Two sleek new products have already emerged from ASUS’s stable this New Year. Both of the devices run full-fat Windows 8 to appeal to casual users and content creators. There’s a tablet called the ASUS VivoTab Smart Tablet based upon the Intel® Atom™ Z2760 CPU and a laptop called the ASUS Zenbook Touch U500VZ with an Intel® Core i7 - 3632QM and a capacitive touch screen. Both of these devices seem to have appeared on the ASUS website without much fanfare. Let’s have a closer look at each of them in turn...
ASUS VivoTab Smart Tablet
Edwin Kee at Ubergizmo brought my attention to the newly released ASUS VivoTab Smart Tablet which is powered by an Intel® Atom™ Z2760 CPU and can be bought with a ZENBOOK-style mobile dock. Due to its installation of the full Windows 8 OS and the availability of a mobile keyboard docking accessory ASUS claim the VivoTab is “your ideal companion for work and play”.
You can read the full specifications of the VivoTab and Dock here but I have typed up a summary of the key specs below.
ASUS VivoTab Smart Tablet Specs
|
CPU |
Intel® Atom™ Z2760 1.8 GHz |
|
Display |
11.6-inch WXGA (1366 × 768) Screen, Corning Fit Glass, Super IPS+ display with 178 degree viewing angles, 5-point multi-touch |
|
Storage |
64GB eMMC |
|
Networking |
WLAN 802.11 b/g/n at 2.4GHz, Bluetooth V4.0 |
|
Camera |
8MP back camera, 2MP front camera |
|
Audio |
Quad-speakers |
|
Battery |
10.5 hours or 19 hours with optional dock |
|
Dimensions |
295x189x8.7mm, weighs in at 675g |
The dock accessory looks like a great addition as it boosts the battery life of the unit, provides extra connectivity and also provides a Wacom digitiser stylus.
ASUS Zenbook Touch U500VZ
The 15-inch touch-screen enabled Zenbook Touch U500VZ has just appeared on the company’s website and Engadget explain it to be a ZENBOOK UX51VZ that has been fitted with a touch panel. The spec of this laptop is very attractive and it has the looks to match. ASUS describe the ZENBOOK Touch U500VZ as the “Top of the line pushed further” and claim a user can “Get more done at speeds that leave the rest behind.”
ASUS Zenbook Touch U500VZ Specs
|
CPU |
Intel® Core™ i7 3632QM/3612QM Processor, paired with 4GB RAM |
|
Display |
15-inch 16:9 HD with EWV (1366 x 768) /IPS FHD (1920x1080) LED Backlight anti-glare |
|
Graphics |
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 650M 2GB GDDR5 VRAM, HD web cam |
|
Storage |
SSD/ HDD Hybrid options or RAID0 SSD options |
|
Interfaces |
1 x COMBO audio jack, 3 x USB 3.0 port(s), 1 x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert, 1 x HDMI, 1 x Mini VGA, 1 x SD card reader |
|
Networking |
Integrated 802.11 a/g/n, Built-in Bluetooth™ V4.0 |
|
Audio |
Built-in Speakers And Microphone, Bang & Olufsen ICEpower®, Additional subwoofer |
|
Battery |
8Cells 4750 mAh 70 Whrs Polymer Battery |
|
Dimensions |
380 x 254.5 x 6 ~19.7 mm (WxDxH), weighs in at just over 2Kg |
This notebook has “incredible visuals, incredible beauty, incredible performance and incredible sound” but we don’t as yet know if it has an incredible price or the release date/availability. Read more about it on the official ASUS website here.
