Laptops

The new ultra-thin, UX Series ultra-portable from ASUS

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ASUS has announced a new series of ultraportables powered by Intel's 2nd generation Core processors and containing the latest SSD technology from SanDisk
Aluminum outer shell with spun metallic finish
ASUS has announced a new series of ultraportables powered by Intel's 2nd generation Core processors and containing the latest SSD technology from SanDisk
The new UX Series ultraportable notebook from ASUS has MacBook Air-like slimness - 17mm/0.67-inches at its thickest point, tapering to just 3mm/0.11-inches at its front edge
The UX Series notebooks will come with Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processor options and SanDisk's new U100 SATA III SSD storage
The 17mm profile at the rear tapers to just 3mm at the front
The stunning spun metallic finish on the new EX Series ultraportable from ASUS
Just 4mm at its front edge - the new UX Series notebook from ASUS
The UX Series notebooks will feature an oversized keyboard with metallic chiclet-style keys and large glass trackpad
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Intel has named the new UX Series notebooks from ASUS as amongst the first to be included in a new "Ultrabook" category. Launched at Computex 2011, the new high performance, ultra-thin UX21 and UX31 ultraportables will be powered by Intel's second generation Core processors and feature SanDisk's latest solid state storage technology.

Intel says that members of its new Ultrabook class of notebooks will all be less than 20mm (0.8-inch) thick and the new UX Series from ASUS will be amongst the first to hit the shelves. There will be two models available - the UX21 with an 11.6-inch display and the UX31 with a 13.3-inch display - and both will have the same slim profile as the MacBook Air (17mm/0.67-inches at its thickest point, tapering to just 3mm/0.11-inches at its front edge).

There will be standard voltage Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processor options and SanDisk has revealed that specially optimized versions of its new U100 SATA III SSD will provide storage for the new ultraportables. The U100 benefits from up to 450 megabytes per second sequential read and up to 340 megabytes per second sequential write speeds and comes in capacities ranging from 8GB to 256GB, although the exact storage options for the UX Series notebooks have not been announced.

Just 4mm at its front edge - the new UX Series notebook from ASUS

Information on available system memory, screen resolution, wireless capabilities and battery life is also lacking, but ASUS has confirmed that the new laptops will feature the company's "Instant On" technology, which is said to resume notebook functionality from sleep in less than two seconds and retains settings and data in hibernation for up to a week. There will also be a couple of USB ports, one of which is USB 3.0, an oversized keyboard with metallic chiclet-style keys and large glass trackpad.

Each model is housed in an aluminum alloy outer shell with a stunning spun metallic finish and will join the Padfone for a Q4 release. Pricing information is not available at this time.

Have a look at the following video introduction from the company's online magazine, Techinstyle:

View gallery - 8 images
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6 comments
Michael Mantion
Weight??
Keith Reeder
Yes, it\'ll have some of that...
Robert in Vancouver
What\'s the point of releasing news about a new laptop if you can\'t tell us what the price is?
If it\'s $3,000.00 then for most people it really doesn\'t matter how good the laptop is. If it\'s $600.00 then it\'s very interesting.
DavidB
robo, my guess is that the price will be somewhere between $600 and $3000.
Barry Weingart
I just bought an ACER 1830T with a 2nd gen I7, 4gb, 500mb, for $800. Same screen size.
It replaced my ASUS 1015N which overheats and has horrible battery life. The ACER is much quicker, does not heat up but has a just horrible ALPS touchpad - horrendous! I like the ASUS screen image much better than the ACER as well.
How come HP has had this processor and form factor out for months already?
I would much prefer the ASUS as long as the price and heat are OK.
JeffHaring
Gee didn\'t Apple create the MacBook Air a few years ago? http://www.apple.com/macbookair/