While it may not take the MacBook Pro’s mantle for mind-bending thinness, Asus’ newly unveiled U36 is still mighty slim. The 13.5-inch notebook tips the scales at a little more than 3 pounds (the 13-inch Air weighs 2.9 pounds) and is 0.75 inches thick at its thickest point.

Under the hood, there’s a choice of an Intel Core i3 or i5 processor and NVIDIA Optimus graphics, but the real boon here is a four cell battery that boasts an Apple-smashing 10-hour life. The MacBook Airs only manage 7 hours at most.

Asus is being tight-lipped with price and launch details for the U36, but we’ll keep you posted. If you're intrigued though, check out the U36 pictures to see if you think it’ll win the ultra-portable war.