Limited edition new in-the-box Asus W5Fe laptop signed inside above the 12″ screen in gold ink by Bill Gates. This autographed computer was one of 10 that were offered as special prizes in a 2008 ‘Ultimate Offer’ Windows Vista essay contest held in honor of the Microsoft operating system’s one-year anniversary. The essay contest, which was exclusively open to customers who downloaded and tested one of the Windows Vista Beta or Release Candidates through TechNet or MSDN, asked contestants how they best utilize the power of Windows Vista. The Asus W5Fe is accompanied by its original shipping and packing boxes, the latter housing all of the computer’s original accessories, as well as a new, unopened laptop sleeve and case, and the original letter of authenticity from Microsoft, dated April 24, 2008, which reads, in part: “Congratulations on winning the Windows Vista Ultimate Offer ‘How I Put Windows to Work’ Essay Contest…For your winning essay, we are awarding you an ASUS W5Fe ultraportable notebook personally signed by Bill Gates!” In very fine condition.
Even without the presence of the Bill Gates signature, this innovative model, the Asus W5Fe, is a scarce and attractive tech collectable. The W5Fe is the world's first computer with the innovative but short-lived Windows Sideshow, a 2.25″ x 2.75″ bright, easy-to-read secondary LCD screen on the outer lid that displays e-mail messages, calendar appointments, and more, without having to turn on the notebook. The laptop retailed in 2007 and 2008 for $2200, and it’s not farfetched to posit that this Gates-signed laptop is the only ‘new’ W5Fe extant.
