Asus goes wide with Bang & Olufsen laptop
Sounds good to us
Asus has kicked off 2010 with a Bang, or should that be an Olufsen? The Taiwanese PC maker has unveiled a super-stylish laptop sporting speakers and design features supplied by the legendary audio firm.
Asus NX90 features Bang & Olufsen speakers and styling
The NX90 Bang & Olufsen edition laptop looks like a PC from the future, thanks to dual B&O speakers which extend beyond the machine’s huge 18.4in, 1080p screen and are angled towards the user.
Asus has installed dual touchpads, one on each side of the NX90 keyboard. They support multi-touch functionality and can be used simultaneously – one for navigation and the other for selecting on-screen options.
Blu-ray is included as standard
Underneath the NX90’s MacBook Air-esque aluminium exterior lies an Intel Core i7-820QM quad-core processor, 120GB of user-accessible storage and, as standard, 4GB of DDR3 memory – though you can opt for up to 12GB. Nvidia’s GeForce GT335M graphics card drives the NX90’s display.
Such a sexy machine wouldn’t be complete without the onboard slot style Blu-ray drive, which teams up with an HDMI-out port. The laptop supports USB 3.0.
All this spec, but how heavy, how much and when? The NX90 weighs in at 4.8Kg, including the 6 cell battery - not one for the road warriors, then.
It is available next month and US prices start at $1800 (£1123/€1254). For indicative UK pricing add another 10-20 per cent and 17.5 per cent VAT ®
COMMENTS
eeer no
B+O sound is second to quite a lot of things, including stuff like my Allen and Heath mixer and Adam Audio monitors, which cost less and sound better. Conduct a blind taste test with some people with non-cloth ears in a proper controlled enviroment, and you'll see.
That's before we start dragging ugly old carcasses like Rogers LS5/9 speakers and the associated amps into the equation.
Second to none? Not even close. One buys B+O for fun, and for the outrageous alien design rather than for absolutely first-rate audio. Sure, it sounds better than hunks of crap like Bose domestic kit, but there's plenty that sounds much better for much less- even if it doesn't look nearly as awesome.
Oddly
It puts me in mind of a Sinclair QL, rather than than anything futuristic..
Yep, B&O, the Apple of the hifi world
Look terrific, sound ok, but if you spend that kind of money and want good sound rather than impressed neighbours, there are much better bets...Naim, Cambridge, Unison Research......this should start a flame war, hopefully.
Eh, no
I think you misunderstand me.
Contrary to your assumption, I'm not coming from the Kenwood/Sony flashing lights and millions of knobs and buttons angle at all. I loathe them just as much as you clearly do, although I should probably qualify that by pointing out that both Kenwood and Sony have some high end kit that pisses all over B&O.
My point is basically that B&O hi-fi is style over substance. You say their sound is "second to none"... and I'm really trying not to be cheeky here (honest - I'm nowhere near being a raving loony hi-fi nut) but I think you should do a bit of research before making claims like that.
Similar to Apple computers, if you buy a B&O hi-fi you are not buying "top end equipment for people who buy the best", you are buying "a solution", "a style", "a statement" and you are paying a significant premium to do so.
Don't get me wrong - B&O are brilliant at what they do. If I were looking for an easy way to an impressive-sounding hi-fi without really having to think about it or go to the hassle of comparing it with other stuff then I'd happily part with my money. I'm not though, and the fact remains that - as with Apple - you can get equally capable kit for much less money, or much better kit for the same money.
Their tellies on the other hand - wow.
@Hugh
As it happens I have one in my [bought second-hand] car, assembled by competent Germans rather than Czechs on minimum wage. Bling aside, its not a patch on the 'free' Symphonia of the previous model which I miss every single day. Since B&O stopped making the 7000 13 years ago you should perhaps take your own advice.
