ASUS

Asus has a WiMax laptop, too

Everyone else is doing it, so why shouldn't Asus? Late Wednesday, the company announced the immediate availability of the M50Vm-A1WM, a 15.4-inch laptop with a built-in WiMax module for the recently launched Sprint Xohm data network.

Next-generation data connectivity aside, the $1,399 M50Vm-A1WM (catchy name, that) looks to be a fairly typical media-oriented mainstream machine. Its WXGA+ display should do just fine for watching movies, and we hope its Altec Lansing speakers will make it easy to enjoy music; the laptop is also HDMI ready and Dolby Home Theater certified. Inside the case, you'll find a … Read more

Asus makes Eee PC S101 official, expects warm reception

Asus has big plans for its Eee PC S101. Details on the premium ($699 and up) Netbook were leaked on Monday, and Wednesday Asus officially unveiled its slimmest, sleekest Netbook yet at an odd event in Taiwan (see "wedding" photos here).

According to DigiTimes, Asus expects the S101 to account for 10 percent of Eee PCs it ships by the end of the year. That would seem to be an impressive number, given that the S101 costs double that of the original Eee PC and that Asus seems to introduce a new Eee PC model every other week. … Read more

From Super Talent, Eee PC-specific solid-state drives

Super Talent Technology, a vendor that just announced high-speed and low-budget solid-state drives, introduced on Tuesday its new line of SSDs designed explicitly for Asus' Eee PCs.

The new line is available in three sizes--16GB, 20GB, and 64GB. The drives use a mini PCI-Express interface and offer rather modest throughput speeds of 40 megabytes per second in writing and 15MBps in reading.

Standard Eee PCs will generally use the 20GB version of the new SSD. Users then can choose to upgrade to 64GB or downgrade to 15GB versions. These drives can also be used in any devices that share the … Read more

Core i7 motherboard sticker threatens overclockers

Both the Inquirer and CustomPC have confirmed with Asus that Intel has recommended motherboard vendors warn people off from overclocking the memory on motherboards using Intel's new, Nehalem/Core i7-supporting X58 chipset. The consequences, warn the sticker, include permanent CPU damage.

The issue came to light when a poster at the XFastest forums (link currently broken), posted an image of Asus' soon-to-be-released P6T Deluxe motherboard bearing a sticker over the RAM slots advising users not to clock the memory beyond 1.65 volts.

Overclocking memory voltage is similar in concept to overclocking CPU frequency, and memory vendors such … Read more

Eee PC S101: A premium Netbook

Tech site HardwareZone seems to have popped the cork before the party has even begun, as leaked information on the first premium Eee PC was splashed across its site before being pulled down. According to an Asus representative, the information was actually under embargo and the aforementioned Eee PC S101 was not supposed to see the light of day until later this week.

But what's done is done: various other sites have replicated the information and the cat cannot be put back in the bag. The Eee PC S101 is the cooler and slimmer version of the Eee PC … Read more

Score an Asus Eee PC 900 for $294

Are you looking for a lightweight, ultraportable PC that's easy on the wallet? Mwave.com has the Asus Eee PC 900 20G for $294 (after a $65 mail-in rebate). Ground shipping will run you about $11.

In case you're not familiar with the Eee PC, it's one of the new breed of "Netbooks" that have become incomprehensibly popular in recent months. I say that because I'm not a fan--I prefer a full-size screen and keyboard, and enough processing power to do more than just check e-mail and cruise the Web.

That said, people seem … Read more

A brief tour of small PCs

We're waiting to get our hands on the delayed CherryPal PC, an innovative and inexpensive desktop meant to connect you to the cloud, but it's not the only mini PC vying for your attention.

Earlier this month, we reviewed Acer's Aspire X1200 and HP's latest Pavilion Slimline, two relatively full-featured desktops shrunk down to a small form factor. The Acer is the better deal on paper, though it may require some mucking about with drivers and settings before it's fully operational. A few tweaks and a BIOS update were required before we had video and … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 817: 3.85G coming soon!

It's an exciting time to be in the market for a confusing incremental upgrade to your wireless broadband speeds, especially if you're into white space. Donald Bell joins the cast today for a rollicking discussion that includes a trifecta of unexpected good news for actual consumers. It's very exciting. Especially the part about the giant human smiley face in Russia. Listen now: Download today's podcast Episode 817

Judge declares mistrial in RIAA-Jammie Thomas trial http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/09/not-for-publica.html http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10050757-38.html

DoJ agrees: IP enforcement bill is a … Read more

Asus G50V: Gaming for the rest of us

Sure, a gamer of independent means can drop several grand on a fully loaded Alienware Area-51 m15x, but what about the rest of us?

Asus seems to have budget-minded gamers in mind with its $1,699 G50V. The 15.4-inch laptop has many of the same features as the Alienware (and then some), but economizes on components, stocking the LED-decorated case with a slightly lower-end processor and GPU. However, its frame rates were not all that far behind the Alienware's--which is to say, they were entirely playable. That's a sacrifice we're willing to make in order to … Read more