ASUS outs ET2300 all-in-one desktop with articulating, 23-inch touchscreen, optional Thunderbolt (update: eyes-on!)

ASUS outs ET2300 all-in-one desktop with articulating, 23-inch touchscreen, optional Thunderbolt

If you’re a PC maker launching a new lineup of Windows 8 devices, you’re going to look awfully square if you don’t have at least one touch-enabled all-in-one to show off. Clearly, ASUS got the memo. Here at a press event in New York City, the company announced the ET2300, a 23-inch desktop whose display can be pushed down to lie basically flat — a pretty ubiquitous form factor these days. Starting with that IPS screen, it has 1080p resolution and promises horizontal viewing angles of 178 degrees. Under the hood, it runs your choice of Core i3, i5 or i7 processor, with either integrated Intel graphics or NVIDIA’s GT 630M GPU. (Even then, you can choose between one and two gigs of dedicated video memory.) Other specs include up to 8GB of RAM, up to 2TB in HDD storage, a slot-loading DVD drive, Intel Wireless Display and optional Thunderbolt connectivity. Additionally, like ASUS’ other products (even its tablets and phones), it makes use of SonicMaster’s audio technology. We haven’t heard anything regarding pricing or availability just yet, but we’ll update this post if we do.

Mat Smith contributed to this report.

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ASUS outs ET2300 all-in-one desktop with articulating, 23-inch touchscreen, optional Thunderbolt (update: eyes-on!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 14:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS announces three budget-friendly laptops with touchscreens, the VivoBook Q200, S400 and S500 (update: eyes-on)

ASUS announces three budgetfriendly laptops with touchscreens, the VivoBook Q200, S400 and S500 update eyeson

Remember when Ultrabook prices dropped to around $700 and everyone cheered? Well, get ready for some one-upping: here at a New York City press event, ASUS just announced a line of lightweight, touchscreen laptops, and let’s just say the prices are pretty aggressive. The new family, which will carry the name VivoBook, includes 11-, 14- and 15-inch models, with the 11.6-inch Q200 (aka the X202) starting at $499 with a Core i3 processor. The 14-inch S400, meanwhile, will start at $599, while the 15-inch S500 will go for $649 and up. Across the board, there will be configurations with Core i5 and i7 processors, but again, i3 is the starting spec here. As you can see in the photo above, the design isn’t all that different from the current-gen Zenbook Prime family, though they lack some of that line’s higher-end features — namely, 1080p screens and solid-state storage. ASUS so far hasn’t said when these laptops will ship here in the US, but we’ll be sure to follow up with more specifics as we learn them.

Mat Smith contributed to this report.

Continue reading ASUS announces three budget-friendly laptops with touchscreens, the VivoBook Q200, S400 and S500 (update: eyes-on)

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ASUS announces three budget-friendly laptops with touchscreens, the VivoBook Q200, S400 and S500 (update: eyes-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 14:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS TAICHI dual-screen Ultrabook coming in November for $1,300, 13-inch version to follow a month later

ASUS TAICHI dual-screen Ultrabook coming in November for $1,300, 13-inch version to follow a month later

Although we’ve now seen many dozens of Windows 8 devices, the ASUS TAICHI remains one of the most memorable — it’s unusual, after all, for a PC maker to make a laptop with displays on both sides of the lid. Even when it was announced, ASUS shared some high-level specs, but now we also know how much it’ll cost, and when it will be available. As leaked the 11-inch version (aka the TAICHI 21) will go on sale next month, starting at $1,299. A lofty price, to be sure, but no one ever said dual 1080p IPS displays would come cheap. At the entry level, you get a Core i5-3317U processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. For $1,499, it comes with 256GB of storage. Finally, there will be a $1,599 configuration with a 256GB drive and a Core i7 processor. And what of the 13-inch version ASUS showed off earlier this year? An ASUS rep says the TAICHI 31 won’t ship until December.

Across the board, the TAICHI comes with Intel HD 4000 graphics, two USB 3.0 ports, a 5-megapixel rear camera, a 720p webcam up front, Bluetooth 4.0 and Intel’s Wireless Display technology. Again, the smaller, 11-inch version will ship in November with the 13-inch model following a month later. In the meantime, we’ll direct you to our hands-on from June if you’re hankering for hands-on photos and video.

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ASUS TAICHI dual-screen Ultrabook coming in November for $1,300, 13-inch version to follow a month later originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 14:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS VivoTab RT pops up early at Office Depot, teases our Windows RT future

ASUS VivoTab RT pops up early at Office Depot, teases our Windows RT future

Want an early glimpse of the VivoTab RT without having to attend ASUS’ special event? Thanks to our tipster, you’ve got it. An Office Depot has received at least one example of the Windows RT slate a full three days in advance. The short impressions: it’s an “awesome” Tegra 3-packing tablet, although the OS reportedly chews up more than half of the 32GB of storage, and USB depends on an adapter if you’re not relying on the keyboard. While price wasn’t immediately available, we’re not expecting retail to deviate greatly from the $599 pre-order formula.

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ASUS VivoTab RT pops up early at Office Depot, teases our Windows RT future originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 11:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How Would you Change ASUS’ Transformer Pad TF300?

How Would you Change ASUS Transformer Pad TF300

ASUS’ Transformer Pad was tucked in beneath the Transformer Prime in the company’s range of hybrid Android tablets. The only problem however, was that the company forgot to really differentiate the two — with only a few hours less battery life the real distinction. But how has it been for you to live with? Did you get used to its slightly fiddly keyboard, have you been as smitten with it as our reviewer? Step into Jonney Shih’s shoes and tell us what you’d suggest he does differently when next year’s model comes out.

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How Would you Change ASUS’ Transformer Pad TF300? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Oct 2012 22:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Refresh Roundup: week of October 15th, 2012

Refresh Roundup week of October 15th, 2012

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it’s easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don’t escape without notice, we’ve gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of October 15th, 2012

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Refresh Roundup: week of October 15th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Oct 2012 20:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for the ASUS PadFone 2 expected by November

If you’re planning on being one of the first few that will be picking up the ASUS PadFone 2 (official specs and images available here), you might want to note that the device will be launched with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Given that Android 4.1 Jelly Bean has been out for a while now, some of you guys might be disappointed that ASUS has decided to go with an older version of Android. Well the good news is that according to an ASUS representative, the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update is scheduled for a release by November, which means early adopters of the device will only need to wait a couple of weeks before they get the update. As far as the keyboard dock is concerned, the rep stated that the dock is still in development although no timeframe was given for its release. We’ll keep our eyes peeled nonetheless but for buyers on the fence, hopefully the release of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean by November will make the ASUS PadFone 2 a more tempting purchase.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: ASUS PadFone 2 official specs and images, Asus Padfone 2 leaked,

Nexus 7 tablet is best selling Android tablet in the UK

There is a fair number of Android-powered tablets in the market today that aim to go toe-to-toe against the Apple iPad (and we would presume, the iPad mini subsequently), and the Nexus 7 from Google (manufactured by Asus) is one of them. Well, it seems that since the Nexus 7 tablet went on sale on July 27th in the UK by Carphone Warehouse, it has become the best selling Android tablet in that part of the world to date. Of course, this does not mean that the Nexus 7 has outsold the iPad – far from it, but at least it outdid the Asus Transformer Prime and the Samsung Galaxy Tab, perhaps its £159 price tag has something to do with it as well.

Of course, there are other newer faces to the market such as Amazon’s latest Kindle Fire HD that will also retail for £159 a pop. Graham Stapleton, Chief Commercial Officer at Carphone Warehouse, said, “It’s impressive that this product is our biggest selling Android tablet, and it will be really interesting to see if other manufacturers will follow suit with smaller tablets over the coming months to spice up the Christmas period.” If you happen to live in the UK and are using an Android-powered tablet, just which model are you rocking to?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google Nexus 7 does 720p webcam recording, Nexus 7 3G Variant Coming Soon [Rumor],

Watch ASUS’ PadFone 2 Milan press conference from the safety of your home (video)

Watch ASUS PadFone 2 Milan press conference from the safety of your home video

Spend yesterday away from the internet? ASUS’ launch of the new PadFone 2 might have passed you by. Fortunately, we live in the internet age, where any action can be reviewed and examined to Zapruder-esque proportions. If you’d like to relive the press conference as if you were there with Jonney Shih in Milan, grab yourself an espresso and catch the footage we’ve tucked after the break.

Continue reading Watch ASUS’ PadFone 2 Milan press conference from the safety of your home (video)

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Watch ASUS’ PadFone 2 Milan press conference from the safety of your home (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Oct 2012 15:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A 32GB Nexus 7 Will Probably Cost the Same as the Original 16GB Model [Rumors]

Evidence is mounting which suggests that a new 32GB Nexus 7 will soon be available, and that it will cost the same as the original 16GB version. More »