Computex is indeed upon us and ASUS is rolling out the creative big guns for a show of force. Enter the new UX Series, the slimmest of what seems to be a parade of really slim portable PCs from ASUS. You’d have to look closely, because these 11.6” and 13” laptops are rail thin. Yes, from the side as you can tell for yourself they’re definitely stealth, measuring 3mm to 17mm. You’d be right to wonder where exactly all the technology goes, but the backroom people have succeeded in endowing these slivers of advanced engineering with some potent features.
UX from the side
The artistic design, inspired by the hands of an exquisite timepiece, exists alongside a spec that was carefully assembled in close cooperation with Intel to ensure the slender form factor doesn’t come at the cost of performance. So you get new Intel Core processors up to an i7 in there, plus SATA 6Gb/s and standard solid state storage, all at a weight factor of just 1.1kg. Looks like the futurists were right after all!
The UX closed
The happiness of unibody
Advances in material sciences have made these feats of lightness possible, as the UX Series features sharp-edged unibody construction and spun-finished aluminium surfaces for a winning combination of striking looks and nigh-on-eliminated encumbrance. If you’re the type who likes to move around a lot while showing off the newest laptop, stay tuned to more info out of Computex on these.
The UX from above. It has a circular brushed design gently cut into the metal
What else shall we tell you about the UX? Well, it’s all about space with these ultra-thin and ultra-movable laptops, isn’t it? Therefore managing real estate is important. The designers succeeded in fitting in a seamless and oversized keyboard, and even what ASUS refers to as a “smartphone-like” touchpad. Regardless of terms, we’ve tested this pad and it is very responsive and smooth, more so than your average laptop touchpad. ASUS has also demonstrated the reinforced hinge design, which corrects some of the issues you get with lighter and smaller laptops/netbooks, where the hinges don’t allow a wide enough opening angle, don’t last or start creaking after a while. The UX has been tested strenuously in this department, and it feels very solid.
The UX Keyboard
The UX touchpad
Bounce right back in there
The UX Series also has a new usability feature we’d like to highlight, called Instant On. One of the biggest issues with compact and power-efficient laptops is the slow “reawakening” you get with them after going into sleep or hibernate modes, but Instant On aims to rectify that. Basically it saves an image of the system as you put the laptop to sleep, and on pressing power again, it expedites recovery so resuming whatever it is you were doing takes only a few seconds, as opposed to several minutes in some cases.
So, who do you think the UXs are best suited to? The fashionista? The stylista? Or the technolo…gista? Let us know in the comments below!
Suds McSoapdish
Thirty years ago, toddler Suds got his first taste of just how enjoyable technology can be when his parents gave him an Atari 2600. He soon picked up on the wonders of the Commodore 64, and the rest is history in the form of a long list of consoles, 80’s home computers and PCs built and assembled with great fervor. Writing and technology gradually moved up from hobbies to professions as Suds became the man he is today, and although he’s worked and traveled the world and experienced many things, technology, especially computing and gaming, has remained a solid constant.