If you can’t beat ’em…

When Jonney Shih, chairman of Taiwan’s Asustek Computer company, took to the stage this month for the unveiling of the Asus Zenbook laptop in New York, he asked for a moment of silence to honour the passing of Steve Jobs. “We have always had a great respect for him,” Shih said. “His dream will live on.”

Don’t doubt Shih was being sincere. The Zenbook bears an uncanny resemblance to Apple’s MacBook Air. Both laptops have sleek, metallic bodies that taper down to three millimetres at their thinnest points, and they both weigh in the area of 2.5 lb. The Zenbook, however, as Shih flaunted, is US$200 cheaper.

At the glitzy unveiling, Shih paced around onstage, dramatically touting the strengths of his new computer in an undeniably Jobs-esque manner. The computer hits stores this month, so tech junkies will soon know whether the Zenbook can take some “Air” out of MacBook sales.