Top Gadgets: Ultrabooks, iPhone 4S Wallet Case

Asus Zenbook, Acer S3 Ultrabooks

Two new anorexic ultrabook laptops (which I explained in "Portable Computing Conundrum: iPad or 'Ultrabook'?") just went on sale: five Asus Zenbooks (pictured; $999-$1,449 depending on 11- or 13-inch screen, flash memory capacity and processor), and the Acer S3 ($899). The Asus Zenbooks measure 3mm at their thinnest point and 9mm at their thickest, are equipped with either an i5 or i7 Intel core processor, 128 or 256 GB of flash memory for storage, and can remain in standby for two weeks but still wake up in two seconds or less. Like the Asus Zenbooks, Acer's S3 weighs less than three pounds, runs on an Intel i5 processor, is equipped with a 13.3-inch screen, 20 GB of flash memory plus a 320 GB hard drive which accounts for its 13mm thickness, and can sleep for 50 days with near-instant wakefulness. Both the Asus and Acer ultrabooks are silvery metallic and pretty.