Hasta La Gadget!

ASUS’ ROG presentation here at Computex wasn’t all meaty graphic powerhouses — it also displayed a new mechanical keyboard for discerning typists gamers, albeit underneath a piece of black cloth. We were told that the temporarily named “Armor Keyboard” wasn’t quite ready to show off its design just yet, but when it comes out towards the end of Q3 this year it will, surprisingly, boast the title of ASUS’ first in-house-designed mechanical gaming keyboard. As you’d expect, this backlit device will feature “ultra-responsive” mechanical key switches, as well as dedicated media and programmable hot keys located along the periphery. We’ll be keeping an eye out for more information about it later this year, naturally.

Richard Lai contributed to this report.

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming, Peripherals, ASUS

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Yeah, we want one too. Here at Computex, ASUS is showing off its new 31.5-inch 4K monitor, which we just learned will cost $3,799. (Oh come now, don’t get all sticker-shocked on us.) The photos below speak for themselves, really, but suffice to say, the combination of that 3,840 x 2,160, 140-ppi panel and that matte, anti-glare finish make for some stunning images. And because the bezels are so thin, photos more or less extend from one end of the screen, uninterrupted. Still think you’ll have room to spare after taking into account this monitor’s big footprint? ASUS is also prepping a 39-inch version with mostly the same specs (except for pixel density, obviously). We’ve got pictures of that guy too, though we still don’t know how much it’ll cost. Look for the 31.5-inch model to ship in June, with its big brother following sometime in Q3. And if a $3,800 monitor isn’t in the cards, well, that’s what hands-on galleries are for.

Zach Honig contributed to this report.

Filed under: Displays, ASUS

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Elaborating from the battery-saving PRISM screen tech that we saw on Tegra 3 devices, the NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang showed off a new software-based touchscreen technology that allows you to use a simple capacitive stylus with a degree of pressure-based input. Showing of his writing skills at Computex on an experimental 7-inch tablet, he used a simple (ie. non-digitizer) stylus to write at several different thicknesses, utilizing a flat surface at the other end of the pen to erase any mistakes — there’s sensitivity to the millimeter, apparently. NVIDIA reckons this will improve battery life while using the stylus and offers a high detection rate (thanks to the software-based processes) for slick, curved lines. The primary hardware necessary? No less than NVIDIA’s new Tegra 4 chip, of course, and DirectTouch. Check out the gallery of the stylus in action below, and we can expect the company to elaborate on which devices will house the feature in the near-future.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile, NVIDIA

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Could three times be a charm for Toshiba? After striking out with its “Thrive” Android tablets and then coming up a bit short with the “Excite” line, the company is completely scrapping its tablet lineup and replacing it with three new models. These include the Excite Pure, Excite Pro and Excite Write, and while they share the same plastic design, 10-inch form factor, ports and Android 4.2 OS, they each offer something a little different on the inside. Starting with the Pure, it’s a $300 tablet running with last year’s specs — namely, a Tegra 3 SoC, a 1,280 x 800 screen with Gorilla Glass 1 and no rear camera whatsoever. Storage is capped at 16GB, but since all of these have a microSD slot, 16GB or 32GB isn’t really a hard limit. Moving up the line, the Excite Pro steps up to a Tegra 4 chip, 32GB of storage, an 8MP rear camera, Harman Kardon sound and a 2,560 x 1,600, 300-ppi Gorilla Glass 2 screen to match the Nexus 10.

As you can see in the shot above, it was meant to be used with an optional keyboard case, though you can technically use that dock with any of these tablets, since they all share the same hardware. That will arrive in early July for $500, putting it in line with the iPad and other premium tablets like the ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity. Finally, the Excite Write is exactly what it sounds like: a tablet with pen support. Specifically, it has a Wacom digitizer with support for 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity. Accordingly, Toshiba is also pre-loading its own TruNote and TruCapture apps to assist with note-taking. That digitizer aside, the Write shares all the same specs as the Excite Pro: Tegra 4, 32GB of storage, an 8-megapixel camera and a 10.1-inch, 2,560 x 1,600 display. This, too, will be available next month, with an MSRP of $600. In the meantime, check out our hands-on photos after the break.

Filed under: Tablets

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In addition to announcing some new laptops for back-to-school season, Toshiba took the opportunity to refresh its lone all-in-one desktop. This new model, the PX35t, comes with a new look, borrowing some design cues from the televisions Toshiba introduced back at CES. Really, it’s that aluminum, U-shaped chin that keeps it looking sort of TV-like, though the new pedestal stand helps too. Inside, it will be offered with Haswell Core i3, Core i5 and i7 CPUs. At the high end (somewhere in the $1,300 range) you can trick it out with up to 1TB of HDD storage, 16GB of RAM and a Blu-ray drive. A Toshiba rep also told us it will also be available with optional discrete graphics — specifically, the NVIDIA GeForce 740M.

Either way, you get a 23-inch 1080p touchscreen (no IPS), four Harman Kardon speakers and a mix of Sleep-and-Charge and Sleep-and-Music ports. Interestingly, Toshiba says the target market for its all-in-ones skews more female, so it deliberately tailored the mouse for smaller hands (Ed. note: fits like a glove.) The keyboard, however, is cushy enough that even men should be able to use it comfortably. Look for the whole package to ship this month, starting at $1,030.

Filed under: Desktops

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