Computers have been really stagnant lately. Apple “innovated” when it announced the Touch Bar on its 2016 MacBook Pro line, but other than that, generally speaking, true innovation and trying new things in computers has been limited to physical size reductions.
The smartwatch boom has nearly all but fizzled out as flagship devices from Apple, Fitbit and other companies have begun solidifying their market share. New wearables have continued hitting the market recently, but have gained little traction compared to big players like the Apple Watch. Recently Asus has announced an all-new smartwatch with a different focus than many of its competitors as a way to carve out its own market share.
Rather than sporting a shiny full-color touchscreen display or aesthetically pleasing metal casing, Asus has opted to fill its new VivoWatch BP with a litany of sensors backed by AI-based data analysis. Head below for the full scope.
Laptops used to be for light-duty work only. At one time, they were limited to dual-core processors (even with i7’s) and then we stepped into the realm of quad-core offerings. After that came quad-core hyperthreading, giving you theoretically 8 lanes of processing power.
Now, it’s time for a new generation of processing to take place. ASUS recently announced a new ZenBook Pro 15 laptop, with Intel’s massive Core i9-8950HK processor that features 6 cores and 12 threads of monstrous power. But that’s not all this laptop packs, keep reading to find out more.
It features an Intel Bay Trail-M N2840 Dual-Core 2.16GHz (Turbo up to 2.58GHz) processor, 4GB DDR3L (1600MHz) RAM, 16G EMMC SSD, a 11.6 Inch 1366×768 LED screen, 10 hours of battery life and more. More details below. Rated 4+ stars from over 650 Amazon customers.
The Microsoft Store is offering the Asus Transformer Touchscreen Laptop w/Office 365 included for $179 shipped. That’s $170 off the original list price and $40 less than Amazon’s current listing. Features include: an 11.6-inch HD WXGA touchscreen display, Intel Celeron N3050 1.60GHz, 2GB DDR3 1600MHz memory, and a 32GB eMMC. It also ships with Windows 10 Home 64-bit and has 1 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, 1 USB-C Gen 1, Micro HDMI ports. Rated 4.8/5 stars from Amazon shoppers.
It supports simultaneous dual-band and it’s certified backward compatibility with a/b/g/n. It also has 1 USB 3.0 port to print and share files and 4 gigabit ports to connect wired devices. It received 3.6/5 stars from Amazon shoppers.
Also at NeweggFlash is the Asus (RT-N10P) Wireless N150 Router for only $19.99 shipped. That’s half-off the list price, about $10 less than Amazon and the lowest we’ve seen. It features 150 Mbps high speed downloads with an external 5dBi antenna for better coverage. It also has 4 SSIDs to help manage bandwidth allocation and access control. Amazon customers gave it 4/5 stars.
Here are a few other notable routers we found on sale today:
Now’s the time to upgrade your home or office network. We have price drops on a bunch of top wireless routers and a couple of cable modem bundles that should speed up your laggy Wi-Fi.
It allows you to “eliminate” WiFi dead zones across your home or office with a simple wall plug adapter. It features dynamic LEDS to find the best placement, and allows users to stream “music wirelessly from iOS (Airplay) and Android (DLNA) devices to connected speakers.” More details below. It has received a 3.9/5 star rating from nearly 370 customers.
It features three detachable antenna for 2.4GHz/5GHz with peak gain 3dBi/ 5dBi, 802.11n: up to 450Mbps, and two USB2.0 connections support for “Printer or HDD sharing.” This model has received a 4.3/5 star rating from nearly 4,000 customers. Also highly rated, Newegg is offering the refurbished AC1750 version of this router for just $20 more right now: $89.99 shipped (Reg. $155 new)
Newegg has a few nice router deals today starting off with the ASUS 802.11ac Dual-Band Wireless-AC1750 Gigabit Router (RT-AC66R) for $169.99. Using code EMCAKAX23 will drop your total down to $119.99 shipped. That’s $50 under the regular listing, matching the lowest we’ve seen and the best we can find. You’ll also find the refurbished version…
Apple has blessed us with a beautiful 5K Retina iMac, but somehow forgot to update the ancient Thunderbolt Display. Now, Mac owners are once again forced to look outside of Apple to get the most from their computers. Apple will sell you a Sharp 32″ PN-K321 4K Ultra HD LED Monitor for $3,595 – but you’re much better off opting for the ASUS version (w/ the same panel) that just dropped another $500…
It features full HD resolution (1920 x 1080), 16:9 widescreen format, VGA and DVI-D (HDCP) connectivity and more. It has received a 4.4/5 star rating from over 350 Amazon customers.
This is a 27-inch 1920 x 1080 Full HD LED panel with 10,000,000:1 ASUS Smart Contrast Ratio, Display Port, HDMI, and D-Sub connectivity,Picture in Picture and more. It comes with a limited 3 year warranty and has received a 4.2/5 star rating from over 300 Amazon customers.
BassBoomz 2.0 Portable Bluetooth Speaker. Multiple Colors Available $29.99 (Reg. $130) | Groupon
ASUS Google Nexus 7” 32GB WiFi Tablet with Quad-Core 1.2Ghz Processor, 1GB RAM, Bluetooth and MicroSD Expansion Slot refurb $99 (Reg. $249) | Daily Steals
Infinity Instruments 15″ Impact Commercial Analog Wall Clock, Black $14.99 (Reg. $41.99) | Staples
All these items are on sale until midnight only. So we will continue to curate the top 10 or so best deals we can find from our Daily Deal finder and have them on the site at 9am ET/6am PT.
Amazon has the 11.6-inch ASUS Chromebook (C200MA-DS01) for $199.99 shipped (matched at Newegg). That’s $49 or 20% off the regular price, between $20 and $40 off the next best prices from trusted retailers and matching the lowest we’ve seen this Chromebook go for.
This system carries a Intel BayTrail-M 2.16 GHz processor, 16GB of solid state storage, 2GB of RAM, 802.11ac wireless, 1.2MP camera, 11 hours of battery life and a wide selection of inputs: 1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0, HDMI, SD card slot (SDXC) and Bluetooth 4.0. It also comes with 100GB of free Google cloud storage “for 2 years, starting on the date you redeem the Drive offer.”
This recently released Chromebook has received a 4.4/5 star rating from nearly 100 Amazon customers.
While, you can also knock an additional $10 off at Newegg with a mail in rebate, Amazon is currently offering this same model for $159.99 shipped. If you aren’t interested in the Newegg credit, this is the lowest direct dollar price we’ve seen on this highly rated Chromebox. Like Newegg, Amazon is also offering an additional $10 off via its own post-purchase rebate, for those interested.
It features Google’s Chrome OS running on a Celeron 2955U (1.4GHz) with 2GB of DDR3 RAM, a 16GB SSD and Intel HD graphics. The Chromebox “houses a processor powerful enough for ultrafast multitasking performance in Chrome OS and the connectivity options to choose your own screen size, connect to multiple displays at once. While ASUS displays are recommended, any HDTV or monitor with HDMI or DisplayPort will do the trick.
Ebay is offering the manufacturer refurbished ASUS Google Nexus 7 2nd Gen 32 GB Wi-Fi tablet (2013) for $169.99 shipped. That’s the best current refurb price we can find, matching our previous mention, only $30 more than the best refurb price we’ve seen on the 16GB model, and more than $160 better than Amazon’s new price. The Nexus features a 7″ 1080p HD display, 2GB of RAM, 10-hours of battery life, and dual HD cameras: 1.2MP front and 5MP rear.
It has received a 4.2 out of 5 star review on Amazon and comes with a 90-day ASUS warranty. The unit is “Factory Refurbished by Asus in like new condition.”
Having a top-notch wireless router is key to building an ultra-fast network. 5th generation 802.11ac WiFi is three times faster than 802.11n, which makes streaming HD media, sharing files between devices, and backing up your computers to a NAS an absolute breeze.
Newegg is currently offering the Netgear AC1750 Dual-Band WiFi Gigabit Router (R6300 v2) bundled with a free Netgear CMD31T cable modem for $160 shipped when you enter promo code EMCPHWB67 at check-out. $160 is about the everyday street price for the router, but the modem typically sells for $70. You get both for just $160. Dealends 2/24, limit 1 per customer.
Surf the Web with this Asus laptop that features a high-speed wireless LAN for easy access to streaming media, social networking and more. The 1.0MP webcam and microphone help you keep in touch with friends and family.
13.3″ Asus Zenbook Prime Ultrabook, 1.7GHz Intel Core i5, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD: $699 w/ code DIGEDU100 (Reg. $1300)
Powered by the 3rd gen Intel Core i5 processor with Intel Turbo Boost up to 2.6GHz, the ASUS Zenbook delivers the performance you need, when you need it. For incredible sound, the ASUS Zenbook features premium audio co-developed with audio experts Bang & Olufsen ICEpower.
In addition, the ASUS Zenbook features 6GB/s Solid State Drive, ultra slim less than an inch thin and super lightweight at under 3 lbs winning over the Ultrabook competition.
OfficeMax is offering 20% off on an assortment of back-to-school supplies and tablets with an in-store coupon. You can use that discount towards a new 32GB Nexus 7 to reduce the cost to $216. That is $72 off Amazon’s price and $54 off Google’s regular listing. The deal is only available in-store, so to redeem this deal: print out this coupon or show it on your phone at checkout.
The new Nexus 7 boasts and 7-inch 1080p HD screen, 10-finger capacitive touch screen, 32GB on-board flash memory, Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro 8064 processor. The discount is also valid towards case paper, office and school supplies, ink and toner, IT services and certain Print Center services.”
New 32GB Google Nexus 7: $216 (Reg. $269) – print or show coupon at checkout
We have also put together some of the highest rated case/cover options for the Nexus 7 below as well. Each of these case options are available in various colors.
Moko Slim-Fit Multi-angle Stand Cover Case: $5 – nearly 1,500 5 star reviews
Today only, PC Connection has the 16GB ASUS Eee Pad Transformer for $329 with free shipping. That’s the lowest price we could find by $50 on this Tegra 2.1 powered Android 3.1 Honeycomb tablet (soon upgradeable to ICS).