Tag: Asus
Big plans for next gen COOL-ER ereader
While the COOL-ER is light, skinny and easy to use and quite the equal of its small group of direct rivals, the ereader market is about to get a lot hotter.
Is this the ereader that takes electronic books mainstream? ASUS to debut feature-packed, yet budget model
The company which turned the notebook on its head now has plans to do the same for ereaders with a model that has dual screens. The idea being that you can read an ereader as you could a normal book and turn pages, or even better, use the second screen for web surfing or whatever else ASUS comes up with.
Gallery: Top 10 Lightweight notebook PCs
Laptops, notebooks, netbooks… whichever flavour of portable PC they are, here are ten of the lightest yet fully-featured machines currently available. Is your favourite here? Click on the picture below to start the tour, and if you don't find yours…
Asus to produce Disney netpal netbook – you know, for kids?
Asus has teamed up with Disney to make netbook for children called the Netpal. The 8.9-inch machine is targeted at youngsters between 6 and 12 years old and is available from the end of July for $350 from Amazon and Toys R Us.
Like all sub-notebooks, the Netpal’s powered by an Atom processor but this time the Windows XP OS is child friendly and augmented by Disney themes with Mickey Mouse, Cars, Toy Story and WALL-E all featuring.
The Magic Desktop comes with a Disney browser, Disney e-mail and the widget for the Disney Radio station to stream music straight to the computer. There’s Wi-Fi but no 3G which probably is part of supporting the parental controls that also come fitted to make sure that your kids aren’t surfing sites they shouldn’t while away from home.
You get the option of either a 160GB HDD or a 16GB SSD and it’ll weigh a kilo or just over depending on which you opt for. Most importantly though, the Netpal is available in the floral patterned Princess Pink or the Mickey Mouse themed Magic Blue.
It all sounds slightly sickly sinister to me but try telling your children that.
(via USA Today)
Asus Keyboard to hit the shelves in June
The most puzzling gadget from CES 2009 looks like it’s about to be up for grabs as word spreads that the Asus Keyboard will be on sale by the end of June.
The computer-in-a-keyboard device created more of a confusion than a storm when it was brushed over fairly casually at the Asus press conference in January. So, just in case your desktop isn’t enough, the Taiwanese innovator is selling a finger tapper with a mind of its own.
It comes with an embedded 5-inch, 800 x 480 pixel touchscreen, and it runs XP on an Atom N270 CPU and a 32GB SSD. It also happens to rock 802.11n wirless, an HDMI-out port, Bluetooth, a set of speakers and even has a microphone as well. I think they’re just doing it to make everyone’s computer feel really dated. “Look,” they’re saying, “even our keyboards are better than your tired old machine.”
Of course, the big question is what exactly am I going to use the thing for? I look forward to the demonstrations.
(via Engadget)
Asus launches F70: World's First 17.3" laptop
This is not a joke. This is a banana. Although it may as well be a picture of the Asus F70 laptop launched today as the world’s first 17.3″, 16:9 LED widescreen, portable computer. According to the specs, it’s a very decent machine. I’m not posting a picture of it not to protect you from its terrible ugliness but to shield you from its hideous averageness. It’s a flat, grey cuboid. You can go and have a look if you like but consider yourself warned.
SHINY VIDEO REVIEW: Asus Eee PC 1000HE
Netbook fan? Me too! That’s why I was dead excited to try out the latest Eee, and you know what? It’s a bit of a monster. Montrously powerful, by netbook standards, and with a montrous battery life.
Unfortunately it’s also monstrously heavy, weighing in at 1.4kg. I suppose you have to compromise somewhere, but for £329, you can’t complain too much. Watch the video above for my full thoughts.
Asus plans netbook with optical drive
All the pillars that we once knew as hallmarks of netbookiness are crumbling. Screen sizes now go up to 12.1″, the Atom processor is being seen less and less regularly, solid state drives are rare and now Asus is bringing out a model with an optical drive attached!
The E1004DN will have an optical drive, as well as an Intel Atom N280 CPU paired with GN40 chipset, and a 120GB hard drive. It’ll be out mid-April in Taiwan and will cost NT$18,000-20,000, which is about £375 or so in quids.
(via Digitimes)
Asus unleashes ultra-thin U and UX series of laptops
We’ve just been dropped word of some new laptops from Asus, the U and UX series. I normally strip out press release fluff, but there’s an amazing bit here that I’ll quote to you:
“Each of them a masterpiece so immensely desirable, the U and UX Series takes modern day computing to the streets, bringing delight to the users’ senses and allowing them to work or play in style.”
Hilarious. That’s not the only ridiculous section, it’s all insane. Go read it here. If you’re more into hard specs, though, then here’s the skinny. Both models have backlit keyboards, and the U series has a 15.6″ display, Core 2 Duo processor, 500GB hard drive, 512MB of GeForce G105M graphics, illuminated trackpad and Altec Lansing speakers.
The UX, on the other hand, we don’t have any info about beyond the fact that it has a slot-in optical drive and a combination of matte and gloss finishes. Let’s hope we get a bit more info soon, as well as a video of that illuminated trackpad on the U series. Pricing and availability info TBC.
Asus Press Release
Eee Box gets an upgrade, and HDMI-out
The humble Eee Box B202, which we liked last year, has been granted an upgrade by the technology gods. It’s now the Eee Box 206, and comes with an HDMI-out slot, meaning that you can plug this baby into your TV and watch high-definition content. It even comes with a remote control.
Specs-wise, it’s got an Atom processor, 160GB of hard disc space, 1GB of RAM and Wi-Fi. It comes with Windows XP, but I’d advise replacing that with Linux or Windows 7 swiftly. Don’t replace it with Vista though, whatever you do. For that, Asus is asking £309, which isn’t too bad for an HD-capable machine.
What do you reckon? Would you recommend this for a parent considering plugging a PC into their TV? Or something else? Share in the comments.
(via Tech Radar)
