ASUS Intros Notebooks and Netbooks to Lust After

January 5, 2010

The world of mobile computing has seen tech vendors continually battling to develop smaller, faster and more powerful devices. Add to this consumer demands for durability and long battery life and you have a daunting task.

At today’s ASUS press conference in Las Vegas, representatives from the computer maker showed a few new laptops that could answer a growing list of user requirements.

While users look for more features in their laptops, netbooks and tablets, the line between traditional and new blurs. A netbook with a monster screen and heavy weight is not a netbook at all.

Jonney Shih – Chairman ASUS Tech. told attendees that ASUS experienced 56% growth in Q3 2009 over the same time of 2008.

Metrics and sales don’t mean their devices are better than others…but people are buying.

Here’s what Shih showed today…

G73 Mobile Computer for Power Computing and Gaming

“Happier wrists and hands,” said Shih are one result of the G73’s ergo slanted keyboard.

Shih said, we cannot ignore the rest of the market! Then intro’d a netbook designed by Karim Rashid.

Karim’s work has been in museums all over the world. With Karim’s design, ASUS wanted to make a group of netbooks that are also fashion accessories.

The case is designed to stand alone without a case…and it looks like a fancy purse.

Shih then talked about green products and showed a laptop made with bamboo. Really.

The series is called the ASUS U Series. The line features USB 3 and an intel CORE i5 chip.

About 30 minutes into the press conference I was still waiting for my socks to be knocked loose. Then it came. Shih showed us the future and it wasn’t small–it was MASSIVE.

Instead of a two-screen netbook, the NX Series is a big laptop with two touchpads, polished aluminum case and cinema surround sound.

What’s my take? Bah. This doesn’t really make me think people will flick to these laptops. Maybe the Karim series makes sense, but ASUS has gone bigger and feature-rich instead of small and swift machines.

What’s your take?