Asus Breaks Out Zenbook U500 15-inch Ultrabook and Zenbook Prime UX21A Touch and MX Series IPS Panels

Asus is making some major announcements today as IFA Berlin approaches. Among the new products being revealed is the Asus Zenbook U500VZ, which is a particularly slim ultra-portable, and the Zenbook Prime UX21A, which has a multi-touch display. New MX Series IPS Panels are also making news this morning.

The Asus Zenbook U500VZ ultrabook.

The Zenbook U500VZ looks to have some powerful guts, including an Intel Core i7 quad-core cpu and Nvidia GT650M graphics. Your hard drive options will include a smoking dual SSD configuration (up to 512GB total storage) or combination 128GB SSD and 500GB HDD setup. All this is packed into a system no thicker than 19.7mm. The U500VZ’s HD display is pretty large for an ultra-portable at 15 inches.

Asus Zenbook Prime UX21A Touch

Thanks to the touch-friendliness of Window 8, laptops with touch displays are going to be getting a lot of attention this year. That’s where the Asus Zenbook Prime UX21A Touch comes in. The HD Super IPS+ screen has 10-point multi-touch support and is designed to have a wide viewing angle (178 degrees, according to Asus). If the viewing angle is really that good, this might be a good choice for those who do a lot of collaboration – and are OK with everybody putting their grubby fingers on the screen.

Obviously, the Prime UX21A will run Windows 8. The processor is expected to be a 3rd Gen Intel Core CPU and storage will be handled by 256GB SSD. Battery life should be strong – Asus is claiming two weeks of standby.

Asus Transformer Book

It’s worth noting that Asus also announced the Asus Transformer Book, which is a convertible notebook. Detach the screen from the keyboard and you can reattach in whichever position you need (tablet or notebook). It's slated to receive an Intel Core i7 processor and have SSD and HDD options. 

Asus Taichi

Another entry is the Taichi, which is an ultra-portable with a double-sided display. This, too is meant to give you some tablet/notebook flexibility. The display is multi-touch and also supports a stylus. The keyboard (for notebook mode) includes a backlight. Storage will be an SSD, though the capacity hasn't been announced, and the processor will be a 3rd Gen Intel Core CPU. Prices haven’t yet been announced.

Asus Designo MX279H

On the flat panel side, Asus announced the Designo MX279H and MX239H monitors, which have 27-inch and 23-inch displays, respectively. Both displays have dual HDMI inputs LED-backlit IPS displays. Asus is touting the slim profiles (14.5mm thick for the MX239H, 17.5mm for the MX279H) of the new monitors.