Asustek taps Green Hornet's Kato

Taiwanese celebrity Jay Chou, who starred as top sidekick "Kato" in "The Green Hornet," is now a top designer for Taiwanese computer maker Asustek as well. Asustek's chief financial officer David Chang made the announcement at a news conference to launch Asustek's N-series notebook, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported. "We hope to ride on Chou's popularity to expand our market share in the 1.7 billion-people Chinese-speaking market around the world," he said. Chou attended the press conference where the N-series laptops' sound effects were put on display. He said he has blended many elements, including music, martial arts, magic, and Baroque to design the new N-series laptops. He noted the cover also carries his calligraphy to highlight the fusion of Chinese and Western cultures in the design. Asustek's Chinese market share for notebooks reached 13 percent in 2010, and rose to 15 percent in the first quarter of 2011. Chang said Asustek expects a stronger demand in the third quarter. "Our goal is to increase our share in China by 1 percent per year, and the result of the first quarter is better than our expectations," he said. — TJD, GMA News