ASUSTeK has announced that the ASUS U3 will be available in the US. The ASUS U3 is ASUS’ latest offering in the 13.3″ widescreen sub-four pound laptop category and is based on Intel’s Santa Rosa technology. The U3 is one of the few laptops in this class to offer an intergrated GPS option.
It comes with LED-backlit display, dedicated graphics (NVIDIA 8400m with 128MB of dedicated memory), a “Piano Black” finish, and a magnesium alloy case. In addition to all of that, it comes with a couple of unique features, or rather ports: It offers both an HDMI port (for connection to HDTVs or displays with HDMI inpus) and an eSATA port (to connect to external Serial ATA – SATA drives).
Excerpt from the press release:
The golden ratio 13.3″ widescreen U3 is perfect for metropolitan professionals to stay on the move with style. From the exterior piano painted LCD cover, stainless contour and magnesium aluminum alloy housing to its genuine leather bound palm rest, the U3 reflects exceptional personal taste with unique sophistication. Based on the latest Intel® Centrino® Duo processor technology, Windows® VistaTM operating system and exclusive ASUS innovations, the U3 offers a dynamic computing experience with powerful performance.
Link: Press Release at USA.ASUS.com
Thanks to Steve for passing this along.
Update: They are not available right this moment, but should be available shortly.
THIS ARTICLE PROVIDES WRONG INFORMATION!
in the Asus website it says NOTHING about the U3 having a LED Backlit.
look for what you are posting
Steve
Two sites who have received samples and who have published hands-on reviews of the U3 claim it has an LED backlit display:
– TrustedReviews
– NotebookReview.com
On the NotebookReview hands-on, you can see how thin the display is.
It also shares many of the same components as the ASUS U1 / U1F which has an LED-backlit display.
It could very well be that TrustedReviews and NotebookReview.com were provided with engineering samples, and that the option for LED-backlit displays is going to be removed before they are available for customers to buy – if you have any information about this, please let us know – you can contact us at small.laptops@gmail.com or through our contact page.
We try to provide correct information, and are constantly updating our site as people contact us with it.
Thanks
Dan
avilable in the US – where??
no store seem to sell it.
Unfortunately, you’ll probably have to go through an online retailer like Amazon
or even a smaller one like Directron
Both of those show the ASUS U1F, which is a good sign, as the U1 series was announced just ahead of the U3.
Best Buy and a few other retailers do carry ASUS laptops (and Best Buy even has the U1F), however most carry a very limited selection of ASUS products, as well as most carry few laptops in the 13″ and smaller range. We’ve had theories about why that is – that they don’t think people are interested in small laptops, or that shelf space is limited, so they carry only laptops they expect to move a lot of units.
Although the forums are quiet, you can try posting in the news forum and ask if anybody knows of any companies selling these.
– Dan