Asus U36 Launched in the UK

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Thin and light notebook computers often come with ultra-low-voltage processors to save on space and power. But this ultra-thin notebook from Asus sports a standard Intel i5 processor.

Asus got us excited about its U36 ultrathin notebook computer last December, stressing that the notebook won’t sacrifice performance in order to get size advantages. It looks like Asus has been able to do the miniaturizing, after all, as the U36 has just been launched. Specs are as follows:

• Standard-voltage Intel Core i5 processor
• Nvidia GPU with Optimus
• Asus Super Hybrid Engine
• USB 3.0
• 1366×768 13.3-inch display
• 500 GB hard drive
• Wi-Fi B/G/N
• Multi-card reader
• Weight: 1.44 kg

Asus says the U36 will feature 11.5 hours battery life. Now, this was one of the concerns that are often associated with using standard-voltage CPUs. Asus must have done some serious tweaking to ensure the U36 gets decent battery life even with the use of a standard i5 chip. One of the said modifications is the toggle option for USB 3.0. The standard battery life is actually 10 hours, but when USB 3.0 is switched off you get an extra 1.5 hours.

The Asus U36 is priced at £699 (about $1,117) and is already available from UK retailers.