TAIWANESE HARDWARE FIRM Asus plans to expand beyond the dwindling PC market and release smartphones and Chromebooks in 2014.

Asus CEO Jerry Shen told investors on a conference call that the firm will unveil a smartphone CES 2014 in Las Vegas in January, according to the Taipei Times.

He didn't reveal any specific details regarding the smartphone, but previous leaks suggest Asus is planning to launch a 5in Memofone handset.

"We remain optimistic about the desktop and laptop market, but our priority is to make the company's smartphone business turn a profit next year," said Asus CFO David Chang.

The firm is also planning at least one Chromebook, which will come to market at some point next quarter. It plans to reduce its focus on Windows machines to stem losses in the poorly performing PC business.

Asus' proposed Chromebook specifications remain a mystery, but according to the Taipei Times, it might be inexpensive with a price of around $199, for an 11.6in model and $249 for a 13.3in model.

Asus revealed that it will release an Intel Haswell powered Chromebook sometime next year at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco in September.

HP's most recent Chomebook 11 was temporarily discontinued less than a month after release due to reports that faulty chargers are overheating. The web surfing notebook has disappeared from both Currys and PC World and Google's online store in the UK and the US.

In the meantime, HP has advised customers who have already bought an HP Chromebook 11 to not use the charger shipped with the device, as the fault apparently lies with the charger as opposed to the Chromebook.

By: DocMemory
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