Well, it is back, darlings. And with a tie-up with Flipkart at that, and also talking of taking on all comers – of course it can, given its track record. There have been brave talks of taking on the likes of Xiaomi, and right now, they do not get bigger than that in the Indian phone market. There is, however, evidently a dark cloud to this silver lining. As per some of my sources, darlings, the current financial year represents the final throw of the mobile phone dice for Asus. As per what some knowledgeable people are saying, the top management at the company has been running out of patience with the mobile side of business, which has tended to stagnate a little over the past year or so. Which is evidently why it has given a deadline of sorts – if the brand does not make it big on the mobile phone front in 2018-19, it might even well be curtains for Asus in phones. Or maybe not totally, because some are also saying that the company will continue manufacturing phones, but these would not come with ZenFone or Asus branding but will instead be part of operator tie-up deals. But this is not to say that this is some sort of last gasp from Asus. Not at all. From what I can find out, the brand is going to be going full steam ahead in the coming months. There are going to be multiple device launches – and yes, the much talked about notchy-wotchy ZenFone 5 will be coming also. My sources say that Asus will launch more than a dozen devices (variants included) in the coming six months or so – and some will also come with very different interfaces from the ZenUI that people find confusing (this is an innovative company, please to remember). Also, the company is planning to push mobile accessories in a big way, bundling some with phones – and these are not just the routine basic headphones, darlings. And in India at least, we are hearing that the tie-up with Flipkart will allow the brand to price its devices extremely competitively. Of course, all this is just hearsay, darlings. And like all rumor, this is unconfirmed too. Old me is just happy to see some Zen back in the phone market in India. And I so hope it stays for a loooooong time.
