Asus is low-key becoming a force to be reckoned with

It's odd to say this, but one of the most promising smartphone market newcomers is... not a newcomer at all. There are a number of reasons why Asus hasn't exactly made waves in an industry it first tackled many years ago, some of which might only be known to a select few executives familiar with the inner workings of the Taiwan-based tech giant.

Of course, the company's problem was never a lack of public attention or media visibility, but rather a lack of direction. For far too long, Asus experimented with quirky designs and unconventional ...