Review: Asus UX31 Zenbook

Review: Asus UX31 Zenbook

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Zenbook Asus UX31 is one of the first laptops to follow Intel's Ultra-Book specifications.

And immediately, we will tell you - it is neck and neck with Apple MacBook Air in the battle for the title of Best Luxury ultra-portable.

More competition is coming, but in the form of the Lenovo IdeaPad U300 S, S3 Acer Aspire and potentially others from the likes of Dell and HP.

Back to the present, and if Asus has done a great job with the design of Zenbook - while recognizing that the designer has taken more of a leer first ultraportable Apple.

13-inch Zenbook has a great view. When closed, the wedge-shaped laptop measures 17 mm in its thickest point, and only 3 millimeters thinner.

The silver foil cover, has a distinctive pattern of concentric circles that intercepts and reflects the ambient light. Worthy of the name, finishing simple, elegant Zenbook gives a sleek look that continues to improve as soon as you lift the lid.

The ethics of design is in evidence earlier than that, though - it's a wonderful experience that you open the box while the Asus has also included a Mini Display port D-Sub adapter and a USB port to Ethernet driver as well. Both are in their own little bag. Even better, you can even get a sleeve to fit your Zenbook in the box.

The same idea extends even to the Intel Pentium processor and Windows 7 stickers. We wonder who it was who suggested that they were in silver and black - Intel? Asus? - But he that makes a difference.

Technical

Outward elegance Zenbook UX31 is certainly not in the power accordingly. Currently, there are two versions available, our test model is the Core i7 2677M, when there is also a Core i5-2467M processor variant.

Our test version of Windows 7 Home Premium, while the Asus specifications sheet, it seems that the professional is also available, should I say to you requirement.

For those looking for smaller laptop, there is a 11.6-inch UX21 version costs £ 849 We will review that separately as soon as we get your hands on one.

You have 4 GB of RAM on all models 13 inches and a disc of 128 or 256 GB (SSD). Our test model had a 128 GB disk under the hood, and as we were using a large number, we managed to fill most of these applications and files you do not have time. This is a performance of the machine and you may find the desire for greater capacity.

Isolation-style keyboard is front and center on the inside Zenbook no additional space such as hotkeys, volume control, numeric keypads, or even a separate mouse buttons.

From the beginning is so thin, there is very little depth of each key. I must say that initially, this may be repulsive, especially if you're used to hammering e-mail - but in a short time to write Zenbook becomes second nature.

We found the direction of the arrows and the enter key is a bit 'on the small side, but not enough to interfere with the extended typing sessions.

There is no backlight on the keyboard - like the MacBook Air and other competitors such as Samsung Series 9 they have. It's a shame what is missing here.

Besides the keyboard, Asus has included a large central touch panel. We had doubts about the integrated buttons and the lack of a textured surface at first, but they were quickly buried.

The reaction is fast and due to the larger size, it is possible to use your thumb on the trackpad without removing his hands from typing position. Occasionally, you may brush the touchpad while typing, but it is a rare event.

But we really do not like the mouse buttons. Touch is not very practical, so that it can be difficult to make choices or more presses. Things could be much better here.

Another notable feature is the external speaker Zenbook that runs through the base of the 13.3-inch 1600 x 900 16:09 Super-TFT. Developed by Bang & Olufsen ICEpower and calls, the speaker is built-in supervised by Asus SonicMaster balance techcalled keepthe again.

Zenbook hit an impressive volume of high disintegrating into a pitiful high, low, or fuzzy. It looked awesome so we need a big office, at home, fully furnished room.

For the record, there is also a 0.3-megapixel webcam for video conferencing or Skype.

Zenbook weighs 1.4 kg, exactly the same as the 13.1-inch MacBook Air. It 'barely perceptible when the day is done, and why the slim design, which does not take up too much space in your bag.

Fortunately, Asus has not met with too Zenbook program, but the engine is not a Live Update keeps coming annoying messages in the taskbar, there is a good gadget for battery life (very useful, but remains in the system tray) and backup tools and web camera application.

We are sure that there are some people who think it's nice to have this stuff, but we are not among them. Also, a lot of software is simply useless.

And then there's the chart that appears to increase the volume, change the brightness or change the power mode. To be honest, they are horribly ugly, and that simply are not impressed.

It's a pity the same attention was paid to the exterior design has not been paid allowances within the operating system.

Performance

Radar Tech Labs

Cinebench 10, 8726

3D Mark '06: 3623

Battery Eater '05: 253 minutes

The two processors in the family 13-inch second-generation Intel Bridge sand and serve Zenbook can easily handle multitasking and demanding applications varioius multi-screen with the Sandy Bridge chips' built-in HD 3000 graphics capabilities.

But. the absence of non-dedicated graphics from AMD or Nvidia hit in the exercise of Zenbook pocket - hence our relatively low score in 3D Mark.

We felt the display was not the best - dark colors, especially the blacks look a bit 'faded - but the definition is good. We found the viewing angle was not great to watch the video and work alongside others.

Speed ​​clearly is the heart of the mountains and ultrabook Zenbook is no exception. Function means that you can instantly be up and running in just two seconds from sleep mode and expects the strike for two weeks on a single charge.

Core i7 unit offered here, performed brilliantly and was able to handle multiple browsers, Outlook and Word 2010, Spotify, FileZilla and image editing applications all in parallel. It is, you really can do what you want when you want.

There were a couple of times when we learned that was not the case - on several occasions during the power to change suddenly the states (for example, disconnect the charger) means that the whole system seemed difficult to s' adapter - has become slow and navigation had to leave the system completely calm. In addition, we found that the use of more intensive applications could make things hang up - cargo handling images in Microsoft Publisher, for example.

While the heavy use in our tests, the battery lasted an impressive 253 minutes Zenbook. And when the battery does not drop below 5 percent, Zenbook will automatically save all files so you will lose their jobs when the machine turns off.

The battery may appear to be draining fast enough when you do all the tasks in the high performance, but the energy saving mode frugal this is positive, about six hours if you are careful. Asus cites seven, but not use it to get it. Therefore, not the scene of the daily life of the battery, but we are getting.

The slim design means that the physical connectivity is not as abundant as regular laptops, but there is enough space here to respond to most users.

Asus has included two USB ports, one is USB 3.0 and a SD card slot and a mini HDMI and mini DislayPort to connect to a TV or monitor ultrabok. The Zenbook also Wi-Fi 802.11n and Bluetooth 4.0 wireless connectivity revolution.

A good relationship?

Although the 13.3-inch Zenbook set you back £ 999, that's not 100 pounds less than the price of MacBook Air 13.3-inch.

Asus has also fitted with 11.6-inch model of the price of Apple MacBook Air as a smaller £ 849 Taking into account the factor of technology and form, the starting price point of less than one thousand pounds is a good value for money - especially if one takes into account other similar ultraportables have cost up to £ 1,500 in the past.

Opinion

Overall we were very impressed with Asus Zenbook. Neither the power nor portability has been sacrificed in pursuit of others and functions that traditionally suffer, such as sound quality and battery life were not neglected.

Battery life, in particular, there is a concern, usually the Zenbook, but make sure it is in the correct power state - running on high performance means that the system of the flies - but it has a cost. For most purposes, operating in power save mode is more than enough.

We liked

There is much more of this laptop. This is a true ultraportable PCs - the design is fantastic and it's going to stink.

A good design can only come into their own when there is match the performance. And it's all there in abundance.

Instant sleep and resume exactly what you want in a laptop like this and you'll quickly adapt to never close. Unless it is. Windows will install the updates!

We hated

There is surprisingly little Zenbook we have, but I must say that the trackpad button on the grid in particular. I'm really terrible and the fact that the mouse should work seriously.

The keyboard takes some 'getting used to, and not as good as many - but you can quickly take note of it and it does not matter too much. The lack of backlighting is also a problem.

Graphics performance could be better, but we realize that is a bit 'unrealistic for this type of machine - were also big fans of the display.

Finally, we can say the design - but fantastic - is quite derivative. However, unless you're a monster design real you'll almost certainly find that you are not bothered.

Opinion

Although the price may prevent you from buying Zenbook, we have no problem recommending one of the best ultraportables we've seen.

This is certainly a match for the MacBook Air impressive - and a real tonic for those who wanted a performanceWindowsultraportable at a price that does not require a remortgage. Yes it is expensive. But it's worth.