Will Asus Morph Google's Android Smartphone Into The Search Giant's First Laptop?

Asus has received an invitation to join the Open Hand Alliance (OHA) which is the cluster of mobile phone companies which have openly backed Google's Android platform and which will sooner or later release devices built around it.

Of course, supersized company Asus is well known for its diminutive Asus EEE PC which won rave reviews and started the netbook revolution single handedly and there's no reason why Asus couldn't do the same trick with Google's open (and hackable) platform.

Asus has the manufacturing clout, the experience as well as the expertise necessary to kickstart the Android revolution on a netbook. The HTC dream, the first Android Smartphone, is nothing more than a pint sized laptop.

The Taiwanese manufacturer could design and implement a smartphone with a keyboard and a touchscreen within months and if sold at the right price, could possibly spark a bigger bonanza than with the EEE PC.

It could use a low power processor with integrated flash memory without USB connectors but with Wi-Fi capabilities and the whole array of Google applications, plus obviously, nothing prevents Asus from building a small desktop PC using the same components.

The bottom line is that Google needs as many manufacturers as possible to jump in the Android bandwagon and Asus, being one of the biggest OEM firms around, certainly has the contacts to evangelise clients and potential customers.