If DigiTimes sources are right, we could see some interesting things from Asustek on the mobile phone front in 2009.
Asustek intentions for 2008 had been to release up to 15 new smartphones. But the company committed most of its R&D resources to the development of a Google Android-based phone and the Garmin nuvifone and only managed to launch seven phones instead. A 3G chip platform transition during the year did not help either. It all translated into estimated total shipments of between 300,000 and 400,000 units (compare that to HTC’s estimated shipments of 12 to 13 million units).
The company will grow its R&D department for the upcoming year to allow it to release up to 10 new smartphones. Most of these new models will support both 3G as well as a touch-based user interface.
At this time, Asustek has 700 to 800 people in its R&D department compared to 2,200 at HTC. It’s not clear just how many more staff will be brought on.