Dubai: Taiwanese computer manufacturer has launched the world’s slimmest Windows tablet and an ultra-thin laptop to take on Apple’s Macbook Air and iPad Air.

The Transformer Book T300 Chi is a two-in-one (tablet/laptop combo) and measures just 7.6mm thick (tablet mode) and measures 16.5mm thick when docked with a keyboard. The iPad Air 2 measures just 6.1mm thick.

“We are investing in technologies than can make the lives of people on the go lighter and powerful. With improvements in Intel’s chip technology, more power and battery life can be added,” Leon Yu, sales director for Asus Middle East region, told Gulf News after unveiling the new models in Dubai yesterday.

He said that Asus not only focus on the technology alone but also on design, which plays an important role as people tend to carry the stand-alone devices in their hands.

The 12.5 all-aluminium unibody tablet (2560 x 1440 pixels resolution) is powered by fanless Intel Core M processor. The same processor is used in Macbook Air, and comes with 4GB RAM and 128GB solid sate drive. It is priced at Dh2,699. The 13.3-inch ZenBook measures 1.23cm thick, which is thinner than MacBook Air’s 1.31cm. It is powered by Intel Core M 1.6GHz processor and coupled with 4GB/8GB RAM and 256GB/512GB SSD storage capacity. It is priced at Dh3,999.

Yu said that Asus shipped 11 million tablets globally last year to attain fourth ranking worldwide and fifth in PCs.

According to research firm Gartner, Asus had a market share of 7.2 per cent in the PC category in 2014, registering a year-on-year growth of 9.5 per cent when compared to 6.6 per cent in 2013.

The PC industry registered a fall of 0.2 per cent to 315.86 million units in 2014 compared to 316.46 million in 2013.

He said that even though the PC market is heading down, Asus is firmly on the growth track. The company achieved more than 50 per cent increase in revenues last year.

“We were focusing more on the consumer segment and not on the commercial sector. This year, we are going to be aggressive in the commercial space and that will help us grow further even when the PC market is heading south in the region,” he said.

“Lot of educational and SMB tenders are ongoing in the region and we did not focus on it but now we will focus. We are predicting growth for the company despite the macro economic conditions in the region and expect revenues to rise around 50 per cent this year compared to last year,” he said.