It was way back in January that we first saw ASUS's NX90 notebook, but here we are some 10 months later, and we're finally getting close to retail availability.
The premium multimedia powerhouse, pictured above, will soon be able from a selection of leading retailers - including Scan, Selfridges and Harrods - and will fetch a jaw-dropping £2,499.
A hefty asking fee, but ASUS reckons the NX90 "breaks visual and audio boundaries of what is expected from a desktop replacement notebook".
Providing the multimedia credentials is a large 18.4in, 1,920x1,080 full-HD LED-backlit display, and a pair of "large-than-average" speakers positioned either side of the panel.
Driven by ASUS SonicMaster technology - a joint collaboration between the ASUS Golden Ear team and the Bang & Olufsen ICEpower innovations house - the speakers promise a wrap-around effect and the ability to handle "an extensive frequency range to ensure faithful sound reproduction and absolute clarity without any distortion".
It's something of a looker, too. Designed by David Lewis, the NX90 features a "mirror-like polished aluminium casing" and it's about as eye-catching a notebook as we've ever seen.
Measuring a sizeable 525mm x 280mm x 43.8mm and weighing a substantial 5.4kg, it isn't the most portable of solutions, but ASUS has put the space to good use. Two large touchpads are positioned either side of the keyboard to provide a "DJ-style interface", and there's plenty of power beneath the hood.
The model making its way to UK stores will feature an Intel Core i7 740QM processor, 6GB of DDR3 memory, NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M graphics, a 1.2TB storage array built from two 640GB hard disks, a Blu-ray optical drive and a standard six-cell battery.
Wireless N, Bluetooth and Gigabit Ethernet are all included, as is a two megapixel webcam, a five-in-one card reader, VGA and HDMI output, optical audio output, eSATA and four USB ports - two of which are of the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 variety.
It's wish-list material, but then the Christmas season is coming up...
