ASUS has finally unveiled the ASUS NovaGo, the world’s first Gigabit LTE (Long Term Evolution) PC which is powered by the quality Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC. The device was first announced and unveiled at an event by Qualcomm held in Hawaii, where it was reviewing its performance this past year. This may prove to be a revolutionary step as far as Pcs are concerned. Let us take a look at what makes this ASUS device so special.
This is not the first time that ASUS has shown the path in the PC industry: its recently launched ROG G701 gaming laptop, as we had reported, was a revelation.
Coming to the specs and features of the ASUS NovaGo, it boasts a 13.3” FHD LED touchscreen display. For now, it is running on the Windows 10 S; however, should you desire, you can also upgrade it for free to the Windows 10 Pro version so long as you do so before September 30, 2018. It will also be able to provide support for accessories like Windows Ink, Windows Hello, as well as intelligent assistant Cortana.
We had previously reported that a Windows OS-based PC with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset was coming soon. This ASUS PC is the first such device which brings the Gigabit LTE speed to any device besides a phone, in part thanks to its Snapdragon X16 modem.
This is a 2-in-1 device. The hinges will allow the transformation of the PC into a tablet as well. We, however, disliked the big bezels, which can be an eyesore, and the weight: at 1.39kg, it can hardly be called uber-portable. Measurements are 316 x 221 x 149 mm. As of now, there are two variants: one has 4GB of RAM + 64GB of storage while a more premium variant has an 8GB + 256GB combination. Both share one feature: UFS 2.0, short for Universal Flash Storage. The NovaGo has eSIM and nano-SIM connectivity. We believe, however, that since eSIMs are yet to take off, the nano-SIM variant will be more popular for some years to come.
The NovaGo includes a SIM tray, one HDMI port, and a 3.5mm audio jack, besides the volume rocker/power button on the right-hand side. On the left are two full-sized USB ports as well as the DC power jack. The touchpad also houses a fingerprint scanner. As far as the ASUS NovaGo prices are concerned, the 4GB variant comes for $599 while the more premium and more powerful 8GB RAM variant starts at $799.The only countries it will be available in are the US, China, Italy, UK, France, Germany, and Taiwan.