Asustek Computer on October 28 announced its ZenFone 5, a 4G-enabled smartphone, in Japan for launch on November 8 and will additionally launch a smartwatch, the ZenWatch, in late November. Asustek aims to ship 7.5-8 million smartphones in 2014.

Market watchers pointed out that Asustek's handset business turned profitable starting the third quarter of 2014 and is expected to contribute NT$2 billion (US$65.81 million) in profits in 2015.

Prior to Japan, Asustek has already be selling its ZenFone products in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, India, Russia, Turkey and the Philippines.

Asustek is planning to launch its second-generation ZenFone series at CES 2015 in January and will add a 5.5-inch model to the product line. With the launch of the second-generation smartphones, the Taiwan-based vendor will also increase its models with LTE-support to account for over 40% of its overall smartphone shipments.