When it comes to marketing proneness, Taiwanese (and other Far Eastern) vendors often were afraid of their own shadow, not to interfere with lucrative OEM deals that western vendors utilized to the full extent: you may build your own stuff, but we contract you to build our stuff and you shall not interfere with that.

For good portion of it, the said mantra is true to this date, with Far Eastern industry giants still afraid to speak out, even though they now do almost everything for Western vendors such as Apple (NASDAQ: APPL) – without Foxconn (TPE: 2354) (iPhone, iPad, MacBook Pro), Pegatron (TPE: 4938) (iPhone), Asustek’s (TPE: 2357)  China facility, Flextronics (NASDAQ: FLEX) and Quanta (TPE: 2382) (MacBook an MacBook Air) – you would not be able to buy your favorite product from Cupertino (Designed in California, Made in China / Taiwan).

Not anymore – Asustek recently found balls of steel (that corporate move to Singapore seems to have helped) and decided to ditch the fear of the West and go for the jugular.

In two infographics, Asus attacked Apple’s products, pushing its design and manufacturing capabilities.

First ad attacks the MacBook and pitches its Zenbook:

ASUS North America tries to prove ZenBook is a thinner (and better) product than Apple MacBook. And 50% cheaper.

Second picture goes for the Golden jugular, pardon, Apple:

Golden Apple (Watch) is not the solution. We (our ZenWatch) is.

Who knows, perhaps Asian tigers will start challenging its former and current customers on more fields than just the price. After all, the key to selling a product is something that Far East still has trouble understanding – it’s not about the physical product, it’s about the experience.

Still, a ballsy move Asus. Ballsy indeed.

The post Asus’ Balls of Steel vs. Apple’s Golden MacBook and Watch appeared first on VR World.

Back at the IFA show last September, Asus (TPE: 2357) gave the world a first look the Zenbook UX305 its super thin and light notebook that’s gunning for the Macbook Air.

As of Monday this notebook is available for order, for a rather affordable price of $699. The UX305 is powered by the Intel Core M processor. The entry level model features a 13.30-inch 1920×1080 display, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, 720p HD webcam, micro HDMI output, three USB 3.0 ports, and Windows 8.1. Asus says that a model with a QHD display that has a resolution of 3200 by 1800 pixels is coming later, with exact pricing and availability to be announced at a later date.

The entire computer comes in at 2.6 pounds and 0.48 inches of thickness.

“Continuing the long-established ZenBook tradition of combining performance with luxury, the gorgeous UX305 ultraportable, which weighs only 2.6lbs, is available in a sophisticated new Obsidian Stone color with ZenBook’s signature spun-metal finish with its Zen-inspired concentric circle pattern,” Asus said in a press release. “A refined new shape that incorporates the DNA of the classic ZenBook gives the UX305 a subtle new wedge design with elegantly-tapered and smooth diamond-cut edges that emphasize the sleek ultra-thin chassis.

While the lack of a quad-core chip on the base model might make it seem underpowered, the UX305 is very competitive on a pricing level. The Macbook Air, which it is up against comes in at $200 more while other thin and light notebooks from manufacturers like Lenovo (HKG:0992) start in the $1000 range.

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