Rumor: Asus to launch $200-$250 Chrome netbook in June

Asustek Computer may be launching a new netbook priced at somewhere between $200 and $250 in June. The company is aiming to ship 6 million netbooks this year, according to sources from upstream component makers cited by DigiTimes.

The new netbook is expected to have an Intel chip inside, most likely the Atom. It will either be running Google's Android 3.0 or Chrome OS and is aimed at consumers who only need a computer for office work and Internet browsing.

With the growing number of tablets coming this year, some believe that the netbook is on its way out. Tablets are priced at anywhere between $300 and $500, and the more popular ones are usually upwards of $500.

Asus is thus trying to see if it can give the netbook market a quick boost again by further cutting down the price. This is possible with Google's mobile operating systems because the company offers them for free.

At the same time, Asus is reportedly prepping mainstream level models with a price below NT$10,000 ($338.37). It is also planning to launch several mid-range and high-end models with prices at around $500 that feature fashionable designs and cloud computing services.