Western Digital builds 5mm-thick hybrid hard drive, Ultrabook makers sign on early

Posted on 10/09/2012 by Jon Fingas

Those 7mm-thick hard drives you've seen in some Ultrabooks are already looking a tad on the chunky side. Western Digital has started producing sample versions of a hybrid hard drive (you're not yet looking at it here) that measures just 5mm (0.2in) tall, even as it crams in both flash and a 500GB main disk. If you think the slimmer drive is just the ticket for a best-of-all-worlds laptop that's both fast and capacious, you're not alone: Acer and ASUS have mentioned their collaboration in the same breath, which may be a strong clue as to where future Aspires and Zenbooks are going. The remaining question is when they arrive. Sampling isn't the same as mass production, which could leave us with months to go before the 5mm drive lands in future extra-skinny PCs.

Continue reading Western Digital builds 5mm-thick hybrid hard drive, Ultrabook makers sign on early

Filed under: Laptops, Storage

Western Digital builds 5mm-thick hybrid hard drive, Ultrabook makers sign on early originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 14:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS Zenbook Prime faces teardown, affords a little expansion in an even smaller space

Posted on 16/08/2012 by Jon Fingas

We often assume that Ultrabooks scarcely have any room to budge on the inside, and that's usually true. An iFixit teardown of ASUS' Zenbook Prime has proven that there's always an exception to the rule. Looking at a UX32VD with the same base layout as the UX31 we reviewed, the repair outlet finds that the upgraded Zenbook has both embedded and removable RAM: provided owners are still willing to perform some surgery, they can upgrade past the 4GB of included memory on their own terms. The repair team is a bit dismayed that there's a 5,400RPM hard drive spinning near the mini SSD -- how very 2011 -- but notes that it's equally swappable by those who want something faster. Whatever you think of the fully pieced-together ASUS PC, it's apparent there's a reward for those willing to take it apart.

Filed under: Laptops

ASUS Zenbook Prime faces teardown, affords a little expansion in an even smaller space originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 15:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A Ultrabook review: a high-res display, and a much-improved keyboard

Posted on 12/08/2012 by Sarah Silbert

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ASUS made a grand entrance into the Ultrabook race with the Zenbook Prime UX31E, which brought a sleek design and lovely, high-res screen. That machine was one of our favorites in what was still a budding category, though we took issue with the shallow keyboard and uncomfortable touchpad. The company recently started shipping its new Zenbook Prime series, including the 11-inch UX21A we checked out a few months ago. But there's also a follow-up to the 13-inch UX31E on the market: the ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A. This laptop offers a retooled keyboard, Ivy Bridge chips and a 1,920 x 1,080 IPS display, starting at $1,069. So how does the new 13-inch Zenbook stack up in a crowded field of high-end ultraportables? Join us past the break for the full report.

Gallery: ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A review

Continue reading ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A Ultrabook review: a high-res display, and a much-improved keyboard

Filed under: Laptops

ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A Ultrabook review: a high-res display, and a much-improved keyboard originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Aug 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Ultrabooks of Computex 2012

Posted on 08/06/2012 by Dana Wollman

It was last year that Intel chose Computex, a computer tradeshow in Taiwan, to introduce its Ultrabook concept to the world. Twelve months later, 110-plus models are in the pipeline, which meant the Taipei Convention Center was overrun by skinny, lightweight laptops. Make that skinny, touch-enabled laptops. Between those new Ivy Bridge chips and Microsoft putting the finishing touches on Windows 8, this week's show was nothing if not a five-day-long wedding between two tech giants: almost every device on display here was a vehicle for showing off Microsoft's glossy new OS. At every turn, a celebration of touchscreen notebooks.

With more than 30 hands-on posts this week, we can see where one Core i5 laptop might look like the next, or how you might have failed to keep up with Jonney Shih's rapid-fire product announcements. Now that we're wrapping up here in Taiwan, though, we're ready to take a step back and think about what it is we just saw. Whether you felt overwhelmed by our wall-to-wall coverage or just need to catch up, we suggest you meet us past the break for a quick recap of all the new Ultrabooks. Oh, and if you're in the market for a new laptop, you can check your trigger-happy finger at the door. With few exceptions, we're not expecting these to go on sale until the fall, when Windows 8 is expected to start shipping.

Continue reading The Ultrabooks of Computex 2012

The Ultrabooks of Computex 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jun 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS shows off a touchscreen Zenbook Prime Ultrabook, we go fingers-on (video)

Posted on 06/06/2012 by Dana Wollman

Remember that ASUS Zenbook Prime Ultrabook we previewed last week? Yeah, it's outdated already, and you have none other than ASUS to thank. In addition to all the Ultrabooks and tablets the company announced later this week, it's also showing off a touch-enabled version of the 11-inch UX21A we tested out. What can we say? The form factor makes sense, given that Windows 8 is on the way and Microsoft is the star of this year's Computex. Other than that touchscreen, though, you won't notice any differences in the hardware: it's the same industrial design and backlit keyboard that you know and covet. And while the show floor is littered with touchscreen laptops, we will say that it's an especially welcome addition here, since the Zenbook Primes are already endowed with some of the best displays on the market: IPS quality with 1080p resolution. Touch just makes it better -- so long as you can live with the fingerprints. No word on when (or if!) this will be available, or whether we'll see a 13-inch version. Considering this was built with Windows 8 in mind, though, we'd wager it'll be a few months yet before we get clarification on all that.

Gallery: ASUS Zenbook Prime UX21A with a touchscreen (hands-on)

Continue reading ASUS shows off a touchscreen Zenbook Prime Ultrabook, we go fingers-on (video)

ASUS shows off a touchscreen Zenbook Prime Ultrabook, we go fingers-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jun 2012 01:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS Zenbook Prime bares all in teardown treatment

Posted on 05/06/2012 by Joseph Volpe

Lately, ASUS has been all show and no tell, giving consumers a preview of its leaked Zenbook Prime lineup, but no solid U.S. release. So, consumers stateside eager to mark up those sleek ultraportables with fingerprint grease will just have to make do with a peak at what lies beneath, courtesy of the folks over at AnandTech. If you count yourself amongst the impatient hordes and think gawking at pre-release hardware might help get you through the interminable wait, then be sure to click on the source below for a healthy dose of splayed component rubbernecking.

ASUS Zenbook Prime bares all in teardown treatment originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 02:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS Zenbook Prime UX21A preview

Posted on 22/05/2012 by Dana Wollman

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It was only a matter of time before ASUS refreshed its line of Ultrabooks with Intel's new Ivy Bridge chips, but the truth is, the company needed to improve a little more than just the CPU model number. If you recall, the Zenbook UX31 ushered in a modern metal design and unbeatable speed, but our enthusiasm waned after spending a week with the flat keyboard and temperamental touchpad.

Well, friends, it looks like Chairman Jonney Shih and co. were listening: the outfit is about to bring four of its leaked Zenbook Prime laptops to the US. These include the 11-inch UX21A, which you see up there, along with the 13-inch UX31A, UX32A and the UX32VD -- essentially, the UX31A with discrete graphics. Though different configurations are bound to vary, they all bring retooled, backlit keyboards, refined trackpads and, of course, Intel's third-generation Core processors. And while the lower-end UX32A is stuck with 1366 x 768 resolution, every other model -- yes, even the tiny UX21A -- will be offered with a 1080p IPS display.

In general, ASUS isn't ready to talk availability for these four models, and has not given any indication as to how much the UX21A will cost (it did reveal tentative prices for the other three). So these aren't shipping products you can buy just yet, but luckily for us, we got the chance to spend a few days with the UX21A. While we're holding off on calling this a review -- we need a price and final, production-quality unit for that -- we're good and ready to share our early thoughts. So what are you waiting for? Meet us past the break where photos, benchmark scores and detailed impressions lie in waiting.

Gallery: ASUS Zenbook Prime UX21A preview