Asus to celebrate 30th anniversary with special edition ZenBook

(May 27) Asus will celebrate its thirtieth anniversary with a special edition laptop, Asus ZenBook Edition 30. It has a white leather lid cover and an 18-karat rose gold logo. Otherwise, the latest ZenBook will be just like a traditional laptop.

Details on the new Zen laptop

Asus chairperson Jonney Shih says: “Every piece of genuine leather is hand selected. Each panel cover is maticulously sewed by a master tailor.” Asus will also supply special accessories for the new ZenBook including a leather sleeve and a pearl white mouse. Asus has used leather before on its laptops with the S6F laptop being the first in 2006. It had the lid and the palm rests both covered in leather.

The innards of the ZenBook Edition 30

A recent Verge article notes: "Inside the ZenBook Edition 30 there’s Intel’s 8th Gen Core i7 processor, Nvidia’s GeForce MX250 discrete graphics, up to 16GB of RAM, and PCIe SSD storage. This 13-inch laptop also has Asus’ bezel-free display with a 95 percent screen-to-body ratio. Asus is also including its ScreenPad, that puts a screen in the trackpad."

Asus has not set a price or a release date yet. However, given this is a limited edition and a premium 13 inch laptop it no doubt will not come cheap.

The ScreenPad in the trackpad

Another recent Verge article gives a positive review of the ScreenPad: "The ScreenPad is a full-color, 5.5-inch 1080p touchscreen jammed into the trackpad of the ZenBook Pro. Picture a smartphone turned on its side and embedded just below the keyboard of a laptop and you basically have the idea. It works surprisingly well, it has some actually useful features, and, most importantly, it doesn’t get in the way of the trackpad doing standard trackpad stuff."

Among the functions the ScreenPad can perform are: "Control music playback for either music stored on the laptop or streamed from Spotify; Launch some of your favorite apps; Display a number pad or calculator; Display a calendar with upcoming appointments: Provide quick access to commonly used functions in Microsoft Office apps, like Word or Excel."

Previously published in the Digital Journal