inch or 4.5-inch variant) ZenFone 5ZenFone 6

Second Generation (2015)

• Zoom ZenFoneZenFone CZenFone 2ZenFone 2 LaserZenFone MaxZenFone SelfieZenFone Go ZenFone 2E - Made specifically for AT&T and released in 2015

Third Generation (2016)

• ZenFone ARZenFone 3

Fourth Generation (2017)

• ZenFone 4 series

Fifth generation (2018)

• ZenFone 5 series Zenfone Max series (M1) Zenfone Live series (L1) Zenfone ROG gaming series

In addition, Asus also produced some hybrid smartphone devices that can be docked on a tablet screen, known as the Padfone series. The product line includes:

• PadFone (A66) PadFone 2 (A68) PadFone Infinity (A80) PadFone Infinity Lite (A80C) new PadFone Infinity (A86) PadFone E (A68M) PadFone X (A91) PadFone S (PF500KL) PadFone Mini (PF400GC) PadFone Mini 4.3 (A11) PadFone X Mini (PF450CL, US only)

Most Asus smartphones are equipped with Intel Atom processors, with the exception of some Padfone series and some ZenFone 2 models that use Qualcomm Snapdragon, although the latest phones in the series now use Qualcomm Snapdragon or Mediatek systems.

Notebook and desktop PCs

Asus currently sells Chromebook and Windows notebook PCs under the VivoBook series, ZenBook series, Republic Of Gamers ( ROG) series, TUF Gaming series, and Asus PRO series. The discontinued series previously offered by Asus include the EeeBook, K Series, X Series, E Series, Q Series, B Series, V Series, P Series, F Series and A Series.

Asus also has a wide range of desktop PCs to meet the needs of all users, from the most basic office equipment to the most powerful video game systems with the latest from Nvidia and Intel.

Tower type pc

• Live PC Series ROGGaming Series

Mini PCs

• LiveMini

ChromeOS devices

• ChromeboxChromebit

All-in-one PCs

• Zen AiOVivo AiOAiO portable

Asus entered the Mini PC market with the Vivo PC line in November 2013. Asus VivoPCs come without a pre-installed Windows operating system. On October 23, 2013, Asus launched two VivoPC models in India. VivoPC was initially announced with the VM40B model equipped with the Intel Celeron processor. But in India, the company launched VivoPC along with a new model called VC60 that is equipped with Intel Core series processors.

Tablets

Two generations of the Nexus 7, manufactured and branded by Google, were announced on June 27, 2012 for launch in July 2012. On July 24, 2013, Asus announced a successor to the Google Nexus 7. Two days later, it was released. Asus has also been working with Microsoft on developing convertible tablets for Windows 8. In 2013, Asus revealed an Android tablet computer that, when connected to a keyboard, becomes a Windows 8 device, which it called Transformer Book. Trio. The keyboard can be connected to a third-party monitor, creating a desktop-like experience. Asus is also known for the following lines of tablets:

• Eee Pad TransformerEee Pad SliderEee SlateMemo Pad 8VivoTab

Eee Line

Since its launch in October 2007, the Eee PC netbook series has garnered numerous awards, including Forbes Asia Product of the Year, Stuff Magazine Gadget of the Year, and Computer of the Year, NBC.com's Best Travel Device, Best Shopper's 2008 netbook, PC Pro Hardware of the Year, PC World's Best Netbook and the winner of the Trend 2008 Award from DIME magazine. On March 6, 2009, Asus debuted its Eee Box B202, which PCMag saw as "the desktop equivalent of the ASUS EeePC"

Subsequently, Asus added various products to its Eee line, including:

• EeeBox PC, a compact nettop Eee Top, an all-in-one touchscreen computer housed in an LCD monitor cabinet, Eee Stick, a plug-and-play wireless controller for the PC platform that translates users' manual physical movements into the corresponding movements on the screenEee Pad Transformer, is a tablet that runs the Android operating system.Eee Pad Transformer Prime, the successor to the original transformer.

Essentio Series

Essentio is a line of Asus desktop PCs. As of December 2011, the line consisted of the CG Series (designed for gaming), the CM Series (for entertainment and home use), and the slimline CS and CP series.

Digital media receivers

Asus sells digital media receivers under the name ASUS O! Play.

GPS devices

Asus produces the GPS R700T device , which incorporates the traffic message channel.

Sound cards

Asus released its first sound card, the Xonar DX, in February 2008. The Xonar DX was able to emulate the effects of EAX 5.0 through ASUS GX software and is also compatible with Open AL and DTS-connect. In July 2008, ASUS released the Xonar D1, which offered very similar features to the Xonar DX but connected to the motherboard via the PCI interface instead of the Xonar DX's PCI-E x1 connection. Then ASUS released the Xonar HDAV 1.3, which was the first solution that allowed lossless transmission of HD audio bits to AV receivers.

In May 2009, Asus released the Essence ST sound card, targeting high-end audiophiles, with a SNR rating of 124db and audio clock fine tuning. In the same month, Asus updated the HDAV family by launching the HDAV 1.3 slim, a card aimed at HTPC users that offers functionality similar to HDAV 1.3 but in a smaller form. During Computex 2010, Asus introduced its Xonar Xense, an audio package consisting of the Xense sound card and a special edition of the Sennheiser PC350 headphones. In August 2010, Asus launched the Xonar DG sound card targeting budget buyers and offering 5.1 surround sound support, 105db SNR rating, Dolby headphone support, and GX 2.5 support to emulate EAX 5.0 technology.

External and desktop monitors

In 2013 Asus launched the MB168B, a portable external monitor with USB 3.0. The base model shipped with a resolution of 1366 × 768, while the MB168B + had a resolution of 1920 × 1080. At launch, the MB168B + was the only 1080p portable monitor. According to Asus, it is the "thinnest and lightest USB monitor in the world".

Asus also has a complete range of PC monitors, most of them focused on gaming and offering users the most advanced features available on the market. Some examples of his best models are:

• ROG Swift PG279QROG Swift PG348QROG Swift PG35VQPB27UQMX34VQVZ279Q

Routers

Asus manufactures a series of network routers that directly compete with Belkin's Linksys routers and other top-of-the-line manufacturers. The Asus series of routers are generally shipped with Broadcom chipsets, faster processors, and more than average memory, removable antennas, and USB ports for expansion.

Although Asus' factory default firmware is generally richer in features than its competitors, open source Linux-based router firmware projects like DD-WRT, OpenWrt, Tomato Firmware, and DebWRT can get better device performance and offer its users more flexibility and customization options. Asus encourages and supports this use and advertises various routers as being particularly suitable for DD-WRT, especially including the RT-N16 gigabit router. See the compatibility details below. The RT-N13U / B, RT-N12, RT-N10 +, WL-520GU, and WL-520GC are also advertised as DD-WRT compliant although they are not shipped with this operating system.

Republic of Gamers (ROG), the Asus brand focused on gaming and offering us the best products

Republic of Gamers is a brand used by Asus since 2006, covering a range of PC hardware, personal PCs, peripherals, and accessories primarily geared towards PC gaming. The lineup includes high-specification desktops and laptops, such as the Asus ROG Crosshair V Formula-Z motherboard or the Asus ROG G751JY-DH71 laptop. AMD graphics cards were temporarily marketed under the Arez brand due to the Nvidia GeForce Partner Program. However, when the GeForce partner program was canceled, AMD cards were renamed to the ROG brand.

At Computex 2018, Asus unveiled and announced a ROG-branded gaming smartphone to compete against ZTE's nubia Red Magic, Xiaomi's Black Shark, and Razer phone. The ROG phone will have a special version of the Snapdragon 845 CPU that can be overclocked, steam cooled, an external heat sink fan with the USB-C connectors, and headphones on its bottom, three different bases and will be released on the third quarter of 2018.

Controversies with Asus

In September 2008, PC Pro discovered through a reader that Asus had accidentally shipped notebook PCs containing decrypted and unlicensed software. Both the physical machines and the recovery CDs contained confidential documents from Microsoft and other organizations, internal Asus documents, and confidential personal information, including CVs.

At the time, an Asus spokesperson promised an investigation "at a fairly high level, " but declined to comment on how the files got to the machines and the recovery media. It was shown that an unattended installation of Windows Vista could accidentally copy material from a flash drive with a parameter in the "unattend.xml" file on the personal flash drive used to write the installation.

On February 23, 2016, Asus settled a lawsuit filed by the United States Federal Trade Commission. The lawsuit revealed the presence of critical security flaws in the company's home network routers, which put hundreds of thousands of consumers at risk. Insecure "cloud" services led to the compromise of connected storage devices by thousands of consumers, exposing their confidential personal information on the Internet. The breaches occurred during the course of Asus' marketing campaign, which announced that its routers included numerous security features that the company said could "protect computers from any unauthorized access, hacking, and virus attacks."

Recognitions and care for the environment for a better future

In 2006, Asus obtained the IECQ (IEC Quality Assessment System for Electronic Components) and HSPM (Hazardous Substances Process Management) certification for its headquarters and for all its manufacturing sites. In 2007, Oekom Research, an independent research institute that specializes in evaluating corporate responsibility, recognized Asus as a "highly environmentally-friendly company" in the "Office Computer, Peripherals and Electronics Industry".

In October 2008, Asus received 11 Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) Awards for its products, including four of its N Series notebooks, namely the N10, N20, N50, and N80. In the following month, he received the EU Flower certification for the same N-Series notebooks at an award ceremony in Prague. In December 2008, Det Norske Veritas awarded the world's first EuP (Power Use Product) certification for laptops on these machines.

In April 2008, Asus launched its “PC Recycling for a Brighter Future” program in collaboration with Intel and Tsann Kuen Enterprise Co. The program collected over 1, 200 desktop computers, laptops, and CRT / LCD monitors, restored them, and donated them to 122 elementary and secondary schools, five Aboriginal communities, and the Tzu Chi Stem Cell Center.

This ends our special article on everything you need to know about Asus, the technology giant that makes it possible for us to enjoy many of the products we have in our homes.