Asus had plenty to show at ISE this year in a range of different applications.
First, we had a look at the firm’s PN40 mini-PC which is a NUC-type system that can be used to drive digital signage and can be supplied with a Celeron processor or on a ‘barebones’ basis and can support up to an 8th generation Pentum Silver processor. The PN40 has a metal chassis. There is also a PB40 which has up to six USB Type-C ports as well as VGA, DP and HDMI connectors. The company is also developing a PB60 series which will be higher powered and available later.
The company also has a Chromebox 3 system that uses an 8th Gen Intel Core processor and can support up to UltraHD over DP or HDMI.
The Mini-PCs are designed for B2B uses and Asus commits to a minimum period of availability of 36 months and offers notice of end of life after this period. Other features include remote control including, for example, the remote disabling of USB ports, said to be a popular option in corporates to eliminate the possibility of viruses getting into the system that way.
The Asus Mini PC can be used to drive signage. Image:Meko
The company was showing the F1 projector that we saw at CES, but at ISE the company told us that it uses a 0.47″ FullHD DLP chip and will cost $899. We also saw the PA27AC monitor that was in Las Vegas. (Asus OLED Monitor is Previewed).
We then had a look at the company’s digital signage monitors, the SA495-Y and SA555-Y 49″ and 55″ FullHD Android-based signage displays which are rated for 24/7 operation in landscape or portrait mode.
The BE27AQLB is a commercial monitor with a 27″ 2560 x 1440 resolution IPS panel with a three narrow side design that we saw at BETT (Asus Promotes Chromebooks for Education).
The next demonstration was of an augmented reality car specifier that Asus has developed with BMW and which uses the buyer’s mobile device as the input device. The company told us that the cost for a complete system is less than €2,000 per display which makes the solution very affordable for car dealers.
The Asus BMW AR App costs less than €2000 per display. Image:Meko
Collaboration was a big topic at ISE and Asus has developed a complete system based on a Chromebox that supports Google Hangouts Meet and can be supplied with an optional Logitech PTZ camera. The system includes an initial Google licence but the cost of the Google Hangouts service is just €200 per year, we heard, which is much less than equivalent services from companies such as Polycom (the most common company used for cost comparisons at the event – Man. Ed.)
The box supports audio using a clip on module and to extend the audio to larger rooms, up to five audio units can be connected together using ‘daisy-chaining’.
Asus has a system for Google Hangouts Meet with up to five audio units. Image:Meko
