The Asus UL20FT thin and light laptop has started shipping. The UL20FT is a 12.1 inch laptop powered by a 1.2GHz Intel Core i3-330UM processor. It runs Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. Other specifications include 2GB of memory, a 320GB hard drive and a 6-cell battery rated at 47Whr.

The UL20FT is basically an update to the UL20A. The main difference between the two models is that while the UL20A has a 1.3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor, the UL20FT ships with a next generation Core i series processor. Another difference is in the pricing. The Asus UL20A sells for about $540, whereas the UL20FT is priced at $630.

The folks at Notebook Review recently reviewed the notebook and were pretty impressed with its performance. In most tests, the laptop performed better than other thin and light laptops in the market.
The UL20FT doesn’t have a discrete graphics option. While the integrated graphics can handle HD video, it won’t be very helpful in hard core gaming.

Samsung has unveiled two new laptops in Korea. The first model called Samsung X180 has an 11.6 inch display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. It is powered by an Intel Core i3-330UM processor with Intel integrated graphics. Other specifications include 3GB of DDR3 memory and an 8850mAh battery that will reportedly power the laptop for 8.2 hours on a single charge.

The second model called Samsung X430 has a larger 14 inch display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. It is also powered by a Core i3-330UM processor. But unlike the X180, the X430 has 4GB of RAM and NVIDIA GeForce 310M discrete graphics. No word on pricing or availability outside of Korea.

The Asus UL20FT thin and light notebook will start shipping in August. Excaliber PC has started taking pre-orders for a model called Asus UL20FT-A1. It is going for $579.

The Asus UL20FT is a 12.1 inch notebook with a 1366 x 768 pixel display. It is the successor to the UL20A. Both notebooks ship with 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive and Windows 7 Home Premium. But while the UL20A has an Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 CULV processor, the UL20FT features the 1.2GHz Core i3-330UM with Turbo Boost technology.

The notebook also has 3 USB ports, headphone and mic jacks, a 0.3 megapixel webcam, a 5-in-1 card reader, Gigabit Ethernet and WiFi 802.11b/g/n WiFi. It weighs 3.3 pounds with the 6-cell, 4400mAh battery.

Acer will reportedly launch a new series of Acer Aspire 1830 notebooks in the coming months. According to a report in Blogeee, two of these laptops – the Aspire 1830T and Aspire 1830Z – will sell for about 599 Euros ($725) in France.

The Aspire 1830Z will have a Pentium U5400 dual core processor, while the 1830T will ship with a dual core Intel Core i3-330UM processor.

In related news, the Acer TravelMate TM8172 notebook is now available for $579 (with coupon code PAPA30). The TravelMate TM8172 is an 11.6 inch ultraportable notebook with an HD display. It is powered by a 1.2GHz Core i3-330UM low voltage processor. Other specifications include 2G of RAM, a 250Gb hard drive, and Windows 7 Professional.

At $579 (with the coupon code), the Acer TravelMate TM8172 is certainly good option if you are in the market for an ultraportable laptop with Core i-series processor.

Word is that Asus will soon unveil an update to its 12.1 inch UL20a notebook. The new machine will reportedly be called Asus UL20FT and it will be available with a choice of Intel’s latest ULV processors including the 1.02GHz Intel Celeron U3400 and 1.2GHz Intel Core i3-330UM. Incidentally, the Asus UL20a has a relatively slower Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor.

The Asus UL20FT is unlikely to have a dedicated graphics card.
Like the UL20a, the UL20FT will have a 12.1 inch HD display with 1366 x 768 pixels. It will reportedly support up to 4GB of RAM and up to 500GB of storage. The notebook is expected to get around 8 hours of uptime with the standard 6-cell battery. No word on pricing or availability at the moment.