5 things you probably don't know about Asus

1 - Origin of the name Asus

Asus is an unusual name, but you can think of the Pegasus, the winged horse in Greek mythology that you might have seen in Disney’s Hercules movie. And that’s exactly what the name means. It symbolizes qualities like flight, speed, inspiration, and learning, among others. The company simply got rid of the first three letters, so it’s “Asus” instead of “Pegasus”.

But why drop the first two letters? It tells the story of a company tired of being at the bottom of the list of manufacturers, including at fairs and presentations. That’s why they withdrew the first three letters, so that at least alphabetically, they’d be on the top of some lists, as the name begins with the letter 'a'.

2 - Asus didn't make its fortune with smartphones

Unless you’re totally new to the world of technology, you’ll know that Asus didn’t first start out as a smartphone manufacturer. The company’s first Android smartphones came out in 2012 with the PadFone, but even before that the company had already achieved huge sales figures.

Asus’ products include monitors, motherboards, video cards, sound cards, heatsinks, notebook computers, tablets, routers, among others. The company has even produced components for other manufacturers such as Sony, Apple, Alienware, HP and Compaq.

3 - Asus is the leader in motherboards

Despite selling well in countries like India, Taiwan and China, Asus’ sales numbers for computer components are far superior than they are for smartphones. But back to the main point: Asus is the largest manufacturer of motherboards in the world, with approximately 40% of the sector’s market share.

Asus is also one of the top 10 IT companies in Asus and one of the largest PC vendors in the world. All across the world, the company sells almost all the components it manufacturers, including their popular motherboards.

4 - Asus introduced netbooks to the world

If you’re a little younger, you might not know what a netbook is. By 2010, these gadgets were a fever around the world. These devices were precursors to ultrabooks, Chromebooks, and in a way, even tablets.

The Asus netbook, which was called the Eee PC, was a tiny notebook with a small screen and very streamlined hardware. They usually ran either Linux or Windows. They were aimed primarily at emerging markets and people with lower income. The Eee PCs were the most popular netbooks, even though they weren’t first of their kind, and defined the genre for the entire world.

5 - Asus already made smartphones with Garmin

This is an obscure factoid and I believe few will know about it. This partnership only lasted a year, but it resulted in the production of six smartphones, which ran on Linux, Windows Mobile, and Android.Yes, a smartphone that focuses on GPS.

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The partnership, known as Garmin-ASUS, was stamped on the smartphones, of course focused on GPS navigation offered by Garmin. It started in 2009, and the partnership ended in 2010, when Garmin decided not to invest more in this kind of product.

And what about you? Are there any peculiarities about Asus that you’d care to share with us? Show off your nerdy side!