Asus's Folding Notebook Concept Slated for 2009

When we first saw the Asus ‘folding’ notebook concept at CES, we figured it was just a design exercise and that it wouldn’t be something heading into production anytime soon. But straight from CeBit is word that it’ll be something hitting the market this year.

The futuristic-looking Asus folding concept should soon be in production and is set to be commercially available in Q3 this year, according to TechRadar. News of this supposedly came straight from the mouth of Asus CEO Jerry Shen, who also revealed that the concept notebook is collaboratively developed by groups of designers from France, Italy and Korea.

What we saw at CES wasn’t a machine in operation, but rather just a demonstration in form factor. While it may be called a “folding” notebook, technically, all notebooks fold, but the Asus concept folds in a manner that adjusts the keyboard as the screen is lifted up. The keyboard goes from a resting flat position to a raised, angled setting that’s more friendly for the user. Moreover, the keyboard also lifts to reveal venting that in theory should allow for more efficient cooling.

Check out the images below for a sneak peak at the concept!

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
  • jacobdrj
    I hope the tablet will be released this year as well. Any news on that?
    Reply
  • igot1forya
    The "more efficient" cooling concept is the part that I'd like to see advanced.
    Reply
  • igot1forya
    The "more efficient" cooling concept is the part that I'd like to see advanced.
    Reply
  • Marcus Yam
    Igot1foryaThe "more efficient" cooling concept is the part that I'd like to see advanced.Me too, but I'm still skeptical of how close the production model will come to the concept. It's a bit like cars, where the concept is the pure ideal, but not entirely practical or cost effective.
    Reply
  • already seen this.
    Guys from tomshardware, something is wrong with the "submit my comment"-button.

    It never allows me to post 'Javascript; void (0);
    Reply
  • I need to log out,post the message,and log in again to get it posted!
    Reply
  • grieve
    I like this idea just for that cooling... My laptop gets crazy warm.
    Reply