ASUS Confirm 5 Express Gate Laptops

Mere weeks after ASUS confirmed it would be loading the quick-launch Express Gate Linux OS onto all of its upcoming motherboards, the software developers behind the distro, DeviceVM, have announced that several ASUS notebooks will also include it.  The M70T, M50V and M51Vr multimedia series and the F8Va/Vr series will be the first five models in ASUS notebook range to feature Express Gate.  With it, users can be online in seconds, watch videos, listen to music, chat over IM and VoIP apps and share photos.Check out the ASUS Express Gate demo video after the cut

Express Gate includes a browser based on Firefox and the Skype VoIP app, as well as media playing apps. DeviceVM describe it as a "secure web-surfing environment".  However the draw for most mobile users will be the speed at which it loads: literally seconds, which beats even a Vista system returning from sleep mode.

The new range of notebooks featuring the secondary Linux OS will be available from June 2008.  ASUS is yet to announce pricing, though considering the machines span different segments expect a broad spectrum of price points.  Developers and tinkerers interested in Express Gate (which is called Splashtop by DeviceVM) can download the source code here.