The ASUS Zenbook U500VZ: A 15-inch Ultrabook
by Anand Lal Shimpi on August 29, 2012 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- Asus
- Zenbook
- Zenbook Prime
- Notebooks
Although most Ultrabooks have focused on the 11 and 13-inch form factors, today ASUS is announcing its first 15-inch Ultrabook. The Zenbook U500VZ measures 19.7mm at its thickest point. The display is the big attraction, and ASUS doesn't appear to disappoint with its 1080p 15-inch IPS panel. The larger size of the machine allows ASUS to incorporate a separate numeric keypad. The entire keyboard is backlit of course.
Since the design isn't ultra thin it loses the Prime suffix and is simply a Zenbook, despite having the upgraded display and new keyboard from the Zenbook Prime.
Under the hood ASUS is building in a quad-core Ivy Bridge Core i7 CPU and optional NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M. Storage options are pretty flexible thanks to the system's two 2.5" drive bays. You can get two SSDs for up to 512GB of storage, or ASUS also offers a 128GB SSD + 500GB HDD option if you want speed, capacity and value.
There are a lot of specs missing from the release but we'll add more as we get them.
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Flunk - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
No Notebook is 1800p. That is 3200x1600. The Retina Macbook Pro is "only" 2880x1800.crimson117 - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
If they can keep this at $1500 or less with a single SSD, I'll be the first in line to buy one.rscoot - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
Agreed. I would love to get something like this to replace my G51Jx.madmilk - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
It's not likely though. The Zenbooks are not much cheaper than the Macbook Airs, and this is basically a Windows Retina Macbook Pro in terms of specs, with a somewhat worse screen. I'm guessing $1700 with a 256GB SSD.Also, I wonder how good battery life is, considering the two 2.5" bays and the thin design couldn't have left much spare space.
nerd1 - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
Only 'affordable' macbooks are macbook airs and all other ones are horribly overpriced. I'm shooting for $1500.Flunk - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
I'm willing to pay $2000 but if I can get the 2x256GB model for that I'll be deliriously happy.nerd1 - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
If they can keep the price around $1500 it should be a must buy for me.wets - Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - link
all I hope is that the 650m is the GDDR5 version and not the GDDR3 version, that's the selling point for me.Heilage - Thursday, August 30, 2012 - link
I'm pretty much already sold on this with the dual drive bays. Looks to be quite portable too.choaniki - Saturday, September 1, 2012 - link
Is this the same as the S56CM? It's also listed on Asus website as a Zenbook and also has a 14" option.