Well, at least they didn’t put it under the Eee brand.
I’ve ranted about Asus diluting the Eee brand a few months back because they seem to slap the Eee logo onto most everything these days. After the success of the netbook (and as everyone knows by now, they did invent the market segment), news came out that they created Eee-branded nettops, motherboards, e-book readers, and cellphones. Okay, aside from the nettop, nothing came out yet, but the Eee brand is indeed in danger of getting diluted if they do push through with their plans.
The ECleaner seems to be a different story though. The ECleaner is a robot vacuum cleaner, and Asus subsidiary AGAiT Technology will be making it. This still is a bit of a head-scratch though. Asus isn’t exactly known for making household appliances. In fact, they have zero experience when it comes to household appliances.
Cens.com has another thing to say on the matter though:
The smart vacuum cleaner is built with a photo sensor to automatically detect stairs to avoid falling down, and a pre-programming function for the most effective moving patterns when cleaning the floor. Besides, the product, with artificial intelligence, can automatically return to the battery charge base or resume cleaning whenever the built-in rechargeable battery needs to be charged or fully charged.
Obviously, industry insiders note, launch of the product is indicative of Asustek`s attempt to diversify its business from 3C products into smart household appliances, and to square off against its Taiwanese counterpart Acer Inc. in other markets, mainly because Acer, the world`s third-largest notebook PC brand, has acquired a stake in U.S.-based iRobot Corp., the leading supplier of automatic vacuum cleaners in the global market, since 1995.
The ECleaner will probably cost around $150 though. I’d say that would be worth buying.
