Asus took advantage of the Computex electronics show in Taiwan to reveal a rather stunning prototype: a PC whose lid has been replaced with a second screen, which does little to change the appearance of the device.
The screen is an electronic ink screen, like those found in digital e-readers. This consumes power only when the displayed image is changed. In theory, the selected image can remain in place for an unlimited time, without affecting the computer's autonomy.
Daly's project comes from an internal Asus program, which invites the company's designers, engineers and product managers to meet once a year to imagine what the future of computing could look like. The winning projects are then developed by small teams. Some of them eventually see the light, others don't.
The DALI project is still in the prototype stage. Video: Maxime Johnson.
I was impressed with the screen, the quality was amazing. Colors are especially vivid and deep for e-ink displays (much more so than I've seen so far on other devices).
The software developed by Asus allows you to display selected works, but also customize them or create something completely new.
Is it a gimmick? a little. Is it necessary? of course no. Is this a feature I would still like to have on my computer? completely!
Obviously, there are still some issues to be resolved before this PC launches. The screen, for example, is very thick, which is still a big drawback. Currently, the time to display a new image is also long. We can also imagine that the screen will increase the cost of the computer. I would be willing to pay a little more for technology like this, but the cost shouldn't be too high. Although Asus tested the screen's strength in its laboratories, it is not clear how well it can withstand major shocks.
Maybe Asus had the same idea. Otherwise, the company would have released the screen on PC instead of revealing it as a prototype. By introducing it at Computex, the company is taking the pulse of consumers to see if it is worth producing or not.
I hope the answer is yes.
This article was written as part of a press trip paid for by Intel and ASUS.
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