Spot quiz — what do the Devil, the valiant, a legendary bull and a verbal equivalent to a wolf whistle have in common? Nothing? Now what if I threw the words “Diablo”, “Gallardo”, “Murciélago” and “Countach” at you? Full marks to you! Lamborghini it is!

For countless speed fanatics, or even the auto-obsessed, the name Lamborghini has always been associated with imagery of uncompromising performance without forsaking aesthetics. Not to mention the stratospheric price tag with one of these babies.

Fortunately for you, it’s getting easier for you to own a Lambo these days, although “easier” is purely being used in a relative sense. For those desperate to buy into the brand without breaking the bank for the next few generations, I give you the Asus-Lamborghini VX3 ultraportable laptop and the ZX1 PDA phone.

If you can get past the Lamborghini-sized sticker shock, the VX3 is all Lamborghini — as close to a laptop-based homage to the supercar as it gets. It starts with the screamingly bright automotive yellow paint job (or black, if you prefer), all the way down to the stitched leather-clad wrist rest (leather seats for your hands?) and titanium alloy hinges.

And of course, there’s the badge, which sits on the outer lid, screaming your newfound status to all who care to look. There’s also the Lambo branded carry case and wireless mouse, all of which go to making this laptop packaging and presentation one of the stylish ones to date, Apple included.

If that’s not enough automobile for you, the final touch of genius — when you hit the power button, the white LEDs around the 12.1-in screen flare up, the Automobili Lamborghini logo pops up and the speakers emit a satisfying “vroom vroom” revving noise. That should satisfy you and if it doesn’t, I don’t know what will.

Design elements are understated in the VX3, yet it doesn’t scrimp on the connectivity — four USB ports, HDMI port, DVD-RW, Wireless Switch, PCMCIA slot, Flash card reader, audio ports, a Kensington lock, and the DC port on either sides, with LAN and video out ports in the rear. The keyboard is well sized for an ultra-portable, although the form factor means no space for quick-launch media-player/ volume-control keys. It’s got it all thought out, in true Lamborghini fashion.

Except for one thing. It’s not a Lambo in terms of pace. Granted it doesn’t claim to the best the fastest kid on the block, but at this price, I think you’d expect you’re paying for pole position. While the hard disk is roomy, it could have been faster, and the Nvidia GeForce 9300M graphics processor is rather modest for this machine.

Asus also loads a number of proprietary applications in the default Vista install, and that’s sure to contribute towards the slowdown. And like its automobile brethren, this one is a guzzler, with default 3-cell battery giving somewhere between one to two hours of backup. It’s all about balancing expectations, and the VX3 doesn’t manage the performance end of that equation all that well.

The ZX1, Asus-Lamborghini’s PDA phone, does a much better job, with a device that’s not just about bragging rights. Here is a well specced smartphone, complete with a high-end processor and the latest Windows Mobile version. And, importantly, it also does double duty looking the part with the beehive textured rear/top, much like the air intake covers that adorn members of its supercar family. The hallowed badge at the back, the carbon fibre finish combined with the high grade stainless steel all give a sturdy yet classy feel to the device.

Turn it around, and you get an expansive 2.8-in touchscreen, which is useful to navigate through a customised graphical user interface that can be personalised to suit the user — while that’s standard for the operating system, the default racing theme looks awesome and grows on you. The 9-way navigation takes some time to get used to, though. Equipped with wireless 802.11b+g, Bluetooth v2.0+EDR, USB2.0, 3.5G, a 3MP camera and even GPS, the phone is packed to the gills with features.

Of course, the Lambo spirit is retained in its pricing, but if you’re an enthusiast, the good looks and the badge on the front will more than make up for this.

Quick Specs:

Asus-Lamborghini VX3

• Processor & Cache memory: Intel Core2 Duo Processor lT9300: 2.5 GHz, 6 MB On-Die L2 Cache
• Operating system: Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate
• Chipset: Mobile Intel PM965 Express Chipset +ICH8M DDR2 667 MHz SDRAM, 2 x SODIMM socket for expansion up to 4GB SDRAM, Intel Turbo Memory Technology with 1GB NAND Flash(optional)
• Display: 12.1' WXGA Colour-Shine (Glare-type), Asus Splendid Video Intelligent Technology
• Video graphics and Memory: NVIDIA GeForce 9300M G, External 256MB VRAM
• Hard drive: SATA 320GB, 5400rpm
• Optical drive: DVD super multi double layer
• Network/Connectivity: 10/100/1000 Base T, Bluetooth V2.0+EDR(optional), Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN
• Features: 8-in-1 card reader, 0.3 Mega Pixel web camera, Built-in speaker and microphone, Fingerprint Reader
• Dimensions: 305mm x 220mm x 31mm
lWeight: 1.68kg (with 3 cell battery)
• Rating: 7/10
• Price: Rs 2 lakh
• URL: http://in.asus.com

Asus-Lamborghini ZX1

• Networks: HSDPA 3.6Mbps, UMTS 850/1900/2100MHz, EDGE/GPRS/GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz; Class 10
• Operating system: Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
• Display: 2.8-in TFT LCD screen, 65,000 colours, QVGA 240x320 pixels
• Processor: TI OMAP 2431 450MHz + EMP U360
• Memory: 256 MB Flash + 128 MB SDRAM, expansion via Micro-SD; Supports SDHC
• Connectivity: WLAN 802.11b+g, USB v2.0, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
• Camera: 3 megapixels, 0.3 megapixels for video telephony
• Standby/Talk Time: 150-200 hours/4-5 hours
• Dimensions: 115.6 x 59.4 x 13.2 mm
• Weight: 119gm (with battery)
• Rating: 8/10
• Price: Rs 47,777
• URL: http://in.asus.com