Asus has prepared a full device assault to coincide with the launch of Windows 8. Tomorrow at 2PM EST the company will be unveiling their Windows 8 lineup at their Windows 8 touch teaser site. Though Asus is trying to tease the identity of the lineup (see icons below with no names) a quick look into the website source reveals the names of these devices: TaiChi, Transformer Book, Zenbook Touch, Vivo Book, and Vivo Tab (not that we couldn’t have guessed before!) [there’s also an AIO touchscreen desktop but that doesn’t really concern us!].

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Gigabyte have demonstrated their swivel-screen U2141 Ultrabook and say it will be ready soon after Windows 8 launch.  It’s an 11.6” model with much the same soul as the T1132 Booktop, a Core-based 11.6” convertible that existed outside the Ultrabook sector.

See all the Gigabyte Ultrabooks and alternatives in our database.

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Is this real? The Samsung Series 9 15” with Ivy Bridge and Windows 8, a ultrathin with Ultrabook-plus qualities that was introduced for around €1500 is showing up with Windows 8 for €999. This isn’t a one-off either. We’re seeing a number of retailers in Europe offering it, including Amazon.de. The low price includes the 13.3” version too but unfortunately the low price doesn’t seem to be appearing in the USA. Europeans might want to pounce now!

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While we continue to track down information on the ASUS U500 and Transformer Book, Vivo Book or whatever else the new Win 8 laptops might be called on October 23rd, here’s some info on ASUS S-Series S46 and S56. [For info on the S200 Touch, see here.] The four variants cover 14 and 15.6 screens with built-in and discreet graphics options. All variants have the same 1366×768 resolution and an optical drive.

All ASUS ultrabooks and ultrathins are listed here.

• ASUS S46CA – 14”, Intel HD4000 Graphics
• ASUS S46CM – 14”, Nvidia GT635M Graphics
• ASUS S56CA – 15.6”, Intel HD4000 Graphics
• ASUS S56CM – 15.6”. Nvidia GT635M Graphics

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More and more touchscreen laptops are hitting the sales channels and they’re coming in at both ends of the spectrum. The Acer Aspire V5 Touch is a good example of an Ultrabook-alternative with touch. The ASUS S200E is another. Both of these devices are available with a Core i3 CPU which pushes them into the same processing category as an Ultrabook.  The ASUS Vivobook S200E is referred to as a netbook by Amazon in Germany today.

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Sony has announced that it will be adding a touchscreen option to the company’s first Ultrabook, the Vaio T13. According to Engadget the ‘T13-2’ can be speced up quite nicely — up to a Core i7, 256GB SSD, and 8GB of RAM. Pricing doesn’t seem to be confirmed yet, but Sony mentions somewhere in the $1600 range for the aforementioned top-end model. The non-touchscreen Vaio T13 now starts at the fair price of $739; it is unclear how much the touchscreen base model will add to this starting price. The touchscreen T13 is expected to go on sale as Windows 8 launches later this month on the 26th.

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The Acer M5 Timeline U has always been something of a price-setter in the Ultrabook field so it’s no surprise to see a touchscreen enabled version launching at a $799 entry-level price.  In addition, Acer will be offering the interesting Ultrabook-alternative V5 notebook in 14 or 15 inch sizes with a touchscreen.

Acer V5 (left ) and M5 Ultrabook with touchscreen

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Look at the Amazon US Best Sellers list and wish list.  Laptops are few and far between in this and similar buy/wish/trend lists and it echoes what we see on Ultrabooknews. The market for Ultrabooks has been flat for the last three months. Today I see that PC sales are projected to fall for the first time in a very long time.

Yesterday evening I put together a Vodcast on the topic and spoke about the issues and the Windows 8 opportunity. I’ve included more detail in the article below. Video also embedded below.

• Where’s the Ultrabook Buzz? Report on market conditions
• Here’s a little inside report on SEO and performance at Ultrabooknews

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