ASUS shows far-out "Aura" concept phone

Ahh, to be an industrial concept designer, free of the binding chains we call "reality." You know -- absolute limits of technological advancement, laws of physics, corporate red tape, and the like. Must be nice, right? You can go ahead and design a phone for yourself (or even better, for ASUS) that meets virtually every dreamy spec requirement you can conjure. Go ahead, drop a 3.9-inch touch screen that eats up the entire surface of that bad boy. While you're at it, throw in a sliding d-pad bar that can be positioned anywhere along the screen. Oh, and don't forget the HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, and microSD expansion, all in a 6mm thick shell that magically reveals a full keyboard stowed in a slot along the left edge. And yes, that's a full 0.1 millimeter thicker than Samsung's Ultra Edition 5.9, but don't even think about drawing a comparison (except for the fact that the Samsung actually exists, we suppose).

[Via Mobile-review and Unwired View, thanks Staska]

[diem @ Feb 5th 2007 11:20PM]

with a special "bail-out" button that summons the emergency "Rescue on Everest" helicopter...

[js @ Feb 6th 2007 10:44PM]

Take that... iPhone.

[Charles Dilger @ Feb 5th 2007 11:27PM]

Wow....

Everyone just wants to copy Apple these days.

Guess who's on top Win fools.

M$ and A$U$ need to go bankrupt, it's far past due for these companies.

[wscwsc @ Feb 5th 2007 11:31PM]

Another fanboy comment by Charles
poor Charles, you must have been brainwashed by Apple.

[Mark @ Feb 5th 2007 11:39PM]

Innovating around another company's general ideas is not a bad thing. Would you rather Apple have no competitors? Plus, Apple isn't the first to do a touchscreen phone. They're just the first to make a touchscreen phone that appeals to the general consumer.

Competition creates innovation.

[o rly @ Feb 5th 2007 11:26PM]

Staska is lame.

[SteveMB @ Feb 5th 2007 11:37PM]

It also has a 2MP camera. Looks pretty sweet if you ask me. I wondering when it will be available? I can just imagine myself with one of those AOL-Haier MP3 players and one of these. Two sweet looking devices.

[John Doe @ Feb 6th 2007 1:07AM]

Someone took down the sign so I'll put it back up

*pounds a sign into the ground the reads: DON'T FEED THE TROLLS*

[Ryan @ Feb 5th 2007 11:37PM]

i think its cool, kudos to the designer. and sure maybe right now we may not be able to make this design a reality, but isnt there a saying out there; if you reach for greatness you will live great, if you reach of the average and expected you will live an average life.

never hurts to wish/be idealistic.

[fitinferno @ Feb 5th 2007 11:39PM]

Ah, grammar grammar...first thing I noticed was the missing "an"...then I noticed the stupidity of this phone...it is ASUS, it can paint and draw and dream about what it wants to be when it grows up too.

[cire @ Feb 5th 2007 11:38PM]

I don't really like the design of the phone. To square & flat. The shape reminds me of the razor. I am tired of that design. I am not impressed. Next

[SteveMB @ Feb 5th 2007 11:42PM]

Fortunately, this isn't a flip phone like the RAZR. I prefer the candy bar (SLVR) phones over the flip phones just because they look cooler.

[dcny @ Feb 6th 2007 11:16AM]

Looks like the old Nokia Aeon concept

[Malekith @ Feb 6th 2007 12:07AM]

this is an irrelevent comment

[Eh @ Feb 6th 2007 12:10AM]

Good one. If A$U$ when bankrupt then who would make the Macbook? You should learn more about whats inside your mac.

[Bobarama7k @ Feb 6th 2007 7:06PM]

hahaha, nice one! i like asus, they make some reliable stuff, would be interesting to see what they can do with a phone. i think, but i cant rember, but i think microsoft is coming out with one soon too, like the zune phone or something.

[Eh @ Feb 6th 2007 12:11AM]

went*

[Richard @ Feb 6th 2007 12:20AM]

You know, is this concept really *that* farfetched?
Sure, it takes some liberties, but look how far (and how thin) phones have come in even the past 5 years...

[Bobarama7k @ Feb 6th 2007 7:05PM]

i was reading in a popular science mag that some scientists were working on a bluetooth tooth implant, so you go to the dentist, and get it put in, thats gotta be creepy.

[diem @ Feb 6th 2007 12:23AM]

just so everyone is clear... ASUS manufacturers the macbook

[Ben @ Feb 6th 2007 12:37AM]

I don't get it, what's the point of the sliding home bar? Is it really so innovative that I'm the only one that thinks it would be better off as a virtual slider than a hardware piece? Something so small (the slider) is just asking to be broken immediately.

[Nelg @ Feb 7th 2007 3:20AM]

I think a mechanic slider is more useful than a virtual, if it's carried out properly.
I could see it as a menu-switcher; when slided to the high edge the phone will automatically launch the video player (the lower could lock the phone), and in the middle it opens the calling feature. With this design, the slider could have several positions to click into which are connected to the different features (and how it uses the screen), instead of icons in the GUI.

Otherwise, the slider could resize the usage of the screen and its functions. Too small fingers? Slide the keypad higher to make the numpad larger.
I really hope this is produced innovatively, and not just a new shell for an old interface.

[kel @ Feb 6th 2007 12:41AM]

I just want to point out the fact that iphone isn't the first phone with full touchscreen technology (sony is P800); but the point is someone "dream up" this idea. If nobody imagined a PC a century ago, we all will be typing on typewriters. It may not happen today with current technologies, doesn't mean it won't materialize tomorrow.

I hope one bad "Apple" won't ruin the reputation of the rest of the Mac users.

(Note: I don't have a Mac anymore, I run Linux on my IBM laptop now; no choice is free.)

[Xenoterranos @ Feb 9th 2007 4:50PM]

Did anyone else notice that the keyboard is some crazy version of qwerty that's never existed before.
Like, the letter Y is between the c and x keys? Also, it loos like there's two D's but no O's. Don't think this would rdck my wdrld tdd much nd?

[Coasterfreak212 @ Feb 6th 2007 9:39PM]

http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2006/10/08/nokias-aeon-full-surface-screen-cellphone-concept/
Lawsuit once more?

[Coasterfreak212 @ Feb 6th 2007 1:21AM]

and continuing the lawsuit, Aeon and Aura... Both fullscreen and touch, both have similar backgrounds, and both ar about the same shape. What the heck is going on here! Let's wait and see what happens as the next line of phones look exactly the same.

[Coasterfreak212 @ Feb 6th 2007 9:40PM]

http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2006/10/08/nokias-aeon-full-surface-screen-cellphone-concept/
The Nokia Aeon, personally I want this one, makes the iPhone look like a brick.

[matt e @ Feb 6th 2007 2:58AM]

So many people commenting are comparing it to the iPhone's design.

The big difference is the iPhone is real - this is not.

*cue carlos mecia's "dee dee dee!!"*

[Zoundguy @ Feb 6th 2007 1:58AM]

Gosh. I remember when Star Trek spurred us onward and upward towards new and greater technological strides... those were the good old days... and I'm only 21

[guilt+1 @ Feb 6th 2007 2:23AM]

Clearly the sliding home bar thing isn't a good idea as even the concept render has a huge great mark (scratch) running across the middle of the screen.

[Ceralor @ Feb 6th 2007 3:58AM]

Dude.. Are you stupid? That's part of the background image.

[mike @ Feb 6th 2007 2:43AM]

Take that... iPhone

--

Okay, now copy the iPhone MORE and it will be better... scrap the sliding piece of plastic, and make the whole thing a touch screen..

And wait for ballmer to call it 'hard to use because it doesn't have a keyboard'..

*rolls eyes

[swaxtastic @ Feb 6th 2007 2:44AM]

its really not copying apple. 'a really big screen' isn't new, just not very cost effective. apple raised the stakes and it forces other manufactures to match them, even if it does mean dip in profits all around. thats the game.

[Skillz @ Feb 6th 2007 3:03AM]

Ok, first of all, that's one sexy looking phone!

Second, for that idiot Apple lover that said "take that MS and ASUS...."

Apple wouldnt even exist without MS!

In the beginning (A long long time ago...)
MS provided Office for Apple's OS which made Apple help become popular in the first place.

In 1997 MS pumped 100 MILLION dollars into Apple...

[sadilak @ Feb 12th 2007 3:33PM]

Who is the retard who said that this phone looks like the iPhone and BTW, The IPhone looks just like the pocket PC with a Souped up interface. Just because the OS is Mac OS does not make the iPhone revolutionary. It is unfortunate that we are living in a world where the media and many retards get an instant orgasm the moment Steve jobs opens his mouth. Even he is yawning!!. The headlines would be "Steve jobs Yawns and claims bill gates copied his yawning style"

[sadilak @ Feb 9th 2007 11:17AM]

I noticed a few apple fanboys here. First of all, The IPhone is not revolutionary. It is a rip off from the countless pocketpc's\palms that are available in the market today. Secondly, this phone looks pretty distinctive. Thirdly, it is sad the we are living in a world where the media and the fanboys get an instant orgasm whenever steve jobs opens his mouth, even if he is just yawning. After his yawn, they immediately comment that Bill Gates copied Steve Job;s yawning style too!!. What retards. IF apple is truly great as they think they are, MS would have been kicked out of the market long ago. It is a story of sour grapes. Agreed that MS is not the greatest OS out there, but there are no realistic alternatives.

[guilt+1 @ Feb 6th 2007 5:07AM]

Oh dear, this one seems to have passed clear over your head. Let me explain in simple words so that you can comprehend.

it was a joke. Not based in reality (much like this render). Some would describe it as observational humor.

[Tim @ Feb 6th 2007 6:14AM]

Why is everyone so obsessed with making things flatter than a pancake? Thinner means less room for actual innards, and also makes things extremely easy to break.

I could go a whole extra decade without wanting a device thinner than 1cm, I really could.

Also, sliding panel? What idiot would add something so needlessly pointless and so easily broken?

[templar @ Feb 7th 2007 6:23AM]

Guys, it's not even Asus, it's just a concept by a Hungarian guy who does these concepts just for fun... More from him here: http://www.egystudio.eu/WG/index.htm

[strider_mt2k @ Feb 6th 2007 7:14AM]

This bickering demeans us all.

That being said, I love the look of the thing!
(Fond memories of my PEG-TH55)

The sliding googaw isn't necessary with that kind of display real estate though.
Get NXT involved for the earpiece/stereo imaging and it's the frigging future!

[Zut @ Feb 6th 2007 7:18AM]

Concept phone? Hmmmm...

If Asus ever release a product with this name that actually looks ANYTHING like this, I will saw off my leg and beat myself to death with it.

This is just a desperate marketing bid. There's no way they can *build* sn iPhone rip-off in time, so the best they can manage is just to design one.

[Dae @ Feb 6th 2007 8:10AM]

I would like to add a Open Source OS/GUI. Why not just add a IR just for the hell of it.

I would also like these presets:

Preset "2" to auto dial Steve Jobs. I have some words to sahre.
Preset "3" to auto dial Bill Gates. Oh boy do i have some words to share.
"1" for God. I need to repent

[Khaytsus @ Feb 6th 2007 9:29AM]

Will this have a FLEXIBLE screen so that torsional stress won't break it the first time you twist it at all? Given its proportions and thickness, it WILL happen.

[Ken @ Feb 6th 2007 11:27AM]

Why are people whining about the slider? I'm sorry but I won't be buying an iPhone for the fact that it's controls have no tactile feel. Meaning, I have to look when I use it. If a touch panel interface was so superior, you'd be typing on one.

[SubGenius @ Feb 6th 2007 11:28AM]

Brilliant design
They gave it a giant touchscreen but still managed to put tiny little buttons on the thing.
Meanwhile the actual phone number is swimming in a giant sea of unused space.
ASUS, this is why you are hired to build products, not design them.

[SRD @ Feb 6th 2007 11:40AM]

Actually asus designs awsome products. Have you seen some of their laptops that are awsome. Not to mention the phones they sell over seas are great. they dont just build products the help design them. In the US asus isnt well known but over seas they design all sorts of products that have won many awards. This is just a concept design why are people even comparing it to the Iphone. And why are people even saying take it MS and ASUS. Asus is a hell of alot bigger company than apple.

[Stranger @ Feb 6th 2007 11:42AM]

Stop compare it to the iPhone, because
A: the LG Prada was showed before the iPhone and will be released earlier.
B: A phone with only a few buttons and a large screen have been available for years. Years!

[Magallanes @ Feb 7th 2007 6:42AM]

It's not a flamebait but this design is way over the "innovative design" of the iphone less the hype.

Anyways, the slizing button seem too "break-able" and "struck-able"

[Ayle @ Feb 6th 2007 2:15PM]

What in the world is happening here???? Apple has not invented the touchscreen!!! Pocket pc phones have been around for years but now that Apple has decided to make a phone with a touchscreen there will always be somebody to yell "iphone rip-off" or "iphone is better" on every article talking about a new phone real or not.....
One good advice people : if you want to avoid smashing your computer out of rage steer clear of every phone news

P.S to the Engadget team : Is it possible to have some kind of filter in the comments because the "Apple vs the rest of the world" war is really tiring me......

[thomasvda @ Feb 6th 2007 4:07PM]

Thank you to some of the previous posters for pointing out that the LG Pradaphone was shown to the general audience and will be released for sale earlier than the iPhone. Not to mention that by the time these pics are released to the audience products like this have been in development for two years, and specs drawn up more than a year before release. Moreover, there inevitably comes a certain moment when a technological component becomes affordable for average consumer products. From this time on the market will be flooded with similar design. This happened for clamshell phones, it happened for slider phones, it's happening now with ultrathin phones (driven by - supriiiise - new technological possibilities). For exactly this reason for the last few years virtually EVERY respectable design firm has been churning out exactly the same type of concept (as the iPhone). It was just a question of first to market. The originality of the concept is nice, but not infinitely impressive, and certainly not sometime apple can claim as sole inventor. We have reached a time where the thickness of the bezel is finally thin enough, batteries strong enough and touch screens bright enough to make this concept reality at an affordable price. Apple and LG bear testament to this.

Sooooo... Please refrain from yelling "it's an iPhone copy" everytime a similar concept is shown. You are just showing yourself to be uninformed and a bit infantile.