ASUS chief executive, Jerry Shen, said "always-connected PC" will soon be a reality at Qualcomm's 4G/5G Summit in Hong Kong on October 17. He said the company is always in search of new ideas and user experiences, and is currently looking to attract customers to the new category of always-connected personal computers.
"We are looking forward to bringing this new category of always-connected PCs," said Mr. Shen speaking at the event. "More and more, consumers are turning to mobile technology because it's convenient and you can connect anytime, anywhere. There is growing demand for constant connectivity for PCs.
"ASUS has the history of designing great smartphones and PCs and we are well-positioned to bring to life the benefits of always-connected PCs," Mr. Shen added. "We look forward to seeing operators offer more flexible data plans for this category to deliver better user experiences."
Connecting more devices to operators' networks will bring more revenue, he suggested.
"ASUS and Qualcomm are committed to perfecting the consumer mobile and PC experience. Therefore, a connected PC is the natural extension of our mission," said Mr. Shen. "We recently announced the ASUS ZenFone 4 Pro smartphone with gigabit connectivity and multi-gigabit Wi-Fi, delivering an ultra-fast virtually seamless gigabit experience.
"With this device, we start to see what improved user experience will look like," he added. "The ASUS ZenFone 4 Pro is the world's first smartphone with gigabit LTE. We are entering a new era where consumers will have access to gigabit speeds everywhere. While on the go, you can enjoy 1Gbps with gigabit LTE."
Qualcomm technology powers the Taiwanese company's ZenFone 4 Pro smartphone with gigabit connectivity and multi-gigabit Wi-Fi, delivering an ultra-fast virtually seamless gigabit experience. Integrated into the Snapdragon 835 Mobile Platform, the Snapdragon X16 Gigabit LTE modem gives the phone the ability to execute fast download speeds over 4G LTE.
Qualcomm's 11ad Wi-Fi allows users to download and share 4K videos in seconds, sync their photos, videos and other files with super fast speed, and enjoy quick access to cloud services. Moreover, when users connect other devices, such as laptops, with the phone's Wi-Fi hotspot feature, the Snapdragon mobile platform is designed to provide end-to-end gigabit wireless connectivity with 802.11ad access and Gigabit LTE backhaul, on a compatible network, even in crowded places such as airports.
Like the upcoming 5G New Radio (NR) standard, 11ad utilizes the mmWave spectrum – in this case, the 60 GHz band- tapping into a massive amount of data-carrying capacity that complements existing cellular and Wi-Fi networks. Additionally, ZenFone 4 Pro users will get robust Wi-Fi connectivity using Qualcomm's integrated 802.11ac 2x2 MU-MIMO technology, which offers twice as much throughput as 1x1 Wi-Fi and improved coverage, especially in buildings with brick or concrete walls.
"With Qualcomm, we have solved the millimeter wave problem," said Mr. Shen. "ASUS and Qualcomm have a strong history of collaboration. We will keep moving forward together."
"This is another example of solving the technology challenge of getting millimeter wave into a smartphone," said Christiano Amon, EVP of Qualcomm Technologies, later thanking Mr. Shen for the partnership between Qualcomm and ASUS. "This is a product that has already launched 11ad 60 GHz technology," he emphasized.
