Mobile PC and netbook PC maker Asus said on Friday that it plans to launch a "pad device" or tablet PC this fall that the company said will target both commercial users and non-commercial content consumers.

Asus CEO Jerry Shen said that even before pad devices -- what he called tablet PCs -- became a hot topic, his company already had an ongoing internal project to develop them.

"We defined the opportunity to provide an open solution, a more complete pad device to (put) user experience in content consumption and productivity all together," Shen said.

Shen was speaking to analysts and reporters at the company's second quarter 2010 financial results conference.

Shen divided portable PCs into two types, including the PC, which is used more for productivity, and the pad-type devices, which are aimed at content consumption.

Full story: CRN