Aura, an iPhone like concept from ASUS

There’s no doubt about it, Apple is different, it leads, it doesn’t follow.

Luckily for us, if we’re not Apple fans or we just like to be different in another way, other producers are copying Apple but don’t forget to add their touch, like ASUS, with its Aura phone concept.

ASUS Aura in PDA mode

The principle of touchscreen display, without any buttons, applies to Aura, a concept which surfaced the web in form of rendered images. What makes Aura different, besides case color, is the slide QWERTY keyboard and the 3G connectivity (with HSDPA support). Other ingredients include WiFi, miniUSB connector, microSD expansion slot, 2 megapixel camera and, of course, Bluetooth. All that is packed in just 9 mm.

We can’t tell you anything about availability (if and when) and price, but we love the 3.9 ” screen. I personally hope it will be available at one moment, with the option of changing the green background (and no, I don’t want Apple’s white casing). Now, let’s see the pictures.

Aura in Phone mode

Perspective in PDA mode

Perspective in phone mode

The 2 megapixel camera doesn’t seem to offer very good performance

miniUSB and Jack connectors

ASUS Aura side by side in PDA and phone mode

The QWERTY keyboard probably has touch sensitive buttons