Robot Reviews

It would be interesting to see whether Asus can impact the robo-vac market in the same way as it did with the notebook market..

Asus took the notebook market by storm with its amazingly low-priced mini version of a notebook. Dubbed netbooks, these notebooks with 8-inch displays, cramped keyboards, and exceptionally long battery life, bore price tags too low for buyers to resist. 

Although iRobot's Roomba sales have been pretty impressive, the entry of another robotic vacuum cleaner priced less than 50% of the Roomba could attract a throng of curious new buyers.. If sources are correct, the Asus ECleaner will bear a price tag of only $150. 

This is not the cheapest robo vac in the market though. The iRobot Roomba 400 is priced at only $130. However, the Asus ECleaner has some features that the Roomba 400 does not. For instance, it automatically returns to its docking station for recharging, while the iRobot Roomba 400 must be plugged in manually.

The Asus Ecleaner also comes with a 6000-hour UV light for disinfecting as well as a fragrance dispenser to leave a sweet smell in its wake. It makes use of photo sensors to avoid falling off edges. Although it has a random-like "bumping" algorithm similar to the Roomba, it can also be controlled via a remote control which it carries on its back when unused.

This is perceived by some pundits as a move by Asus to challenge its major competitor in the netbook business (and a Taiwanese company like itself), Acer, in other markets. Acer is known to have a substantial investment in iRobot.