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5 things you probably don't know about Asus

zoomopticozenfone
© nextpit

Asus has been gaining ground over the last couple years. The brand's smartphones have become more popular and more high-end. At the same time, however, not many people know about how the brand got started. So there are likely some things you don't know about the brand, and in this article we'll share five factoids with you.

1 - Origin of the name Asus

Asus is an unusual name, but you can think of the Pegasus, the winged horse in Greek mythology that you might have seen in Disney’s Hercules movie. And that’s exactly what the name means. It symbolizes qualities like flight, speed, inspiration, and learning, among others. The company simply got rid of the first three letters, so it’s “Asus” instead of “Pegasus”.

asus logo
Did you know where the name Asus comes from? / © ASUS

But why drop the first two letters? It tells the story of a company tired of being at the bottom of the list of manufacturers, including at fairs and presentations. That’s why they withdrew the first three letters, so that at least alphabetically, they’d be on the top of some lists, as the name begins with the letter 'a'.

2 - Asus didn't make its fortune with smartphones

Unless you’re totally new to the world of technology, you’ll know that Asus didn’t first start out as a smartphone manufacturer. The company’s first Android smartphones came out in 2012 with the PadFone, but even before that the company had already achieved huge sales figures.

asus padfone new 5
The PadFone has evolved into this hybrid tablet. / © ASUS

Asus’ products include monitors, motherboards, video cards, sound cards, heatsinks, notebook computers, tablets, routers, among others. The company has even produced components for other manufacturers such as Sony, Apple, Alienware, HP and Compaq.

3 - Asus is the leader in motherboards

Despite selling well in countries like India, Taiwan and China, Asus’ sales numbers for computer components are far superior than they are for smartphones. But back to the main point: Asus is the largest manufacturer of motherboards in the world, with approximately 40% of the sector’s market share.

motherboard asus
Asus is the world leader in producing motherboards. / © ASUS

Asus is also one of the top 10 IT companies in Asus and one of the largest PC vendors in the world. All across the world, the company sells almost all the components it manufacturers, including their popular motherboards.

4 - Asus introduced netbooks to the world

If you’re a little younger, you might not know what a netbook is. By 2010, these gadgets were a fever around the world. These devices were precursors to ultrabooks, Chromebooks, and in a way, even tablets.

eee pc asus
Did anyone talk about these edges? / © Bit-Tech

The Asus netbook, which was called the Eee PC, was a tiny notebook with a small screen and very streamlined hardware. They usually ran either Linux or Windows. They were aimed primarily at emerging markets and people with lower income. The Eee PCs were the most popular netbooks, even though they weren’t first of their kind, and defined the genre for the entire world.

5 - Asus already made smartphones with Garmin

This is an obscure factoid and I believe few will know about it. This partnership only lasted a year, but it resulted in the production of six smartphones, which ran on Linux, Windows Mobile, and Android.Yes, a smartphone that focuses on GPS.

a10 garmin asus
That was the A10. / © GSM Arena

The partnership, known as Garmin-ASUS, was stamped on the smartphones, of course focused on GPS navigation offered by Garmin. It started in 2009, and the partnership ended in 2010, when Garmin decided not to invest more in this kind of product.

And what about you? Are there any peculiarities about Asus that you’d care to share with us? Show off your nerdy side!

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  • 1
    Rod Clements Jun 9, 2018 Link to comment

    LOVE YOUR NAME / Manufacturer INSIGHTS very interesting how these manufacturers have established
    Rod Clements from Godzone downunder - LG was great
    SupershopperNz@Gmail.com
    New Zealand


  • MarVelljones 6
    MarVelljones May 31, 2018 Link to comment

    I've taken apart plenty of PCs and found ASUS motherboards and components. I've had good luck with their routers, decent throughput even on their cheaper models.


  • Francesco V. 20
    Francesco V. May 28, 2018 Link to comment

    If only Asus adopted the Android One OS, I'm sure it could compete much better in the smartphone era. Apart, of course, if they only want to showcase hardware to potential B2Bs... But it's sci-fi. BTW, in the past when I assembled my own PCs, Asus was the best for quality/price.

    Sorin


  • 46
    Deactivated Account May 28, 2018 Link to comment

    Asus does dominate the mother board market I just never had one that lasted more than 2 years. I have MSI and Gigabyte that have been running 5 years and still going. Asus always crap out at 18 months or less, that is my experience with them.

    Sorin


  • 9
    Mastana Mahi May 28, 2018 Link to comment

    Does anybody remember that garmin gps that was based on garmin-asus phone? It ran android but it was dedicated gps with a camera.

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