ASUS Eee Keyboard woos the crowds at CeBIT '09

by Parm Mann on 3 March 2009, 20:13

Tags: ASUSTeK (TPE:2357)

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If, like us, you've an insatiable desire for cool gadgets, you might find you just can't get enough of the Eee Keyboard - arguably the coolest piece of kit to emerge from ASUS' Eee range.

Despite having seen this one back at CES earlier this year, it's continuing to draw large crowds at CeBIT '09 and is - in our estimation - one of few items that we can't wait to see in stores.

Inside this fairly simple-looking keyboard is an entire PC. Its thin enclosure houses the innards you'd expect to find in an ASUS netbook - namely a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of DDR2 memory and a 16GB/32GB solid-state drive. Weighing in at under 1kg, it's suitably light, and incredibly quiet, too.

What's really nifty, though, is that the unit's sporting a built-in ultra-wideband transmitter for wireless streaming to external displays. We're told it'll provide a range of around 15ft, but ASUS is keeping schtum in regards to battery life. The 5in embedded touchscreen offers a resolution of 800x480 and is surprisingly sharp, and ASUS spokesperson Alvin Chou seemed notably coy when asked how Windows 7 performed on this beauty.

It's still at the prototype stage, but we're told to expect mass production later this year - unfortunately, pricing remains a mystery.


Click for more CeBIT '09 coverage




HEXUS Forums :: 3 Comments

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It's a very good idea, especially with hooking up to a wireless monitor, get a “server” setup as well with Wake on LAN configured and you can also have a games machine that only comes on when you need it, the rest of the time you can surf online with a minimal powered machine.
loving this tbh .. i recon this will be a big seller (if price is right) … cant wait to get my hands on one.
A computer built into the keyboard case? Who'd have thought it? Well, apart from Atari, Commodore, BBC Micro etc…

I'm not sure who its aimed at though - is it the netbook “cheap as chips” or the business user who need to connect wirelessly to show a presentation?

I can see the appeal in a few years if wireless video standards get widely adopted though - take it over someone's house, view a nice big 42“ LCD screen instead of the 10” one on most Atom systems.