Video: ASUS AIRO laptop with amazing sliding keyboard
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Jan 10th 2009 4:53PM
posted Jan 10th 2009 4:53PM
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That
looks
so good.
oh sh!t, it was real... lol
i saw the video last week and thought, never gonna happen.. nice Asus
Bring back the IBM Butterfly Keyboard!
Lamborghini Countach of laptops.
Yeah, I had an old Pentium 1 IBM lappie that had a sliding keyboard it was awesome until the damned thing broke. Had to manually raise and lower the keyboard it wouldn't do it automatically anymore. That one looks a whole lot more hawt than my old IBM though.
Sexy.
Whats the point besides being nice looking?
Crap, didn't read the article fully.
probably be easier to type.
It might have something to do with the cooling as well. I'm not sure... It does allow for more placement of LED lights though. That's cool.
Give the Asus people a cookie if the design works, because it's purty...
Looks like a Psion series 3 style hinge mechanism. Or a Psion 5... But I'm glad to see some innovation in this area!
Looks way cool, but how do you adjust the displays angle?
That's why this prototype will never make it to market.
Uhhh... just adjust it however you want. Even if the keyboard shifts a little, it shouldn't affecting typing comfort.
affect*
good point...another case of form over function.
It would be really great to have a fanless laptop design. Although I do enjoy the jet engine sounds from mine at full CPU load.
That's one of the ugliest laptops I've ever seen. I think the sliding mechanism is cool but the design needs to be smoother. Looks like you can cut someone with that laptop.
Expecting Low Ranked.
I wouldn't like to crush your expectations, so I'm low ranking you anyways.
It's not even a laptop yet. It's just a prototype shell. Likely will be tweaked a lot before any production (if ever). It's just a design exercise. Looks like a good idea though.
I agree 100% with JAmerican! I think it is ugly and over-thought. Thank god this is just a prototype!
Low rank this as well.
Did you see your avatar? thats an ugly shit!
Come on, it look super slick! I really digg that paper light feeling.
It does look cool but it's about as practical as a chocolate fire-guard. When closed, the laptop is thicker than it needs to be. The angle of the display is fixed when open, as is the angle of the keyboard and there is no way to seal the sides due to the need of the design which would allow all sorts of gunk to get under the keyboard. ASUS had nothing better to show?
It's also just a prototype. Relax. Give it time, and it could be pretty nifty.
Also, regardless of whether or not it actually makes it to the market, this kind of tinkering with crazy ideas is essential. Where would we be if we always went down the boring, far-too-easy-and-within-grasp route, eh?
@ 404
In Cupertino?
/runs from thread
Hideous and retro uncool.
Is the Pete Rose comment a result of seeing Pete Rose in the Caesar's mall in Vegas, sitting in a hobby store, begging for someone to buy an autograph? What sad life that man lives...
that is damn hot. it's got this 80's japanese robot aesthetic that kicks ass
+1 for having tux.
so does that asus origami comes with the laptop or wut?
great idea for fanless cooling, and it looks moderately cool, and probably is more comfy to type on than a flat laptop keyboard.
but it is another moving part that can be broken off.
I fail to understand what is so cool about this? "Oh it is sliding"...? So you want MORE moving parts? And this design is driven by limitations in the cpu design, so basically a hack to make a faster cpu possible, no?
Now make one with a normal keyboard and that will be hell of a thin laptop!
i do believe you dont see the point if they added a 'normal' keyboard they would have to add a fan which would make it just a normal laptop
Is that an ASUS cootie catcher I see?
Yep.
Pick a number. 7
What's your favorite color? Purple.
Oh look, you're going to get an eePC desktop!
Shouldn't it be the AEEERO?
lol
do we really need more things on a laptop that could break?
+1 for picture. But dude, he won, so take it off.
Interesting concept, hideous laptop. Looks like something from the old school Star Wars. The idea has some potential though.
"One more time
We gonna celebrate
Oh yeah, all right
Don't stop dancing"
That is a sweet concept, I hope Asus can make something of it.
people just like to condemn on idea or design they don't like...can people try sees thing positively..this is just and Idea or concept..a concept could trigger hundreds of thousands other better Ideas..to me..this concept mean a different configuration of portable computer.. applause for people who try take the first step or a extra step further..think and make new things..well you don't have to think that if you want to live the same old day with your innovative Dell laptop that offer red color.....recently...
Shiiiiit, my daughter just spill a full hot chocolate on our new carpet...
High ranked for relevance
so like, why not just do it with a regular laptop design with detachable keyboard? So you can like expose the entire hot component to cool space?
something thats aero should not be that thick. it definitely kills the portability factor.
It sounds like the person behind the camera was having to think of baseball.
Their engineering rivals anyone else in the world.
Pretty damn ugly.
Awesome. I always wondered what an origami laptop would look like. I'd get it if it had some decent specs and within my price range...
For future comments, whoever says this copied Apple is a douchebag.
It´s an ORIGAMI concept? (Cuac)
Looks good.
yea but is the bottom of the keyboard somehow attach if not its just a "flap". nice place under the board to keep um...havent thought of yet
it'd be kewl if it was black...
And it's only 2" thick!
Laptops were getting too thin anyway.
While I tend to agree with comments pointing out the shortcomings of the design, it's nice to see a laptop with an angled keyboard for more comfortable typing. It's just a shame that it doesn't actually seem to fold away.
Why oh why no one realises that laptops need illuminated keyboards!
Reminds me of the Lotus Esprit, James Bond is driving in "The spy who loved me" ;-)
(linkback) Cool or Lame? Video: ASUS AIRO laptop with amazing sliding keyboard [VOTE] - http://www.thriveorfail.com/9fde5
greetings ladies and gentlemen from the distant past. i am from the future. and i say: wonder no longer, this beauty is going into production later this year.
personally i think its a wonderful design that just needs a few adjustments here and there, (wont mention any) but seeming as its only a PROTOTYPE then i understand, many adjustments will be made, and if all you other people want a laptop with a normal keyboard, then just go and get a laptop with normal keyboard