As you may be aware, ASUS was one of the first companies to officially hop on board with Windows Phone 7, and it even produced some prototype devices (like the one pictured in the middle above) that were used by engineers and developers in the lead-up to the big launch (some 5,000 of them, apparently). As you may have also noticed, ASUS still hasn't actually released a Windows Phone 7 device for consumers -- although that may finally be set to change. Speaking with Forbes at Mobile World Congress, ASUS exec Benson Lin revealed that the company did actually have a first-generation product that it was ready to go market with, but it held back because it realized it "didn't have the bandwidth" and lacked the carrier support it would need to support another new cellphone initiative. Lin went on to say that while ASUS is still assessing Windows Phone 7, the company feels ready for it, and he will personally be meeting with carriers at MWC over the rest of the week to gauge their interest, which he notes will be a "key factor" in determining ASUS' strategy going forward.
