Asustek Computer will be the first computer maker to put Intel's AppUp Center application store on netbooks, the chip maker said Tuesday.
Announced during the Consumer Electronics Show in January, the AppUp Center was created to give netbook users a store where they can find applications optimized for their systems, and to create a market for developers interested in producing applications for netbooks.
"Asus will be the first OEM to ship a pre-installed, customized AppUp client called “Asus App Store” on netbooks this fall, beginning with Windows and following with MeeGo-based systems," Intel said, without providing specific details.
Compared to application stores set up by Apple and Google, the AppUp Center offers a relatively limited selection of applications. But Intel said that's because the store is new and the number of available applications will improve over time.
"Compared to the amount of time that we've had it in beta and the number of applications that are there, and the quality of those applications, I don't believe there's anything to apologize about," said Matthew Parker, general manager of Intel's Atom client division.
"But we do look forward to a future of much richer and greater number of applications that will be available to the netbook consumers," he said.
