Although much better known in the US for its Eee MID device and its motherboards, Asus also builds phones, including the first dedicated Skype device. Now the Taiwanese manufacturer reportedly plans to follow the footsteps of G1-maker HTC.

Asus plans to launch its Android phone during the first half of next year, possibly selling it under its own brand in the Taiwan first before rolling out custom editions for overseas customers, says an account today in the English-language Taiwan industry publication DigiTimes, which cites unnamed sources at Asus.

Asus shipped 30,000 phones in the Taiwan market this year, and expects to ship 40,000 by the end of this year, according to the report in DigiTimes.

As previously reported in BetaNews, at events in New York City and London during the month of September, Asus unveiled plans to build the first dedicated Skype phone.

Unlike HTC -- the maker of T-Mobile's existing G1 phone -- and Motorola, Asus has not yet been named a member of the Android industry association known as the Open Handset Alliance (OHA).

An Asus spokesperson contacted by BetaNews today was temporarily unavailable for comment.