This afternoon, ASUS held its Computex 2014 keynote presentation, introducing plenty of new and exciting computer hardware to kick off the Taiwan gadget show that’s running over the next couple of days. We ran a live blog covering all the news as it happened.
ASUS’ biggest introduction would have to be the 12.5-inch Transformer Book T300 Chi, although the Transformer Book V also looks pretty interesting. We’re tracking down potential Australian availability of everything announced here today, so stay tuned.
Welcome!
4:00PM
Hi! We’re just waiting for ASUS to kick off its presentation. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments below.
4:02PM
Alright, one minute until game time. All the assembled press at ASUS’ Computex keynote are taking their seats, so the event should start any time now.
4:05PM
Dramatic music! The ASUS Computex 2014 event is underway. ASUS chairman Jonney Shih is on stage now.
4:06PM
It has been 25 years since the launch of ASUS’ first motherboard. Shih is talking about the rapid growth in recent years of mobile technology — and the growth of his gray hairs. ASUS, apparently, is dedicated to innovation.
New ZenBook, Router And UHD ProArt Monitor
4:08PM
Jonney Shih says all of ASUS’ innovations is devoted to making your life better. “Perfecting the difference between work and play is essential to your sanity.” Shih is introducting the ASUS ZenBook NX500, “a timeless modern classic that bears our signature concentric circle.
The new ZenBook has a UHD panel, and uses ASUS’s proprietary VideoMaster display technology for apparently true-to-life colours. It has a fourth-gen Intel Core i7 and NVIDIA GTX 850, and supports the latest PCI-E SSDs and 802.11ac Wi-Fi standards. It’s “perfect for the ultimate professional”, says Shih.
4:09PM
There’s also a new ASUS 32-inch ProArt monitor, designed for imaging professionals, and using a UHD panel with the latest ports like HDMI 2.0. (Side note: I’m typing this via an ASUS PA246Q monitor right now.) Like the new ZenBook, it’s an award-winner already: this ASUS PA328Q has already received a Red Dot award.
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4:11PM
ASUS has a new six-band 802.11ac router, the world’s fastest. This is capable of 3.2Gb/sec, which is significantly faster than anything else on the market at the moment. It has adaptive quality of service (although I thought quality of service was adaptive in the first place…). The Asus RT-AC3200 is “the most productive and hassle-free choice for all professionals” — it certainly sounds like a powerful router.
Mobile Devices – Phones, Tablets And Phone-Tablets
4:15PM
The ASUS FonePad 8 is a new mobile device “designed to maximise your viewing experience” — it has a 72-per cent screen to body ratio. It’s a high performance phone, too — “no matter what CPU or GPU performance, we have landslide performance” victories over “so-called” quad- and octa-core competitors. Shih is talking up, and simultaneously trashing, the use of benchmarks for rating performance. The new phone will use ASUS’ ZenUI, and it’s “palm-size” — presumably for anyone with really big palms.
4:16PM
The ASUS FonePad 8 will also be available in the 7-inch form factor. Although there’s already a FonePad 7, we’re guessing that’ll be superseded.
4:16PM
The 299g, 7.45mm-thin ASUS MemoPAD 8 is new too — it has an 8-inch screen as you’d expect, with Full HD resolution. It’s 1920x1200pixels, which means it’s a 16:10 ratio panel. It uses an Intel quad-core Atom Z3580 processor running at 2.3GHz. It’s the most powerful and beautifully designed 8-inch LTE tablet out today, apparently.
4:17PM
Get a load of this music.
4:20PM
Jonney Shih is still talking up ASUS’ performance on various benchmarks, and introducing the 295g 9.5mm-thick 7-inch MeMoPAD HD7 (ME176) tablet — it’s a “refined extension” of the existing MeMoPad HD7 (ME173).
The 7-incher will be out in Taiwan at the end of this week, as will an 8-inch version, but obviously no word of Australian availability just yet.
4:25PM
ASUS is introducing the Transformer Book T300 Chi, a new device in the Transformer Book lineup. It’s a 12.5-inch tablet, which looks pretty damn thin and light from what we’re seeing on the video stream.
It’s the world’s thinnest 12.5-inch tablet, apparently. Powered by Intel’s next-generation high performance, low power processor, based on the Core microarchitecture — although it isn’t confirmed just yet. The screen is 2560×1440 pixels, so it’s a lot more detailed than an equivalent 1920x1080pixel Full HD equivalent.
4:28PM
Here’s what ASUS sees as “the ultimate convergence”: a Full HD IPS phone, which slots into a LTE-capable tablet with a 12.5-inch screen, which plugs into a laptop keyboard dock with a 1TB hard drive, instantly switching between Android and Windows at the touch of a button. When you’re done, rip the phone out of the back of the tablet and you’re on your way. That’s the Transformer Book V, apparently. You get Windows tablet, Windows laptop, Android phone, and Android tablet, all in the same one-two device.
4:32PM
Shih: “we promise never to stop dreaming, creating. I hope you will keep supporting us for the next 25 years, and more 25 years to come.” Looks like that’s the end of the presentation. What did you think?
That’s a wrap, folks!