I left Mobile Tech Manor at 4:30 this cold morning and headed to the airport to begin the big trip to the CES. A smooth flight later and I arrived in Las Vegas. There were no crowds and getting checked into the hotel was a short process.
After an unsuccessful attempt to get Wi-Fi connectivity working in the room, it was time to head to the Sands Convention Center to pick up my press credentials. Those had to be my first priority as they are the grease that gets me into everything here at the CES.
Press badge in hand, I headed over to the ASUS press event, wondering what new technology the creator of the netbook might have in store for us. The press event was like an hour-long advertisement, as the company only had a handful of new products to unveil. I will cover these more in detail later, but the major new notebooks coming from ASUS in 2010 are the G73, the Karim Rashid designer netbook collection, the U-series Bamboo notebooks, and the big NX90 notebook.
The Karim Rashid Eee-PC collection contained the only netbooks ASUS announced at the event. They are taking a page from HP’s Vivienne Tam designer netbooks and producing a stylish netbook that “people will want to carry in their hand.”
The Bamboo collection is interesting, as the casing is constructed from a combination of bamboo and aluminum. It is a stylish notebook that feels nice to touch.
By far the biggest product that ASUS unveiled is the one they seemed to be the most proud of. The NX90 was designed with ASUS by Bang & Olufsen, and the 1080p-capable big display is flanked by two big speakers that side beside the chassis when closed. In the Q&A session ASUS CEO Jonny Shih was thinking that the pricing for the NX90 was a conceptual $2,499. Ouch.
I’ll get some good pictures of these new products later in the week, ASUS did not have this set up where we could get close to the gear to get photos.
Now it’s on to the CES Unveiled event, followed by an effort to get my connectivity issues straightened out. I hope.

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