Asus Confirms Plans For Smaller Windows 8 Tablets, Priced Below $300

Asus may not have been the most vocal of Microsoft partners (that infamous distinction actually goes to Acer), but the company has brought a number of Windows 8 devices in the past few months.

The hardware maker reported net profits of $202.4 million for the first quarter of this year, an increase from the same period last year, and now the company wants to aggressively work towards bringing a number of Windows 8 tablets to the market — at attractive price points.

The Wall Street Journal reports Asus CEO Jerry Shen as confirming the plans:

“We’re very optimistic about sales for Windows 8 tablets this year, due to Microsoft’s smaller form-factor program.”

So there we have it — confirmation of Microsoft’s smaller form-factor program.

Redmond has been pretty bullish about bringing smaller (and more affordable) devices to the market powered by its latest platform. Several devices have hit store shelves since release of Windows 8, but the lack of touch enabled ones and prohibitive prices on

Prohibitive prices, at least when compared to some Android-powered solutions, that is.

But it seems that everything is up for a reshuffle now, with several hardware vendors reportedly developing smaller tablets. Even Microsoft confirmed a few weeks back that it was working with PC OEMs to develop smaller Windows 8 touchscreen devices.

Windows 8 tablets priced in or under the $300 range will undoubtedly help Microsoft better compete against other mobile platform as the technology titan works to grab a foothold in the market.

While no specific products have been revealed until now (at least officially) there is a chance that announcements are just around the corner as we head into the summer season.