Ad: Manage updates with the Download App

asus

Cheap laptops still MIA

Every story that crosses our desk about ultra-cheap laptops--from the $100 OLPC schoolkid special, to the $150 Medison Celebrity from Sweden, to the $200 Asus Eee (for that price, you only get one letter)--generates a tremendous amount of buzz, not to mention more than its fair share of blog posts.

Of course, getting any of these systems actually in our greedy little hands is another matter entirely. The One Laptop Per Child project is still struggling to get (now $200) OLPC systems into the hands of kids, turning to a new plan--instead of getting governments, corporations or charitable … Read more

Asus Eee PC slated for October release

The $200 Asus laptop won't be making its appearance this week after all. While earlier rumors were pointing to a late September release of the Asus Eee PC, it now looks like we'll have to wait a couple more weeks for the 2-pound, 7-inch, Linux-based laptop. I spoke with my contact at Asus' new PR agency earlier today, and he confirmed that the Eee PC will go on sale sometime in October. (Three models are available for pre-order on AllAsus.com and are estimated to ship in early October. They range in price from $259 to $399; the … Read more

Expected soon: a 2-pound, $200 laptop

If the suspect $150 Swedish laptop I ordered last month fails to materialize, I'm putting those moneys toward another cheap Linux laptop, the Asus Eee PC 701. That's three E's, for easy to learn, easy to work, easy to play. If the Eee is easy to obtain, I'm game.

Take it for what it's worth, but according to a forum post on the Web site EeeUser.com, two Eee PC 701 models will make their way to the U.S. at the end of September priced at $269 and $369. Both models will feature a … Read more

Asus joins the sleek with 13.3-inch laptop

With a black piano finish and a leather wrist rest, the Asus U3 joins the Apple MacBook and the Sony VAIO SZ in the ranks of sleek-looking 13.3-inch laptops. Like the others, the U3's 13.3-inch display size definitely hits a sweet spot between portability and usability; its 3.9-pound weight (granted, that's with the tiny three-cell battery) straddles the line between ultraportable and thin-and-light. The screen is large enough for watching movies or to comfortably make it through a workday without squinting.

The Asus U3 incorporates a boatload of professional-level upgrades, including Intel Turbo Memory, 3G … Read more

The Gizmo History Report: The TRS-80 Model 100

I was in the Air Force in 1983, serving at Hahn AB in Germany (now a civilian facility somewhat misleadingly renamed Frankfurt Hahn Airport, although it's 110 km-- 68 miles-- away from Frankfurt).

In March, I was given a temporary duty assignment back to the US, and I was able to take some leave to go back home to Miami.

I dropped in at the old Radio Shack Computer Center, where I used to hang around-- yeah, I was the kind of kid who would hang around at a Radio Shack Computer Center-- and they had this new gizmo for sale.… Read more

Sneak peek at Asus' bamboo laptops

Crave unabashedly lusted after a DVD player encased in bamboo so you can imagine how we felt upon viewing Asus' planned "EcoBook" in the same finish.

Asus is no stranger to luxury goods, as it has shown in its coziness with the likes of Lamborghini and Prada. But this is the first time we've seen the company create an eco-chic line of products. (Bamboo grows incredibly fast, and much of its commercial variety comes from plantations, not wild habitats.)

How, exactly, does one make a laptop out of bamboo? Glad you asked. Our extended family at Crave … Read more

Asus debuts the Aries smart phone

It may look like the Nokia E62 or even the Motorola Q, but this particular QWERTY smart phone is actually the Aries from well-known motherboard maker Asus. It's yet another Windows Mobile 6 device to hit 3GSM today, and it sports some pretty nice stats: tri-band UMTS, a 2-megapixel camera, a front camera for video conferencing, a scroll wheel on the side, and a 520MHz XScale processor.

[Found on Engadget Mobile.]

Asus claims first Radeon X2300 laptop

Asus may be best known for making laptops that are sold under other brand names (we're looking at you, MacBook), but the Taiwan-based company is also frequently the first out of the gate with new technology. For a good example, check out the SideShow-enabled laptop we saw recently at CES.

Asus today announced the first notebook to feature graphics from ATI's new ATI Mobility Radeon X2300 chip. The Asus A8Jr isn't terribly remarkable otherwise, but since ATI isn't saying much of anything about the X2300 just yet, informational nuggets such as the following (from the Asus … Read more