ASUS Zenbook UX31 Review: MacBook Air Killer? Discussion

The ASUS Zenbook UX31 is one of the first "Ultrabooks" on the market -- an impossibly thin and light notebook with a beautiful high-res 13.3-inch screen, 6 hours of battery, and a price that undercuts the Apple MacBook Air.

Read the full content of this Article: ASUS Zenbook UX31 Review: MacBook Air Killer?

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This looks like a great contender to the thin-and-light category, particularly with the 1600x900 13" panel. I have a few gripes with it, though:
- Why the script typeset for the branding below the hinge? I noticed it when the UX31 was still a prototype, and was hoping they'd remove it.
- Clickpad. Wish it had traditional mouse buttons, but that's apparently becoming a rarity.
- Adapters. If it includes two, why not include at least one more for digital video? Already, though, it's far better than Apple in this regards.

Thanks for the review, Charles!

 

Thanks MidnightSun ...

Yes I noticed that italicized script on the hinge as well, it looks strange. I think with some light grit sandpaper it could be removed (not that I'd try that).

My requests - make the keyboard keys register faster, give us traditional touchpad buttons with quiet clicks. And an anti-glare screen surface.

 

No backlit keyboard in this day and age, how cheesy is that. Esp. for a notebook with this much sophistication. :lame:, just :lame:

 

I have been hearing some reports that the wireless network performance is weak. Can you comment on whether you noticed any such issues?

 

Great review Charles!
Even though you are kind of harsh
Also I understood it was a mini-vga port, can you confirm this? In the review you stated it's a (mini) display port.

Any chances we see a review of the Acer Aspire S3 soon?

 

The review has been updated to reflect a mini-VGA port. It is a very strange feature.

 

Indeed probably for people doing conferences and needing to use a projector. Those almost exclusively have VGA ports.

 

I'll leave it to Charles to give his final opinion on the wireless, but the problems that others have "might" be related to the wireless driver that shipped with the UX31.

ASUS notified us that the wireless driver was updated on the ASUS support website and we updated the driver for this review.

We always try to use the latest approved drivers on the manufacturers' websites.

 

Thanks for the review, fellas. I was waiting for some thoughts on this little guy.

 

I don't really know of many projectors that accept mini VGA, actually, I know of none. You'd need an adapter anyways, whats the difference between carrying a MiniDP to VGA around instead of a MiniVGA to VGA.

 

Fair point, I guess Asus did not believe the computer needed two digital output so they went HDMI/VGA (Digital and analog).
The mini VGA -> VGA adaptor does come in the box though.

 

With a typical TN viewing angles I'd prefer the X220 or the Air. The 138 pixel density is something to think about too.

One question how come on most of the reviews I've seen on NBR of late the specs are on page two or three? That seems an odd choice.

 

Quick question, is the X220 the only notebook of this current generation that has an IPS panel?

 

HP and Dell offer some workstation notebooks with an IPS panels, but they're quite expensive. Also there's some tablets with AFFS LCDs, but tablets have grain and are expensive too.

 

I applaud asus for putting a useable resolution in this notebook.

 

It's a recent change, I was not privy to the reason.
They either took up too much space on the first page of the review, and/or they are most relevant when talking about the actual performance of the notebook.

 

I don't see the backlight as an important feature.
How comfortable is it using the computer in the dark?
Additional lighting sucks power.
Plus most typist can 'feel' the positions of the keys or are you typing the posts with 2 fingers?
For that price I think it already looks pretty awesome on paper. I can do without the less important stuff for less money.
Stop complaining about "unimportant missing features" from Macbooks. It has better specs for less money.

 

thanks, so basically the only other notebooks with IPS panels are huge notebooks.. seems like the x220 is the only one under 14" with an IPS.

 

How comfortable is it using the computer in the dark? Is that a legit question? Let me ask you one of my own... how comfortable is it using a computer in the dark without a backlit keyboard?

It sucks more power? Well duh...that should be obvious.

Most typist? Not everyone is a 'typist' my friend. Not even everyone who went to a University for 4+ yrs.

This has nothing to do with "Macbooks" my friend. It's personal preference. Macbooks are not the only notebooks with a backlit keyboard. For instance, my Envy has one......

When I'm in the market for another notebook it has to have some standard features that at least the competition around it has. We're moving forward in time, not backwards...it's SSD, 1600 x 900 and up Res, USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt etc. etc.

I'll add another word to my previous post/statement, with a notebook with such 'style' and sophistication it should have at least that in its list of features. After all, look at the laptop (it obviously looks classy) and look at the title...it's being put up next to the Macbook....

Yes, my Envy has a 1366 x 768 display but I wouldn't have bought it if that was a big deal to me.

What's important for Jack may not be for Tom and vice versa. As stated, it's personal preference.

 

Well, certainly the tablets like the 2760p or or T731 aren't huge, though they are larger than they're non-tablets due to the tablet parts. With a tablet the touch surface adds some grain to the screen. I'd say if you don't want or need a tablet, there's no reason to get one when you can have the X220, which doesn't have that issue.

I was looking at some specs for a few notebooks and had to go to page three to get them when in the past they used to be on the first page. It kind of annoying. It seemed like the wanted to force you to read through the review to get what you wanted, which isn't really serving the interests of the readers, but I don't know the reason why.

 

We don't make changes like that without a TON of debate between the editors. We certainly didn't move the specs to force people to read more of the reviews.

The main reasons that we decided to move the specs list to the page with the performance and benchmarks are:

1) It's easier for readers to jump straight into the review if they don't have to scroll past a long list of bullet points.

2) It makes sense for the specs to be next to the performance and benchmarks.

3) SEO ... bullet lists at the beginning of our reviews weren't helping us with the latest Google algorithms.

 

I agree completely. A backlit keyboard is a must for me now that I've gotten used to it. Really nice on a long airplane flight when the lights are down, and most can be turned off to save power if that's a concern.

 

Hi, I have an ASUS Zenbook and I can't get the wireless to work at the same time as bluetooth! Is this how the computer is?

 

The wireless and Bluetooth can be used simultaneously.

Could you explain more about the problem? If the wireless is on, what happens when you try to connect to a Bluetooth device?

 

i want an ASUS Zenbook SO BADLY....every time i am at the computer store, I spend a few minutes fondling the Zenbook.

I have an ASUS N61JQ-X2 laptop with core i7, it's a GREAT machine and more powerful than the Zenbook -- but the form factor and killer design of the Zenbook just blows me away.

I will have one.....yes.....it will be mine!!!!

 

Perhaps a link to the specs at the top would be a good idea?

 

Hello guys.

I want to buy UX31 with 128SSD and I5 core, but there is one problem. I see that there are few models of same UX31. For egzample: UX31E- RY009V , UX31- RSL8, UX31- DH52, UX31- DH53. So maybe anyone knows what's the difference between all these model? As I know all these have 128SSD and I5 core proc.

 

Not sure if there is another thread commenting on this but I have a UX31 A and it does come with a back-lit keyboard. I agree with the need for a back-lit keyboard. Not really a show stopper but it is a preferred feature now for me. Too many times where I had to tilt the screen down to illuminate the keyboard in the past, lol, not anymore.

 

In all fairness a 1 1/2 year old review deserves a little respect on the past time frame. What was outstanding in the past might of lost a little. I re-read the review and like it. And the unit is what it is. I must say the improved 1080p IPS screen does rock..