Justin Kahn
Posts: 752 +6
Asus has made its way mainly in the PC business for quite some time now, but new reports have surfaced pointing at the company looking to explore new avenues. The company has now revealed a new Chromecast-like streaming dongle, along with new smartphones and a line of Chromebooks set for early next year.
Google's $35 Chromecast has been a popular product, and now Asus has revealed its new Miracast Dongle. Similar to Chromecast, it will stream content from mobile devices to the big screen, but will include dual band Wi-Fi support unlike the single band Google option. Its software will allow for continuous streams even if you power down the broadcast device's screen or start using other apps on it.
At this point, one major drawback of the Miracast is the devices it's currently supported by. Based on the Asus specs page, it is only available on a number MeMo Pads, the TF701T Transformer Pad, ASUS Fonepad 7, and the latest Nexus 7. There is no mention if it being compatible with any other devices including the PC. While Google Chromecast comes in at just $35, some reports suggest the Miracast could cost as much as $100, but there has been no word from Asus as of yet. You can check out the official Asus Miracast Dongle reveal video below.
As for the company's new smartphones and Chromebooks, reports say we will likely get a look at the new handsets come January of next year at CES, with 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch Chromebook offerings coming in the following months. The Chromebook models are said to be priced at $199 and $249 respectively and are likely to have been hinted at back in September when Asus teased a Haswell Chrome OS device. Some reports suggest the handset offering could include the 5-inch MeMOFone.
