Asus's Macbook Air killer U36

Have you guys seen this?? It looks really cool. Hope more info about the price will come out soon. If it's reasonable I might take this instead of a MBA.

Asus U36 super-slim latptop with 10-hour battery unveiled | T3 magazine

 

It looks like the G73's anorexic cousin.

 

Well, Asus already had in that form factor bracket the U30Jc and the U33Jc with similar specs and battery life claims of 9 and respectively 10 hours, it's just that they were 1cm thicker. Edit: Oh, and the U35Jc, 11 hours and just half a centimeter thicker.

 

Cool. The price is a bit steep though. I think I read somewhere that its going for $1375? I dont know how accurate that is.

 

Found some high-res pictures of it embedded in a French article, looks nice. They're also claiming in there that it's gonna go for $999 in the States. Beware of pop-ups on that site, though. Edit: Actually, it looks like there's a shoddy translation of that article here, minus the pop-ups.

 

It looks sharp. I wonder when it will come to market. If the price is indeed $999 in the States, i would get one.

 

Yeah that thing looks sweet. Looks a lot like my U20A... but the matte finish is a nice touch. Too bad they dropped backlit keyboards on everything but the G series, it can't really compete head to head with the Air without that.

 

no backlit keyboard

 

YouTube - ASUS U36 is the World's Thinnest Notebook with a Standard Voltage CPU

And according to engadget:
13.3-inch LED-backlit screen, Intel Core i5-460M CPU, NVIDIA GeForce 310M graphics with 1GB of memory, 2GB of system RAM, a 500GB 7200RPM hard disk, HDMI output, one USB 3.0 port, a 1.66kg weight, and Windows 7 Home Premium
can't see why they don't put 4GB of ram in there

 

I'd be surprised if they didn't put out a U36 variant with 4GB RAM sooner or later, wouldn't make much sense.

Does the backlit keyboard make that big of a difference for you? I've always thought of it as a nice, cool gimmick, but ultimately kind of redundant what with the light off the screen and touchtyping. Either way, though, the new Airs don't have backlit keyboards either, it's exclusive to the Macbook Pros on the current lineup.

 

Yikes, I didn't catch that the new Air has no backlit keyboard. That's really too bad.

Backlit keyboards do make a difference to me at least, on a full-size normal keyboard, I don't need to look at the keys, but if I'm on the couch or somewhere that's dark on my lappy, I need to see the keys for the special hotkey combinations, especially since the layouts are different between models. Both my U20 and G73 have backlit keyboards -- the U20 is a bit slower than other comparable 12" models, but it has expresscard, DVD, awesome resolution and backlit keys, so it's still the Air killer to me.

 

From the looks of the keyboard, it should be same as the standard Asus company-wide keyboard, which means the backlit keyboard swap mod should be very doable.

 

I'm not sure I'd want to take that thing apart to get at the keyboard (it looks like the keyboard is underneath the body like the U43JC for example).

Plus the keyboard mod doesn't let you change brightness unless you put an attenuator on the power cable. It's a lot of trouble.

 

Backlit or no backlit I'll take it if the price is $1000.

Can't wait for more news about it's release and availability.

 

Release for end of December

http://www.inwarehouse.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=613038

 

But it is not Sandy Bridge lineup, hmmm, not good.

 

In the website given by onthebeach77 it shows installed RAM as 4GB, but all other websites show 2GB. Jeng jeng jeng, the mystery thickens.

Like a stew that has been left too long on the stove.

 

Looks awesome, but as with many cheaper asus models, I hate the ugly right&left click buttons. If they would be matt black this design would be perfect.

 

I really don't think that Asus will be wanting to make that comparison.

MBA 13: 0.11-0.68" thick
U36: 0.75" thick
--WINNER: Macbook Air 13

MBA 13: 2.9lbs
U36: 3.7lbs w/ 8-cell
--WINNER: Macbook Air 13

MBA 13: 6h40 internet browsing battery life (approx)
U36: Based on the U33 w/ 8-cell, probably about the same
--WINNER: tie

MBA 13: Core 2 Duo, GT320M
U36: Core i3/i5, GT310M
--WINNER: split, but personally I think the upgraded GPU in the MBA matters more since it's usually going to be the bottleneck.

MBA 13: 900p, 785:1 contrast ratio LCD
U36: 768p, dull ~200:1 LCD (based on past experience)
--WINNER: MBA 13

MBA 13: SSD, 30-day standby time, instant wake-from-standby, light-speed boot, program launching and responsiveness
U36: ???
--WINNER: this is getting repetitive



Killer? More like dead on arrival.

Not to be too hard on Asus since they're in the same boat with all the other PC guys. Asus, I'd say your work is cut out for you.

 

Another laptop with gf 310 instead of Fermi GPU, for me it´s enough!i think that is much better Asus U31JG with 415 gpu.

The market needs a thin&light laptop with normal CPU,discrete GPU,usb 3.0,backlit keyboard and webcam at least 1.3 mpx.

 

The biggest differences from the u35jc seem to be the cpu, 7200rpm hard drive and the one usb 3.0 port. Is that worth the about $250 difference? Have to think about that one.

 

Its about 100 dollars more than the U35jc...unless you are buying the u35 for $700.

 

Umm... I do think you are being a little hard on the Asus, to be fair. Does the tapering shape of the Macbook Air really make it easier to carry around or fit in a bag? Otherwise, the Asus is only 2mm thicker over the Mac's thickest point. And the weight, okay, I personally don't think it makes much of a difference, but I'll give it to you that it is almost 400g heavier. But I'll have to disagree on the tech specs, I don't think people would get either of these machines with games performance in mind, and in that context I believe that a 2.4+ Ghz Core iX over a 1.86Ghz C2D would make more of an impact than a 320M over a 310M. And as for the lack of an SSD, if that French rumour was correct in placing the U36 at going for $999, that's a good $300 off the price for a baseline 13'' Air, looks like a comfy fit for budgeting in an SSD upgrade.

I'll take your word for it on the screen, from what I've seen of Apple's they do seem to be pretty bloody good as opposed to Asus' which appear to be generally regarded as fairly mediocre, but aside from that I think there's room for contest. I wouldn't call the U36 an "Air killer" off these specs, but it strikes me as pretty decent competition at first glance.

 

New NBR article over here: ASUS U36 Ultraportable Notebook Coming Soon

 

If you look at the specs table which I made, the Asus doesn't come out ahead anywhere except the CPU which is counterbalanced by the Apple's faster GPU. And the MBA 13 is not just a little ahead, it's far ahead in many of those comparisons.

And clearly Asus is counting on people caring about thinness, because the U36's hardware is identical to every other U-series laptop except the main difference is it's thinner. So if you're supposed to care about thinness, then the fact that the U36 is 680% thicker than the MBA 13 at their thinnest points really matters. And subjectively the tapered design makes the MBA feel a lot thinner.

And it's true there will be a $US300 price gap that leaves room to purchase an SSD. But you still won't get the 30-day standby time and instant-on that you get with the MBA. In my opinion that is a killer feature on its own.

For me the other problem is that the U36 isn't even competitive with Asus's own offerings. Basically, we have identical hardware as the U30/U33/35 which is now a year old design. These parts are end-of-life so why is Asus putting out another laptop now based on them? By the time the U36 ships Sandy Bridge will already be on the market. Nvidia's 400M parts are already on the market. Integrated GPU's are almost neck-and-neck with the GT310M.

But the U30Jc is going as cheap as $680 recently, while the U36 is coming out at $1000. The U35 is similarly cheap. Is a few tenths of an inch thickness (because that's the only real difference) worth +$300 price gap?

Basically I am confused why this laptop even exists. There is no reason for anyone to get excited about this laptop even if you have a serious case of newlaptop-itis. Asus product design is just wildly inconsistent. How do they go from putting out a winner like the U30Jc to following it up with actually worse designs like the U35Jc (flimsier plastic, underclocked GPU) and UL80Jt (slower Core ULV with barely any battery life improvement, mushy keyboard, underclocked GPU)? Honestly the U36 isn't horrible except it's just a year late to the party and now it's out of date.

I'd suggest to anyone looking at this model to consider getting the U31Jg or U41Jf instead. They'll be out real soon and they're going to be a lot faster with 400M GPU's. Sandy Bridge will be out in a month and will no doubt bring another pile of new SKU's from Asus. And if you really crave thinness, you're better off with a Macbook Air 13. The U36 just doesn't deserve to be on anyone's shopping list.

P.S. For anyone interested, here is a spec list and hands-on video for the U36: http://www.netbooknews.com/15023/asus-u36jc-hands-on-and-preview/

 

I love how it died right at the end of his short video review.

It looks great. I wonder if the 8 cell battery will fill in the gap between the LCD.

I'm sure we'll see more systems based on this design for SB.

 

hope it won't join ul30jt club.

 

Here is the U31Jg,

ASUS U31JG-A1 13.3" Notebook. ASUS U31JG-A1

Cheaper than the U36, a tad thicker.

u36 vs u31

CPU:

Core i5-460M (2.53GHz) Processor Vs Intel Core i3-380M (2.53GHz)

RAM:

4GB DDR3 1066MHz Memory vs 4GB DDR3 1333MHz Memory

GPU:

NVIDIA G310M 1GB DDR3 vs NVIDIA GeForce GT 415M 1GB DDR3

HD: 7200 vs 5400

1x USB3.0 no USB 3.0 on U31

U31 is a tad thicker all around.

Is the 415M that much better?

 

Even some of those review sites for the U36 dont say it has USB 3.0...

ASUS U36JC Hands On and Preview | Netbooknews - Netbooks, Netbook Reviews, Smartbooks and more

 

It has 1 USB 3.0 port, tough choice between the U36 and U31

 

I wonder why would anyone want to buy a new notebook right now, when Sandy Briide is right around the corner you can either get:

1- The faster SB processor
2- The probably on sale arrandale processor

either way its a win win scenario.

 

It's mainly a question of the graphics core. Nobody's tested the 415M yet but the stats indicate it should be about twice as fast. Meanwhile the integrated graphics chips in Sandy Bridge and Zacate are speculated to be about level with the G310M when they come.

In addition the 425M in the U41Jf is about on par with the ATI 5650.

So if you care about GPU performance the U36 is way behind. And if you don't care about GPU performance then why bother with dedicated graphics at all?

 

the SB processors are going to have much more performance than the gt310m, the desktop test done by anandtech was clear that we should have a similar performance to the 5450 desktop.

the point is that the mobile versions of SB are going to be equipped with the 12EU gpus, not the usual 6EU gpu from desktops

So yes the performance would be something similar to that test

 

Another Apple killer

 

... because there's ALWAYS something bigger, badder, faster, and cheaper right around the corner.

If you waited for "the best time" to buy, you never would. At some point, if you need a new notebook, you just have to bite the bullet and jump in.

 

Looks pretty damn good, but yeah ...4GB of RAM should be standard.

 

here below the difference between u31,u41,u36

YouTube - Asus U36, U31 and U41 hands on

 

the thing is the launch is next month and the new laptops have been spotted here and there...

the point being that the update is right there.

 

Um what?! Your a Apple lover by the looks of it. Hows that Iphone 4 of yours and the signal issues?

Now seriously how can the i5 or even the i3 be better slower than the Core 2 Duo in the air? ..... Maybe you should check some benchmarks.

 

OK, let's be nice and not derogatory to other members, folks .

He made a valid point, nicely, and I will support it. Still rather simple, and known for some time - for many current games the bottleneck in comparative gaming performance fps still remains the gpu, not the cpu ... not so much for older titles as the gpu's more easily work these, but members around all of NBR tend to be a forward-thinking bunch. It won't matter how much better the cpu is if the gpu can't push the framerate ahead of it; slightly slower cpu with better gpu will nearly always outstrip the reverse in fps.

 

thats fine but still for everyday use considering core 2 duo 1.86 is faster than i5-560m is really being silly.
yes granted 320M is faster than 310M but mac OS cant do all gaming and need to dual boot and when you are in windows all the killer features like someone mentioned(lol) instant boot,30days stand by time are lost.
btw macbook air is already outdated if the way you are looking.it doesnt have replacable battery,ram,SSD,expresscard slot,usb 3 and underpowered processor with same battery life as this U36JC.
the only thing i really like about macbook air is,its weight and screen,they are the best

 

the SSD in the macbook air is replaceable.

There wont be USB3 in any apple computers.

the replaceable battery is a non issue

The ram being soldered is a loss.

The ability to game on a macbook air is also irrelevant

 

In order:
1. In looking at just everyday uses, i.e. anything not heavy cpu-intensive, the difference in performance is going to be less than 15% which is barely noticeable to 90+% of users. The C2D in truth can't match the performance of the i5, but for the majority of things that people apply to it, it won't matter because they can't tell the difference.
2. Steam.
3. Many people don't keep their notebooks these days beyond the rated 1000 cycle recharge life of Apple batteries, which is 3-5 years depending on usage patterns. Replaceability in latter ownership becomes less relevant, and few people carry around 2nd batteries to increase their productivity.
4. 128-256GB SSD is more than enough if large media collections aren't the issue.
5. The majority of end-users haven't, and won't ever use their ExpressCard.
6. USB3 is one definite factor against the MBA.

When you buy any notebook, you're buying a package product with its inherent strengths and weaknesses. For some, the MBA package is better; for others, the Asus product with its option set is better.

Perhaps Asus with their new ultraportable lines can make some inroads into this particular market that Apple holds a commanding market share. Apple has never built their products around raw specs, which some argue is a fault; their sales figures and market share performance give some pause to that. I wouldn't buy a MBA myself, because I have different needs.

 

Any info on the U31JG-A1?

 

its on pre order on excaliberpc

 

any reviews? How much better is the GPU?

 

completely agree with this

 

Wait...is the LV processor of the MBA slightly slower than the standard voltage processor of the U36?

 

Anyone know when U36 will be on sale in Europe and for how much?

 

nah, its more than 35% slower.you ll easily notice the difference if you use MBA as your primary computer but if its secondary with no intensive tasks like photoshop then you might not.