ASUS’ slew of Computex rollouts on Monday included notebooks and netbooks. The UX21 shares the tapered, all-aluminum body but is even thinner than its Apple counterpart at 0.67 inches thick and can be optioned up to a Core i7 processor. It similarly depends on SATA 6Gbps-based SSD storage and has custom software that takes more explicit advantage of the flash drive: it can resume Windows 7 in two seconds and stay in hibernate mode for up to a full week.
The 2.4-pound design has an upscale design with a ‘spun’ aluminum finish, metal keys, and a glass trackpad. Expansion is a slight upgrade from the Air with a pair of USB 3.0 ports and a Mini DisplayPort for its video out.
ASUS is hoping to revive the sagging netbook market by borrowing some of the same cues for the Eee PC X101. The 10-inch PC shares the tapered design in a less elaborate but 0.69-inch thick body and, uniquely in the netbook world, has a choice of operating system. Users will have the option of a conventional Windows 7 install or the leaner and cheaper MeeGo.
Choosing the Intel made OS will drop the price down to $199, ASUS said, reaching a price virtually unheard of for a new notebook.
The system runs on a very low power 1.5GHz Atom Z670, though most of its other details aren’t known. ASUS plans to have the system in gold and red colors as well as Eee PC’s traditional white.
ASUS hopes to ship the UX21 in September but hasn’t given out scheduling for the X101.
