January 7, 2008 12:53 PM PST

Asus shows off fashion-forward U2E

by Dan Ackerman
  • Font size
  • Print
  • 1 comment

The leather-clad Asus U2E.

Ultraportable laptops are usually pretty sharp-looking, but dressing one up in a leather-covered chassis is even better. Taiwanese PC maker Asus has had leather laptops for a couple of years now, but the latest version, called the U2E, packs in plenty of high-end computing features on top of the slick looks.

This 11-inch notebook weighs about 2 pounds and features a 32GB solid state drive, which helps with weight and heat, as well as power consumption. The LED backlit display also consumes less power and allows the screen to be thinner than traditional LCD screens.

The built-in Webcam offers an extra measure of security, thanks to Smart Logon Face Recognition Technology. This reads the user's face, in a way similar to how a fingerprint reader reads your fingerprint and allows access. It sounds a bit sci-fi to us, and we haven't had a chance to try and fool the Face Recognition system yet--but once we do, we'll give you our updated impressions.

Pricing and availability for the Asus U2E are still up in the air.

New York native Dan Ackerman, a former radio DJ turned journalist, has written about technology and music for publications including Spin, Blender, The Hollywood Reporter, and USA Today. He hosts the weekly Digital City podcast and the New York edition of Editors' Office Hours. Dan's new album, Tales Out of Night School, is available now. E-mail Dan.
Recent posts from CES 2008
CES 2008: Home audio wrap-up
CES 2008: Home video wrap-up
CES 2008 HDTV wrap-up
Computers and hardware CES 2008 wrap-up
Emerging technologies CES 2008 wrap-up
Car Tech CES 2008 wrap-up
CES 2008: MP3 and PVP wrap-up
Cell phones and smartphones CES 2008 wrap-up
Add a Comment (Log in or register)
by peteclem January 8, 2008 9:35 AM PST
Is this the much hinted up-market version of the Eee PC with improved specification. Why the leather covering ? Perhaps a slightly less lavish model will reduce the price.
Reply to this comment
advertisement

CES awards and nominees

Best of CES, 2009

Best of CES 2009 and
People's Voice Award

Since 2006, CNET has presented the Best of CES Awards, given to the top product in 10 categories as well as one coveted Best in Show award. See the gadgets that topped our list for this year, and find out the People's Voice winner, decided by more than 10,000 member votes.

Now accepting submissions for the 2010 Best of CES Awards.

LATEST FROM MACWORLD

Survey: IT's key role in global economic recovery

Posted by Dave Rosenberg December 2, 2009 4:01 AM PST
See our full Macworld coverage

RSS FEEDS