ASUS today announced that it has been awarded nine prestigious 2017 Red Dot Design Awards for outstanding product design. The award-winning products underscore the ASUS commitment to designing and building innovative products that deliver an incredible consumer experience.
The winners include the latest ASUS Zenbo smart home robot; ASUS Designo MZ Series monitors; ASUS ZenScreen MB16AC Full HD portable monitor; ASUSPRO B9440 business laptop; and the ASUS VivoMini VC66 Series mini PCs. ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) gaming products receiving awards include the ROG Maximus IX Extreme and ROG Maximus IX APEX gaming motherboards; ROG Strix GL502 and GL702 gaming laptops; and a new, revolutionary ROG gaming laptop. The winning ASUS products were chosen from a large field of 5,500 entries from 54 countries. Awarded annually since 1954 by Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, the Red Dot Award for Product Design is an internationally recognized distinction for products that demonstrate exceptional design quality. Forty-one design experts from around the world comprised the Red Dot jury for 2017, and products considered for the award were assessed on a wide range of criteria, including degree of innovation, functionality, ergonomics, symbolic and emotional content, and ecological compatibility.
ASUS Zenbo
ASUS Zenbo is the first commercially available home robot designed to provide assistance, entertainment, and companionship to families. Zenbo is a fun and educational playmate for kids, entertaining them with interactive storytelling and learning games that foster their creativity and logical thinking skills. As a hands-free household helper, Zenbo enriches the home with a broad range of skills that make life easier and more enjoyable. He can control many smart home devices, assist in the kitchen by reading recipes out loud and functioning as a voice-controlled timer, serve as a family photographer with his built-in camera, and function as a home security camera to give homeowners peace of mind when they are away. Additionally, Zenbo helps senior family members safeguard their health and well-being by monitoring the home for emergency situations — such as falls — and immediately responding to them by notifying family members. He also helps seniors enjoy a connected digital life by making it easy to accomplish online tasks, such as making video calls, using social media, and shopping.
ASUS Designo MZ Series
The new ASUS Designo MZ Series monitors are ultra-slim and frameless, delivering a wider field of view, for immersive and comfortable audio and video experiences. Designo MZ Series feature a sub-woofer for full-range sound with rich and deep bass reproduction that delivers premium home-theatre-quality audio thanks to ASUS SonicMaster audio technology, certified by Harman Kardon, a world leader in infotainment and professional audio.
ASUS ZenScreen MB16AC
Weighing just 800g and only 8mm thin, the 15.6-inch ASUS ZenScreen MB16AC is the world’s lightest and slimmest Full HD portable monitor. At 6.5mm, the bezel is 60 percent thinner compared to previous models, bringing a more expansive view without compromising the styling. ZenScreen MB16AC features a USB Type-C™ (USB-C™) port that supports power delivery and display output, and is compatible with any laptop equipped with a USB-C or USB Type-A port. ZenScreen MB16AC has an ultra-thin foldable smart case, which not only provides protection but also can be turned into a horizontal or vertical stand. Users who forget to bring the case can simply insert a pen into the hole located at the right bottom corner of the screen to prop it up. The monitor comes with ASUS Eye Care technology, with TÜV Rheinland-certified Flicker-Free and Ultra Low Blue Light technologies to minimize eyestrain and protect users from harmful blue light.
ASUSPRO B9440
ASUSPRO B9440, the world’s lightest 14-inch business notebook, is designed for discerning on-the-go professionals. Weighing just 1kg, B9440 has an ultra-compact design with a footprint no larger than 13-inch notebooks, making it the ultimate take-anywhere notebook for business productivity. The sleek B9440 is designed to be both stylish and practical, using an all-metal chassis crafted from magnesium alloy — a premium material that is lighter but more rigid than standard aluminum alloy. The ergonomic keyboard has an innovative tilting design that positions it perfectly for comfortable typing.
ASUS VivoMini VC66 Series
The ASUS VivoMini VC66 Series high-performance, versatile mini PCs are designed for a wide range of computing tasks for the home or the office. They are powered by desktop-grade 7th Generation Intel® Core™ processors with DDR4 RAM. The VivoMini VC66 Series has a unique design that allows for different storage options. The VC66 model is available in two configurations: it can be specified in a triple-storage configuration with one M.2 SSD plus two 2.5-inch SSD/HDD, or with one M.2 SSD, one 2.5-inch SSD/ HDD and an optical disc drive to give users the flexibility to mix and match storage options. The VivoMini VC66R model has a triple-storage design and built-in RAID support, making it ideal as a NAS for small businesses or mini media server for professional media production. These mini PCs feature 4K UHD display support and all-around connectivity with a total of six USB ports, including four easily-accessible front-mounted USB 3.0 ports with one reversible USB-C connector. HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI-D and serial ports ensure compatibility with various displays and devices, making these mini PCs perfect for digital signage, point-of-sale systems and computing kiosks.
ROG Maximus IX Extreme
Tailored for water-cooling enthusiasts and gamers who demand cutting-edge technologies, ROG Maximus IX Extreme is a seriously powerful Z270 gaming motherboard that’s expertly tooled to be totally cooled, with an integrated monoblock for water-cooled performance right out of the box. Designed from the ground up, Maximus IX Extreme’s monoblock has flow-rate, water-leak and temperature sensors all seamlessly integrated to keep wiring and tubing complexity to a minimum. ROG’s latest gaming powerhouse also has ASUS Aura Sync illumination, support for ultra-fast DDR4 4133MHz memory, and exclusive SupremeFX S1220 codec for 113dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) on the line-in for exceptional audio experiences. Also loaded are the latest connectivity features including dual M.2 PCIe® 3.0 x4, a USB 3.1 front-panel connector, 2×2 802.11ac Wi-Fi with MU-MIMO and 40Gbps Thunderbolt™ 3 support, plus comprehensive safeguards including pre-mounted I/O shield and strengthened SafeSlot PCI Express® slots, Maximus IX Extreme is built to power through even the most frenetic gaming sessions.
ROG Maximus IX Apex
ROG Maximus IX Apex delivers bold design and unparalleled power, harking back to the origins of the brand. It is engineered to smash performance boundaries and to look good while doing it. That makes it the perfect motherboard for overclocking addicts who push their system to the limits, or for enthusiasts who want to build a showcase gaming rig. A testament to the amazing overclocking capabilities of Maximus IX Apex is the eight world records set at a world-class overclocking event in January, along with 18 global first places . Maximus IX Apex not only features the best overclocking engineering, but it also has a revolutionary design. The DIMM.2 dual M.2 expansion card enables use of a memory fan to prevent throttling, ensuring maximum performance. To broaden the appeal of Maximus IX Apex beyond extreme overclockers, its aesthetics include a unique X-shaped PCB with a radical lighting scheme that utilizes cutouts to create an impressive backlighting effect. It has an aircraft-inspired heatsink design, and an illuminated customizable nameplate, to which personalized text or a logo can be added, can display synchronized lighting effects using ASUS Aura Sync. Maximus IX Apex is crafted to be a natural fit for showcase PC builds for gaming and style-conscious enthusiasts — where pure adrenaline meets style.
ROG Strix GL502/GL702
ROG Strix GL502 and GL702 gaming laptops are powered by 7th Generation Intel Core processors and feature NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1070 or GTX 1060 graphics. The 15.6-inch GL502 and 17.3-inch GL702 feature super-fast 120Hz wide-viewing-angle panels with NVIDIA G-SYNC™ technology for super-smooth visuals. Both gaming laptops are extremely compact and lightweight, allowing users to enjoy high-end gaming experiences anywhere. Both ROG Strix GL502 and GL702 have anti-ghosting keyboards with red-backlit keys, 30-key rollover and highlighted WASD keys. They also feature the new ROG Armor Titanium and Plasma Copper color scheme.
New ROG gaming laptop
In the very near future, ROG is scheduled to announce a revolutionary gaming laptop born from ROG’s persistent dedication to innovation, and featuring hardware to rival high-end gaming desktops. Stay tuned to press.asus.com for more information.
