Asus intros Air-style U series

12, 13, 14 and 15in screen options

By Tony Smith • Get more from this author

5th May 2009 11:26 GMT

Even though the release of the super-slim 10in Eee PC 1008HA is imminent, Asus today announced three more of the MacBook Air-like laptops, this time with larger displays and 'grown up' processors.

Dubbed the U series, the line-up comprises a 12.1in design, a second with a 14in screen and a third with a 15.6in panel. All three will be made available - when, Asus didn't say - with a selection of Celeron, Pentium and Core 2 processors to choose from.

Asus U series: Air-style design, many more options

Some models will use integrated graphics cores - Intel's GMA 4500MHD - while the others will be equipped with Nvidia's GeForce G 105M GPU or AMD's ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570, both with 512MB of video memory.

They all come with 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR. Altec Lansing speakers featuring SRS Premium Sound, plus big hard drives, up to 4GB of 800MHz DDR 2 memory, and DVD writers complete the specs.

Some models will include backlit keyboards and "interactive" touchpads - presumably pads with integrated display panels, though Asus didn't elaborate.

The laptops will come with a variety of versions of Vista, but they'll also include Linux, in the form of Asus' Express Gate quick-boot sub-OS.

There's no word yet on UK availability or pricing. ®