Asus collaborates with Jay Chou for N-series laptops
Jay Chou and Asus chairman Jonney Shih with the new N43SL notebook. (Credit: John Chan/CNET Asia)
TAIPEI, Taiwan--At a press event today, computer maker Asus announced a special edition of its N-series notebook in collaboration with Taiwanese artiste Jay Chou.
Asus unveiled the N43SL with much fanfare, with the company's chairman Jonney Shih performing onstage together with Chou playing the piano. Shih revealed that Chou was chosen to co-design the laptop with an Asus team because the artiste had a unique character that was a perfect match with the company's philosophy.
The laptop has a special lid designed in consultation with the singer-songwriter. The circular motif has elements inspired by Chou's music, including an inner ring that resembles piano keys and pictures that relate to the lyrics from his songs. For example, one of these pictures is of a nunchaku, the Japanese weapon made famous by Bruce Lee consisting of two sticks joined by a chain. This corresponds to one of Chou's songs entitled "shuang jie gun", the Chinese term for nunchaku.
Can you spot the hidden weapon? (Credit: John Chan/CNET Asia)
On opening the lid, you will notice a J key that uses a different font from the rest of the keyboard. There is also a row of musical notes near the touchpad area as well as his signature. Furthermore, the artiste also composed the startup and shutdown tones of the N43SL notebook.
Under the hood, the N43SL laptop comes with an Intel Core i5 processor, Nvidia GeForce GT 540M graphics, a 14-inch 1366 x 768-pixel display and Bang & Olufsen ICEpower & SonicMaster audio technology.
This mainstream notebook is not new to the Asus range. In fact, it was showcased last year. What's changed though is the Intel chipset which has been updated to the Sandy Bridge platform. Of course, the biggest draw is the endorsement by Chou, which should appeal to his large fanbase in Asia.
The price and specifications of the new notebook will vary between countries in the region. In Singapore, it will cost S$1,298 and is expected to be available in early July.
Aside from singing and writing songs, Jay Chou is also an actor, appearing mainly in Mandarin movies. More recently, he has also starred as Kato in the Hollywood movie The Green Hornet.
Watch this video for our hands-on with the notebook:
About the author
Editor John Chan's love for gadgets can be traced back to the days when he disassembled his toys and couldn't put them back together again. He practices great restraint in not opening up every review product that comes through the CNET Asia Labs, and before that, in his previous job at HardwareZone. He has reviewed items big and small, from mobile phones to projectors and feels everyone should carry a multitool at all times in case of MacGyver situations.
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