Asus unleashes their ZenWatch as well as $199 Windows and Android devices

Europe’s biggest trade show is about to start but the pre-events are underway. First in line is Asus, during their event tday they unveiled a range of devices from affordable windows 8.1 laptops all the way to premium android tablets powered by 64-bit Intel atom processors. Mr Eric Chen, Asus Corporate Vice President started off by highlighting their market grasp at transforming mobile computing and said that their range of Zenfone android smartphones are selling at a rate of 1 million units per month.



The first device in the line is an affordable, chic and compact 11.6” laptop that weighs less than a kilo. Powered by windows 8.1 and an intel Atom processor, the Asus EeeBook X205 is not only budget friendly but it also offers a 12 hour standby battery life. The downside of this netbook laptop is that you can only configure up to 64GB of flash memory, but Asus has solved this by providing customers with 100GB of OneDrive storage and 500GB of Asus WebStorage for 2 years.

Besides announcing a super affordable windows laptop, Asus has also shown off the latest member in their Zenbook series. The UX305 is the world’s slimmest 13.3” QHD+ laptop and as Mr Chen said during the event, it’s even thinner than Air (he’s referring to the Macbook Air). Similar to other Zenbook laptops, the UX305 has the same zen design and is built from premium materials for maximum customer satisfaction. Powering this is an Intel Core M processor paired up with a 256GB solid state drive and that gorgeous 13.3” QHD+ (3200 X 1800) display which has a 257PPI count.

Next up is the MeMO Pad 7, Asus’s latest android tablet which is not only powered by an intel Atom 64-bit processor but it also has a sleek look which is made to resemble a clutch bag and wallets. Measuring at only 8.3mm thick and 269g, this tablet is Asus’s most premium offering yet! Compared to it’s predecessor, the new MeMO Pad 7 has a more crisp and vibrant Full HD IPS display which has a 178 degree viewing angle. Additionally, the back of the device is not only uniquely designed, it is actually made to be durable due to the fact it’s primarily constructed of fiberglass (yes! that).
The last part of the event was probably the best it was the star of the show and pretty much the device which got me excited about this event. With a sophisticated and premium material set, the Asus ZenWatch is the company’s first wearable device. Powered by Google’s Android Wear platform, Asus’s answer of a wearable not only looks attractive but it also features a AMOLED 2.5D curved Gorilla Glass 3 display for superior outdoor visibility. The internal chipset is a Snapdragon 400 and that’s not much of a surprise because it’s the go-to choice of a chipset for wearables these days. The hardware is not the only thing which sets the ZenWatch apart from it’s competitor, Asus’s ZenUI has practical features like Watch Unlock, Tap Tap, Remote Camera, Cover to Mute, Find My Phone and Presentation Control, and a wellness manager.

That's all for this article, at the moment i'm not able to comment much on the new devices but rest assured i'll do so when i recap everything being announced at IFA when the week ends. As usual follow us at the usual places (Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Instagram) for my coverage of IFA this year and stay tuned for my short article Samsung Unpacked event later today!