The IT Nerd

With new devices comes new awards and ASUS is being honored for a couple of their own. The ASUS ZenBeam LED Portable Projector (S2) was awarded in the Computer Peripherals category, while the ROG Strix Gaming Monitor was awarded in the Gaming category – both of these products will be featured at CES 2019.

ASUS has also announced some more new devices and updates to current devices at CES – new two-in-ones, laptops and some more peripherals. Below is a comprehensive list of the devices that ASUS will be featuring.

VivoBook 15 and 17

VivoBook 15 feature frameless four-sided NanoEdge displays with at least an 88% screen-to-body ratio for immersive viewing. Meanwhile, VivoBook 17 has a slim-bezel display with an 85% screen-to-body ratio. The incredibly slim bezel allows a large display to fit into a smaller chassis, effectively reducing the laptop footprint for a more compact and portable machine. These laptops are powered by up to an 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 processor with up to NVIDIA® GeForce® MX130 discrete graphics, and include the ErgoLift hinge that tilts the keyboard to replicate the feel of a desktop keyboard for a more comfortable typing experience. VivoBook 15 are available in four gorgeous colours so users can select one that best express themselves. There are classics such as Transparent Silver and Slate Grey, as well as iridescent Peacock Blue, which changes colour tone depending on how light strikes the laptop surface. There’s also the eye-catching Coral Crush, which is slated to be a big hit in 2019.

ASUS VivoBook 15 will be available in March in Canada from Best Buy Canada. Availability for VivoBook 17 will be announced closer to launch.

For additional information, visit https://www.asus.com/ca-en/Laptops/ASUS-VivoBook-15-X512UF/

Chromebook Flip C43

ASUS today unveiled the next-generation ASUS Chromebook Flip C434. This powerful convertible squeezes up to an Intel® Core™ i7-8500Y processor and a maximum of 8GB of RAM into its slim frame and can be configured with up to 128GB of storage. The gorgeous 15.7mm-thick metal chassis can accommodate more than enough connectivity to work seamlessly from anywhere, whether for setting up at home, in the office or at a cafe. A versatile design and 1.45kg total weight make it ideal for anyone who finds themselves on-the-go or working from a variety of locations daily.

Dual-band Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) ensures a reliable and stable connection everywhere, and Bluetooth® 4.0 facilitates file transfers over the airwaves. Two speakers built into the base pump out sound for watching movies in the hotel room, though the audio combo jack is probably a safer bet for video calls or listening to music when working in a public space. There are two USB Type-C™ (USB-C™) ports, as well as a standard USB Type-A port for peripherals. The USB-C ports are fully functioning, which means they can be used for data transfer, hooking up to an external display, or for power delivery. Finally, the 48Wh battery saves users from constantly searching for an outlet to plug into everywhere they go.

The ASUS Chromebook Flip C434 is scheduled for launch in the coming months. The Chromebook Flip C434 will be available in a variety of configurations starting at $699 CAD.

For additional information about the new ASUS Chromebook Flip C434, please visit https://www.asus.com/ca-en/Commercial-Laptops/ASUS-Chromebook-Flip-C434TA/.

ROG Matrix GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Graphics Card

The Matrix name is reserved for exceptional products that leap forward, exceeding innovation and performance expectations. The ROG Matrix GeForce RTX 2080 Ti is the latest graphics card to earn this pedigree by introducing Infinity Loop, a unique all-in-one closed-loop cooling system that is integrated into the card’s 3-slot footprint. Each Matrix GPU has been binned and tuned to deliver the best out-of-the-box Turing™ experience, raising the bar for graphics horsepower in small chassis and air-cooled builds.

 Infinity Loop Cooling

Developing the Matrix’s Infinity Loop cooling technology presented many new design challenges for the team and took more than five rounds of prototyping with industry partners. The result is a unique solution that seamlessly integrates pump, tubing and radiator under the shroud. Infinity Loop beats competing hybrid designs with 120mm radiators and goes head to head with 240mm radiator configurations, all in the space of three slots.

Binned and Tuned

In order to target extreme out-of-the-box clock speeds, the custom circuit board from ROG Strix cards is used for Matrix, allowing an aggressive binning process that pushes the GPU core to 1815MHz and memory to GDDR6-14800MHz — overclocks that the only the top 5% of cards can achieve. Tailored BIOS profiles based on the new clock targets and control curves for the three Axial-tech fans are then loaded, ready for new owners to hone with GPU Tweak II software.

More Information

The ROG Matrix is truly a spectacular testament to the infinite loop of research and development that brings the latest innovations to gamers around the world under the Republic of Gamers brand. Did you know that the Matrix has a super-sized heatsink that was developed to cover both the GPU die and GDDR6 memory? Learn more about how the Matrix was made and all of its innovative features in our ROG article.

See the ROG Matrix GeForce RTX 2080 Ti in action at CES 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada, from January 7–10. The first shipments are scheduled for this month.

Lyra Voice – a three-in-one router with Amazon Alexa and Bluetooth stereo speakers

ASUS today announced Lyra Voice, an all-in-one home network solution featuring an integrated 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) AiMesh Wi-Fi router, Amazon Alexa and Bluetooth stereo speakers. Its all-in-one design eliminates the need for a separate Wi-Fi router and smart speaker and keep the home free from the clutter caused by having multiple devices. With Lyra Voice, users can enjoy fast and stable Wi-Fi throughout their home, listening to music, news and podcasts through great-sounding stereo speakers, controlling smart-home devices with their voice and all of the other benefits that a virtual assistant provides. Lyra Voice also features lifetime-free home network security with AiProtection Pro powered by Trend Micro and advanced parental controls to ensure a safe and enjoyable internet experience for all family members.

Whole home WiFi Coverage with AiMesh support

Lyra Voice supports operation in three types of WiFi modes: as an AiMesh router or node, as a stand-alone router and as a universal WiFi repeater. ASUS AiMesh technology lets users create a seamless, whole-home WiFi system with any combination of compatible ASUS routers. As an AiMesh router, Lyra Voice enables users to easily create a powerful, seamless and flexible whole-home WiFi system.

As an AiMesh node, Lyra Voice extends a current AiMesh WiFi network, so users can place it anywhere they need additional stable WiFi coverage and a smart speaker, such as in the kitchen or family room. When used as an AiMesh node, Lyra Voice inherits all of the current settings and powerful features available on the primary AiMesh router, such as Game Boost and screen-time management tools.

Lyra Voice also works as a stand-alone router and makes a great choice for the hub of a smart-home network if a smart assistant is needed in the same location where the internet connection enters the home. As a smart-home hub, Lyra Voice provides fast and stable WiFi to all connected smart devices and makes it easy to add more AiMesh nodes to the network in future.

As a WiFi repeater, Lyra Voice lets users extend their current WiFi network to eliminate WiFi dead zones and provide better WiFi coverage within the home. Lyra Voice works perfectly with almost any other router on the market, still making it an ideal choice for users who do no own other AiMesh routers.

Integrated Amazon Alexa

Lyra Voice integrates Amazon Alexa, enabling users to enjoy all the convenient benefits of the voice service, such as asking questions, listening to the news and traffic information, playing music and controlling smart-home devices, without the need for a separate smart speaker. Integrating Alexa in Lyra Voice also eliminates connection issues between traditional WiFi routers and separate smart speakers, while keeping surfaces free from the clutter of multiple devices. Lyra Voice features a pair of microphones with 360°, far-field voice detection to easily pick-up commands and questions for Alexa, even when spoken at low volume or from across the room. Additionally, a Synaptics audio chip provides enhanced noise cancellation and background-noise filtering to ensure Lyra Voice can always hear users’ voices, even when music is playing at high volume.

Immersive surround sound with stereo speakers

Lyra Voice also features two built-in stereo speakers with passive radiators and bass reflex ports to extend resonance of low-frequency sound. The speakers have been tuned by expert audio engineers on the ASUS Golden Ear team to ensure they deliver maximum audio fidelity. This sophisticated speaker design and tuning combined with DTS surround-sound technology enables Lyra Voice to deliver natural, full-sounding audio that’s incredibly spacious and immersive. With Lyra Voice, users can play music from their favorite streaming service or stream audio from their smart device via Bluetooth.

A safer internet experience for families and all connected devices

Lyra Voice not only enables users to connect all of their smart devices to fast, stable WiFi and enjoy the convenient benefits of Amazon Alexa, it also incorporates AiProtection Pro, commercial-grade security for home networks. Powered by Trend Micro™, AiProtection Pro keeps every connected smart device on the network, including IoT devices, safe from Internet threats. It also comes with free updates for the life of the product to ensure protection stays current and effective.

Lyra Voice also comes with state-of-the-art parental controls that let parents keep a watchful eye on how much time children are spending online and set time limits and schedules. Parents can also block specific categories of mobile apps and websites and then apply them to all devices belonging to a particular family member, while allowing free access to the rest of the internet.

AVAILABILITY & PRICING

ASUS Lyra Voice will be available in Canada. Please contact your local ASUS representative for further information.

There’s more coming from ASUS at CES. Stay tuned for part two of what they announced later today.

This entry was posted on January 8, 2019 at 7:32 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Asus. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.