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ASUS U36S – Ultra Thin Sandy Bridge Laptop

ASUS U36S – Ultra Thin Sandy Bridge Laptop

April 17th, 2011 in .Laptops & Netbooks
Matt Black
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ASUS U36S – Ultra Thin Sandy Bridge Laptop

Now we’re talking ultra thin style! The U36s is a gently tweaked, Sandy Bridge upgrade to the award winning U36Jc. Both share the same heritage of housing a standard mobile CPU (i.e. not ultra low voltage) into a housing that’s just 19mm deep.

ASUS designers have cited the original design concept was inspired by the form of metal cutting blades such as samurai swords. Combine the knowledge of its metal alloy cover and the picture below and it’s an evident result.

ASUS U36S ultra-thin laptop

ASUS U36S ultra-thin laptop. The design concept was inspired by cutting blades such as samurai swords.

While the previous U36Jc came with an Intel Core i5-480M/460M or some Core-i3 CPU options, the U36S above is fitted with an even faster Intel Core i5-2520M CPU so it’s absolutely lightning fast! A word of warning though; this one is pre-production and the retail version hardware has yet to be completely set in stone. If you really want that particular i5 or any special hardware set in this upcoming laptop, then pipe up in the comments and we’ll pass the message along to the U-team!

asus-u36s-angle
asus-u36s-detail
asus-u36s-top

In the pictures the 8-cell battery is fitted, giving a slight bump in the behind, although there is a 4-cell option for those looking to keep the profile super-slim all over (not to mention it’ll also be slightly cheaper).

The U36S keeps the popular Magnesium-Aluminium alloy cover with ‘Nanometer’ coating. Its benefits are notable:

> it gives a silky soft, cool touch;

> it’s hard wearing;

> slim and light yet also strong;

> it’s easy to clean and just as importantly leaves no trace of fingerprints either.

asus-u36s-angle
asus-u36s-front
asus-u36s-trackpad

Inside, the opposite corners house are the Express Gate/Super Hybrid Engine and power buttons, while the trackpad also includes multi-touch support and a finger print scanner for login security too. The chiclet keyboard is gently recessed into its facia with a small curve, which is replicated along both underside edges to reinforce the cutting edge style and elegant thinness of the U36.

19mm is little over half a watchface

19mm is little over half a watch-face. Oh, wait, 12:15? Time for lunch.

Connectivity along the sides includes USB 3, HDMI out, Gigabit Ethernet, a multi card reader, 3.5mm stereo headphone and microphone, two USB ports and d-sub VGA output. These have been re-arranged slightly from the previous U36Jc, but the count is still the same.

We’ll be back soon with more retail-spec info as soon as we’ve got it! If you’ve got questions in the meantime, give us a shout in the comments below!

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  • http://profiles.google.com/furgason.5 Mike Furgason

    Holding off on buying a laptop until these are available. Have an ETA? Also, no mention of what the battery life is going to be with the new processor…12hrs?

  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/6KVFGXU2OD4RJVQ2GJYKGIFK6U Bogdan

    Hi there !
    I’m wondering if there will be a SSH and a SSD version of the long waited U36s (since the firs roumors).
    I’m not using the computer for storage, but for fast mobile processing, so a SSD version will fit me and many other users that already migrated to cloud computing / cloud storage.
    Thanks !
    Bogdan

  • http://jezza144.myopenid.com/ Jezza144

    Hello,
    what about graphic, it will be only Intel HD 3000 or something else from Nvidia too? In my opinion should has 520M and of course Optimus technology, any chance for that? It would be great. Please respond.
    Jezza

  • http://profiles.google.com/birchhook Birch Champeon

    I really wish they would add a backlit keyboard. I understand it would probably take a re-design, so it’s probably just wishful thinking. I keep going back and forth between buying this or the Toshiba R830.

  • Anonymous

    We won’t know the specifics until there’s a mass production unit ready. Right now this is still in the testing phase. ETA – “soon” said the PM… (sorry!)

  • Anonymous

    It’s got a 520M with Optimus. Check out our latest post (due very soon.. as soon as I kick Matt to write it) for a bit more info on the hardware and some close-up shots!

  • Anonymous

    What’s wrong with buying a lamp? :-P Backlit keyboards really waste battery life and add to the depth of the keyboard. It’s a mutually exclusive feature in a laptop this thin :-(

  • Anonymous

    It’ll be hard drive only I think due to cost and space demands, but that doesn’t mean you can’t drop in a 2.5″ SSD yourself!

  • http://twitter.com/WM_Lai Alexander Lai

    It would be even better if it packed a GT525M or even a GT540M coupled with Optimus instead, that would make it very very very game worthy.

  • Anonymous

    Hi I’m looking at the Asus range of laptops, already had two and been thrilled with both, but its time to upgrade and would like some information please. What is the battery life of the new Asus U36S as battery life now plays a big part, and when will it be available in Australia.

  • http://profiles.google.com/mc2sgp Michael See

    I am using the u36Jc now and the common problem is the placement of the USB3 port, it should be on the left side instead of the right side! Considering most of the time the USB3 port is use to connect to an external HDD and the thicker cable will block the mouse movement path, so please tell ASUS to change the USB3 to the left side. I do welcome moving one of the USB2 port to the left so now you have 2 USB ports on the left, good move! So in summary, 1 x USB2 on the right side, and 1 x USB2 + 1 x USB3 on the left side.

    One more small request…. might be good if they have a HSDPA or LTE model too.

  • http://profiles.google.com/mc2sgp Michael See

    They should do the same way as the Lenovo ThinkPad – having a small LED on the top side of the LCD screen shining downwards to the keyboard, much better than backlit and save power too.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=681263624 Ben Puna

    Asus! Please release an official date for when I can buy this! I’m going crazy!

  • Anonymous

    Middle of next month. It’s been pushed back by 3 weeks unfortunately.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=681263624 Ben Puna
  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=681263624 Ben Puna

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_l_3XWk0yY

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