Asus has sent an email to media organisations stating that the company is “rumoured” to launch a global device in India soon. The email also correctly mentions that this will be the first time that Asus has made such a move in the country. For some reason though, Asus doesn’t want to come out and say that it will launch a global device in India, presumably because it wants to still gauge the market reaction to its devices, and more likely to simply generate hype. Launching a global device in India shows a company’s seriousness about the country. But couldn't they have just said that they're going to 'manufacture' in India soon then?
Update: Following this story, we just received an update from the company stating, "ASUS to announce a new product in India; the first ever global launch in the country! Expected in August, this launch will bring in further grandeur to one of our existing product lines. Further details will follow soon…"
That said, India has already been established as the next big market outside of the US. Asus’ ‘global device launch’ is most likely a reaction to the same move made by Chinese competitor Xiaomi, with its Xiaomi Mi 4i. Of course, there are myriad reasons why Asus may not want to confirm the device launch in India. For one, the company may not be ready to meet possible demand yet. Also, Asus may not have obtained the requisite permissions for launching said device in India yet, which means it can’t currently confirm a launch date. So, creating hype with a ‘rumour’ never hurts right? Why the company would send a rumour through official channels though is anybody’s guess.
Speaking of guessing, Asus has kept people guessing even with the phones that it is currently selling. There are no less than five variants of the Asus Zenfone 2 in India right now, with more announced at Computex 2015 that are expected to enter the country soon. The company has been taking these obscure routes to create hype about its devices though. The nomenclature of Asus’ current Zenfones in the market is highly confusing, with the company having no less than five variants of the Zenfone 2 in India. Interestingly, all five of the variants are almost never available at the same time, suggesting that while Asus’ plan is to have a Zenfone 2 across the mid and low ranged price segments, it isn’t really looking to sell all the variants.
Let the rumours begin!