Asus is about to release an ultra-slim laptop that is about to challenge the MacBook Air. This new Atom-powered SSD-based Asus S101 looks amazing and it is just 2.2lbs and a tapering .7 inches thin, just a bit thicker than the MacBookAir, its 10.2″ LED screen runs at WSVGA (1024×600) resolution. And with 802.11n, ethernet port, Bluetooth, multitouch trackpad, 4-in-1 card reader, 20GB of free online storage and high quality speakers, the Asus S101 packs plenty of useful features, although it only has 1GB of RAM and also appears to have the same fatal flaw as the MacBook Air, both the MBA and the Asus S101 uses a non-replaceable, 5-hour polymer battery.

The new Asus S101 is cheap enough to be exciting, prices are listed below

16GB SSD, 16GB SD, Windows XP
$699

32GB, Linux
$699

64GB, Linux
$799

From the list above, its quite obvious that that XP is not included in the better configurations. But still, if this rendering is in any way accurate, it looks like Asus may have produced another great laptop and may even prove to be a threat to Apple’s MacBook Air. [via Gizmodo]