ASUS, ROG Summer Kick-off month-long promo offer big savings with bundles

ASUS Philippines and the Republic of Gamers (ROG) Philippines are officially inviting you to celebrate summer in the best way possible, with the ASUS/ROG Summer Kick-off promo. From April 29 to May 30, 2021, you can enjoy your latest ASUS and ROG laptops and desktops with an exclusive and limited-time summer giveaway that can be worth up to PhP 18,000+! With items that may range from the newest ASUS apparel to a new TUF Gaming router, you will surely enjoy every minute with your newest setup.

Asus Zenbook series

Premium and exclusive packages await everyone with every purchase of eligible ASUS ZenBook laptops this summer, headlined by the innovative ASUS ZenBook Duo 14 (UX482), which is crowned as the Laptop of Tomorrow. This laptop features the latest Tilting ScreenPad Plus and is engineered with the latest Active Aerodynamic System Plus. This increases overall cooling airflow by 49%. There is also an upgraded Control Panel App, which makes multitasking easier. Whether for work or light content creation, this laptop can match the performance you need with its 11th generation Intel Core CPU. As a bonus, the UX482 is made even better with up to 40% better CPU performance through the ASUS Intelligent Performance Technology (AIPT). You can also choose between the 11th generation Intel i7 with NVIDIA GeForce MX450 GPU or the Intel i5 variant with Intel Iris Xᵉ Graphics.

The ASUS ZenBook Duo 14 (UX482) together with its’ predecessors, ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo (UX581), and ASUS ZenBook Duo (UX481), will come in with exclusive summer packages including ASUS RT-AC68U Dual Band Gigabit Router worth PhP 6,990.00, ROG Strix Arion Lite with Team Group 512GB M.2 SSD worth PhP 6,998.00, and an ASUS Exclusive Jacket worth PhP 2,995.00!

Participating as well in this promo are the ASUS ZenBook OLED laptops, ASUS ZenBook 13 OLED (UX325/UM325), ASUS ZenBook Flip 13 OLED (UX363), and ASUS ZenBook Flip S13 OLED (UX371). Experience best-in-class class and true-to-life color as well as professional-grade visuals with these ultra-portable laptops. All are powered by the latest Intel 11th generation CPUs to ensure maximum performance.

Your new OLED ZenBooks will be paired with a bundle package of ROG Strix Arion Lite with Team Group 512GB M.2 SSD worth PhP 6,998.00 and an ASUS Exclusive Jacket worth PhP 2,995.00. The same package will also apply to the ASUS ZenBook 14 (UX435) and the ASUS ZenBook S (UX393).

Republic of Gamers and TUF gaming series

This summer, your favorite ROG and TUF Gaming laptops will come with exclusive packages you, gamers, will not be able to refuse. Leading the list are the top dogs from the Zephyrus line – the renowned Zephyrus Duo 15 with the innovative ScreenPad Plus as well as the Zephyrus S17/15s. Both are powered with the epic Intel Core 10th generation processors. They will be partnered with the Google Nest Hub and the Philips Hue White and Color Ambience Starter Kit, amounting to PhP 18,490.00.

The ever so stylish Zephyrus M15 will be in on the celebrations too, with combinations of the ROG Strix Arion Lite with 256GB SSD, the Google Nest Hub or the Google Nest Mini, and the Philips Hue White and Color Ambience Starter Kit. They can be worth a value of PhP 13,000.00 or PhP 12,320.00.

Last year’s crowd-favorite, the Zephyrus G14 –packed with a powerful AMD Ryzen processor in compact 14-inch form factor – and the Zephyrus G15, designed with an AMD Ryzen CPU and up to an RTX 2060 GPU, will also be available for summer exclusives like the ROG Strix Scope PBT Keyboard, the Google Nest Mini, the Chrome Cast 4k, and the Philips Hue White and Color Ambience Smart Bulb. These may all together sum to a package worth PhP 15,015.00!

For the hardcore, at PhP 12,145.00worth of summer package, the esports-ready Strix SCAR series is coming with the Xbox Wireless Controller and the TUF Gaming AX3000 Router, ready for your ultimate gaming setup. The gamers’ favorite, the Strix G line, will also be up for grabs with premium items: Google Nest Mini and the Philips Hue White and Color Ambience Smart Bulb. These total to a set worth PhP 4,920.00.

The participating TUF Gaming variants will be backed with the ROG Strix Impact Mouse and the TUF Gaming H3 Headset, summing a value of more than PhP 3,500.00!

There will also be something for the desktop fans out there. The ROG Strix G35DX/CZ and G15DH are going to be available complete with a TUF Gaming VG249Q1A monitor, a summer package worth more than PhP 12,000.00.

The ASUS/ROG Summer Kick-off promo will run officially on April 29, 2021, and end on May 30, 2021. You can find the full list of products here and the promo mechanics and list of participating stores at the official event website here.

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Smart Home Starter Series: Connected lights

02/17/2020

We now live in a world where phones are no longer the only things that are ‘smart’ and offer efficiency and convenience for our daily lives. From smartphones, there came smart devices like watches and other wearables, smart vehicles that no longer require its own driver, and smart homes as well.

For your house to be called a smart home, it should have an automation system that lets you control lighting, climate, appliances, and other home devices. In addition to our Smart Home Starter Series: Smart speakers feature, we’re now going to take a look at connected lights — specifically the Philips Hue lineup.

What is Philips Hue?

So what is Hue and what makes it something you’d want to consider for your connected light setup? Philips describes it as your personal wireless lighting system with an emphasis on being personal. This is because most of their lighting products can change its color — hence, its name — from different temperatures of white (warm or cold) and a full array of color right at your fingertips.

smart home

Although there are newer models that connect via Bluetooth, what we’re specifically using are lights that are linked to our router through the Hue Bridge and are controlled by an app. Through this, you can set the color of a specific light, change its shade, and even control how bright you want it to be.

The Philips Hue has an array of lighting types from standalone bulbs, light strips, indoor fixtures, and even outdoor lamps. They also have accessories that further make a convenient setup like Wi-Fi-enabled wall switches and motion sensors that automatically activate lights when you enter a room, for example.

Additionally, Philips Hue bulbs can go up to 800 lumens at its brightest setting which is enough to easily illuminate a standard-sized room measuring around 20 square meters.

Applications of Philips Hue

More than just being able to change the colors of your lights through your phone, Philips Hue can also be accessed through voice commands since it’s compatible with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Google Assistant. Just add Hue to the list on your smart speaker or smartphone and you’ll be able to say something like, “Hey Google, change the kitchen lights to bright white” or “Hey Google, set bedroom color to deep red” and it will do so right away.

This alone already cuts time when you need to change the light color or crank up the brightness and your hands are busy. Additionally, you can schedule your lights when it will turn on/off and set daily routines so you don’t accidentally leave any lights turned on and save up on electricity bills.

The Hue can also be set in a way that it detects when you’re almost home and turns on pre-set lights so you no longer have to fumble in the dark as you get out of your shoes or something.

And if you want to squeeze more out of Hue, there are a number of third-party apps that are compatible and safe to use. These allow more features like syncing your lights to music, mirroring the colors of what’s on your TV to your lights, and more.

Connected lights for your smart home?

The mere fact that you’re reading this article and you reach this part means you’re really contemplating on starting your smart home or are really interested with color-changing lights. If you find yourself agreeing to any one of those and you have funds ready. By all means, go for it and get some.

My wife and I have been using Philips Hue for almost three years now and we can say it’s been reliable so far with no hiccups. The ability to change lights from bright whites for working to more subdued, funky vibes when you have friends over is in itself a great novelty to have in your home.

It looks cool, gives accent to any part of the room, and is convenient to use. It’s even a conversation starter and impresses friends when they see it change colors so that’s another plus. Additionally, the Hue tends to satisfy the geek in each one of us through what it offers.

So if you’re really keen on setting up a smart home, then having connected lights are a must. And when it comes to Wi-Fi-enabled lights, Philips Hue is one of the top names you should consider.

Of course, there are also alternatives…

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