The AsusPro B9440 was on display at the CES 2017 but earmarked for a May launch / availability, according to various sources. Last week it launched in Taiwan, and on Sunday Asus published a launch video guiding us visually through the main attractions and specs of this desirable business laptop.
Billed as the "world's lightest 14-inch business laptop," the AsusPro B9440 packs a FHD 14-inch screen in a 13-inch chassis (321.3 x 216.2 x 8.9 ~15 mm) and weighs just 1.05Kg (2.31 lbs) - great for portability. Though it is light and slim the B9440 is built to resist moderate knocks and other stresses business travellers might put their laptops under. For example it is "built with enterprise durability in a tough all-metal chassis crafted from Magnesium alloy." Furthermore it has passed various MIL-STD 810G grade tests and Asus' own standard testing for drops, hinge wear, panel pressure, spill resistance, keyboard durability, EM interference, altitude, and acoustic extremes.
Central to this laptop is its FHD wide-view anti-glare panel with 5.4mm bezel. That's what lets the machine rival the proportions of a 13-inch business laptop. As you will see in the video, opening the clamshell and placing the laptop on a desk provides a seven degree tilt to the keyboard for improved typing angles. This backlit chiclet keyboard features 1.5mm key travel and a 19.05mm key pitch.
Inside you have a choice of five Kaby Lake processors from the i3 7100U up to the i7 7600U vPro. Intel integrated HD Graphics 620 are there to push your pixels around. Users can choose between 8 or 16GB of RAM, up to 1TB PCIe gen 3.0 storage. Other key specifications are; integrated 802.11a/b/g/n/ac(2x2), BT 4.1, built-in stereo speakers and array mic, 2x USB 3.0 Type-C connectors (one with display and power delivery support - that's how you power/charge this laptop), a TPM, and a fingerprint reader.
If you are worried about connectivity being 'light' there's a SimPro Dock (pictured below) being made available with plenty of ports, as follows:
- 1 x VGA D-Sub video out
- 2 x Display Port video out (resolution up to FHD 1920x1080 @ 60Hz)
- 1 x HDMI video out
- 1 x Headphone / speaker out
- 4 x USB Type-A ports: 2x USB 3.0 (rear) and 2x USB 3.0 with fast charging support (front)
- 1 x USB Type-C: USB 3.1 Gen 1
- 1 x RJ45 Ethernet port
- 1 x SD card reader
- 1 x AC power adapter port
A 48Whr battery provides up to 10 hours of battery life and can be fast-charged up to 50 per cent full in 30 minutes. You will note that this laptop lacks a webcam but these are easy USB accessories to add should you want one.
For pricing we can only look to Taiwan for now, where a Core i5 version costs NT$40,900 (£1,080) and a Core i7 version is NT$52,900 (£1,400).
