Although CEO of Asus Jerry Shen said “Currently, I still don’t see a clear market for smartbooks.” in August,* he comfirmed last week that they will may realease a Asus smartbook during the first quarter of 2010.

This is a dramatic about face from what was stated previously, I wonder is Asus perhaps underestimated the demand for small, lightweight, Android based products when they made their previous statements. Mr. Shen also said that Asus R&D has been working quite hard, and we should expect to see quite a few new products from them in the next 6 months. Asustek’s first smartbook is expected to retail for about $180.

Via Shanzai