ASUS Zenbook – Final Review Thoughts

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Posted on November 6, 2011 by ASUS Zenbook

My Final Thoughts on ASUS Zenbook

The Macbook Air has been on the market unchallenged for quite some time, and Intel has finally decided to push for ultra thin, light, yet portable Windows notebooks to the market. ASUS is one of the first partners onboard, with the recently released ASUS Zenbook. Let’s take a look to see if the ASUS Zenbook lives up to its hype of being a true Windows competitor to the Macbook Air.

ASUS Zenbook Design & Construction

The ASUS Zenbook was designed in a manner that would surely catch your eye. It comes in two versions – the 11-inch UX21 and the 13-inch UX31 version. Both models weigh less than 1.3 kilograms, which makes it very ideal for those who are considering bringing it everywhere they go. The exterior body is made with a gorgeous spun aluminum that not only looks awesome, but also is durable and prevents fingerprints.

The screen of the ASUS Zenbook uses LED-backlighting technology, which not only produces incredibly bright and vibrant images, but also is great on battery life. The 11-inch and 13-inch versions have resolutions of 1366 by 768 pixels and 1600 by 900 pixels respectively. These are some of the highest pixel densities we have seen on ultrabooks, which is fantastic. I really like the fact that ASUS chose to go with a higher resolution display in order to differentiate itself from the competitors, including the Macbook Air and other ultrabooks on the market.

Keyboard & Touchpad

The design of the keyboard & touchpad is quite stylish. It is something that people who want their portable notebooks to jive with their style would love. All of the keys are incredibly durable as they are made out of aluminum. The touch pad is also huge for all of your multi-touch needs.

Even though the keyboard is full sized and the touchpad is extra large, there are some minor issues. First, even though the aluminum keyboard looks stylish and is durable, it’s not the most comfortable keyboard to type on. The travel distance of the keys is short, which makes it easy to make mistakes during typing. Also, the keyboard is not backlit, which for me isn’t a huge deal, but definitely a strike down compared to the Macbook Air. Finally, there seems to be some initial issues with the touchpad driver that makes the touchpad jittery; however, ASUS has acknowledge this problem and promised a software fix.

Performance of ASUS Zenbook

When it comes to raw performance, the ASUS Zenbook is a pure win. Hands down. It is the fastest ultrabook on the market, beating both the Macbook Air as well as Acer S3.

Inside, the Zenbook is equipped with Intel’s latest low voltage processors, either an Intel Core i5 or i7. The clock-speed is between 1.6 GHz to 18 GHz. The base configured processor is already faster than the Macbook Air’s equipment. This makes the ASUS Zenbook incredibly smooth and fast.

Rather than using the traditional hard-drives, the ASUS Zenbook opted to go entirely with Solid State Drives (SSD). This is just like the Macbook Air, and truly lives up to the moniker of “Ultrabook.” The 13-inch UX31 comes with a whooping internal SSD capacity of 256 GB, while the smaller 11-inch UX21 is configured with a 128 GB SSD. This should be adequate room for all of your music, pictures, videos, and programs. This is a machine used on the go, so a huge storage capacity is not expected.

The ASUS Zenbook also blows the competition out of the water when it comes to battery life. ASUS’ proprietary SUPER HYBRID ENGINE really helps in the battery department. The 11-inch UX21 can last for 5 hours with continual use, while the 13-inch UX31 can be used for up to 7 hours. The stand-by time capacities of these ultrabooks are also quite impressive. The 13-inch UX31 can last for 10 days while the 11-inch UX21 can last for a week.

ASUS Zenbook Conclusion

Despite minor annoyances, my final thought is that the ASUS Zenbook is truly a worthy Windows competitor to the Macbook Air. It’s one of the best-designed ultrabooks we’ve seen to date, and offers a very attractive package in terms of performance and price.

Check out more ASUS Zenbook Reviews!

Troubleshooting ASUS Zenbook – Fixes

Posted on October 29, 2011 by ASUS Zenbook

Since the ASUS Zenbook is a relatively new product, various issues have been reported by users, ranging from touchpad issues to Wi-Fi connectivity. I went ahead and compiled a list of the most commonly known issues for the ASUS Zenbook, including both the UX21 and UX31 versions. If you have any questions that cannot be resolved from the post below, please do feel free to post in the comment section and I will do my best to help you out.

Poor Wi-Fi- Performance on ASUS Zenbook

Many users have reported Wi-Fi connectivity issues with the ASUS Zenbook, ranging from not being able to connect at all to very slow transfer rates. It seems like this issue mostly occurs when the ultrabook is on battery, and doesn’t seem to be a problem when it is plugged in.

The culprit appears to be ASUS Zenbook’s Power4Gear software, which manages the power settings for the entire system. When the Zenbook is on battery power, the Power4Gear software automatically kicks in to manage the amount of power sent to the wireless chip in your Zenbook. Technically this should save you battery without impacting performance, but I think ASUS is still in the process of improving this program. What happens right now is that when you go on battery, not enough power is supplied to the wireless chip, which in turn causes disconnection or poor Wi-Fi speeds.

All you need to do to fix this issue is go into the power profiles, and select Maximum Performance. This will ensure that even when on battery, your ASUS Zenbook supplies enough power to the wireless chip for Wi-Fi to function properly.

Please do note that unchecking “Allow Windows to Turn Off this Device to Save Power” won’t help in this situation. The Power4Gear software overrides the default Windows function.

ASUS Zenbook Unresponsive or Slow Touchpad

If you feel the touchpad of the ASUS Zenbook is slow or unresponsive, you are not alone. Fortunately, this issue is completely software related, and ASUS has been releasing fixes and patches. If you are experiencing problems, please head over to the official ASUS website and look for drivers for your Zenbook (UX21 or UX31). Find the latest touchpad driver and install it. That should technically resolve the problems.

Any Other Issues with ASUS Zenbook

If you have any other issues with your Zenbook that’s not described above, make sure to update your BIOS to the latest version. Since this ultrabook is a very important product in both ASUS and Intel’s lineup, ASUS has been doing a fantastic job at releasing new versions and patches to fix and improve the performance of the machine. At any time when you have issues, check the ASUS drivers download page to make sure you are running the latest version of the BIOS. If not, update it yourself. ASUS provides pretty easy tools to use for this purpose.

That’s it! Hopefully the above was informative for you. If you have any other questions about your ASUS Zenbook, feel free to leave them in the comment section below.

ASUS Zenbook v.s. The Competition

Posted on October 22, 2011 by ASUS Zenbook

In today’s tech world, there is a need for constant innovation – as that is the only way for a computer company to stay in business. And once again, it appears that ASUS and Intel will not disappoint. The newly released ASUS Zenbook is set to make waves in the industry. It is one of the first true Windows ultrabooks in the market that would give the more prominent brands a run for its money (think Apple’s Macbook Air).

ASUS Zenbook – The Pros and Cons
One major advantage of the ASUS Zenbook is it’s one of the most mobile (yet powerful) Windows ultra-portable laptops. There are two versions: the 11-inch UX21 and the 13-inch UX31. What’s amazing is that neither of these exceed one inch in thickness and they really take Windows ultraportable laptops to new heights. The UX21 weighs as little as .9 kg while the UX31 weighs 1.3 kg. How’s that for mobility?

Another good thing about the Zenbook is its brilliant display. It uses LED technology and has a whopping 1600 x 900 resolution. This is the highest resolution among all laptops in its class, and is great for games and movies.

In terms of design, the Zenbook does not disappoint – it is one stylish gadget. The look is sleek and sexy – what with its aluminum chassis and chiclet style keyboard.

What’s even better is that the Zenbook isn’t slow like netbooks are. Not only is it ultraportable and stylish, it is also a high-performance gadget. The Zenbook is configured with a powerful Intel 1.8 GHz Core i5 or i7, with a 4GB DDR3 memory. With that spec, multitasking is an absolute breeze, even with resource intensive software applications.

The ASUS Zenbook isn’t perfect though. There is no backlit keyboard like its competitors. Also, ASUS wasn’t able to undercut Apple in terms of pricing, which many people were hoping the company would do. This is also ASUS’ first attempt at the ultrabook, and some people have reported glitches with the touchpad driver. However, ASUS did make a statement saying they will release a software fix.

ASUS Zenbook vs Macbook Air

Other than the obvious difference of one running Windows and the other running Mac OS X, there are a few spec differences. The Zenbook comes with a bigger storage capacity. It has 128/256 GB storage compared to the Macbook’s 64 GB. There is also a huge difference between memories as the Macbook Air starts off with 2 GB while the ASUS Zenbook starts with 4 GB. The difference in memory is a pretty big factor when it comes to performance.

ASUS Zenbook vs Acer S3

The Acer S3 does win in the price department, but looks pretty ugly in my opinion. Also, unlike the ASUS Zenbook and Macbook Air, which fully uses solid state drives, the Acer S3 actually still uses conventional hard disks. This is horrible because hard disks are much more prone to failure, especially when moved around. Nonetheless, if you want to save money, Acer S3 is the clear winner.

Looking Forward to My ASUS Zenbook

Posted on October 19, 2011 by ASUS Zenbook

The all-new ASUS Zenbook really has some impressive features and specs, so there really is no wonder why so many tech websites are talking about this new gadget. As a matter of fact, I am really looking forward to using one. Hopefully it won’t disappoint.

For its size and price range, the ASUS Zenbook has fantastic storage capacity. The 11-inch version has a 128GB SSD while the 13-inch version has a 256GB SSD – and that is more than enough disk space for applications, documents, hundreds of music files, and quite a number of my favorite movies. The SSD means there are no moving parts in the storage device, which also means I don’t need to worry about damages.

One thing that I’m really looking forward to is the ASUS Zenbook’s portability. Sure, laptops or netbooks have always been built for portability, but the performance to portability ratio has been poor. You can carry around a powerful laptop that weighs around 5-lb to 6-lb, which is backbreaking heavy. Or, you can carry a netbook that is really light, but offers you horrible performance. The Zenbook only weighs around 1.3 kgs, so it’s very similar in weight compared to a netbook; however, it’s also powerful at the same time so I can actually get stuff done when I’m on the go.

With such portability, I think this machine will become my main computer. My job (as most jobs) requires me to travel frequently and conduct presentations. With the ASUS Zenbook, I should be able to do that with ease. In terms of mobility and performance for a Windows machine, there aren’t any better alternatives.

Data transfer is also seems easy with the ASUS Zenbook. The single USB 3.0 is going to be blazing fast, though I really wish they would have made both of the USB ports 3.0. As it stands, we are still stuck with a slower USB 2.0. Of course, the Zenbook also comes with standard connectivity options such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Card Reader.

Finally, in the entertainment department, the ASUS Zenbook can give any notebook computer of its size and price range some very tough competition. ASUS equipped this baby with some wicked speakers, and a lot of reviewers have been impressed by the sound quality such a thin laptop can put out. Go and check out some YouTube videos showing you how great this ultrabook sounds.

Let’s hope the ASUS Zenbook lives up to the hype! Can’t wait to receive mine in the mail.

ASUS Zenbook – How it Feels in Your Hands

Posted on October 14, 2011 by ASUS Zenbook

Many of you won’t have a chance to see the ASUS Zenbook before you purchase it online, so let me tell you how it feels in the hands; I had a chance to play around with one.

ASUS Zenbook Aluminum

Both the UX21 and UX31 are made almost completely out of anodized aluminum, which feels very solid and cold in your hands. Aluminum is great because not only is it strong and light, it’s also fingerprint proof. The one thing I hate most is having fingerprint grease all over my gadgets, but that’s not a problem here. The exterior of the Zenbook doesn’t attract fingerprints at all.

UX21 & UX31 Thinness

Even though one model is 11 inches, and the other is 13 inches, they are basically the same thinness. One just has a bigger screen. The ASUS Zenbook has a wedge design, starting with the back being thicker and tapering down to extreme thinness at the front. This looks really cool, but also makes it kind of hard to open your screen. You really have to concentrate and “peel” open the ultrabook. You have to jam your fingers in there.

Zenbook Weight

Weighing in at 2.4lb or 2.9lb, depending on which size you get (11 inch vs 13 inch), this is a fairly light machine. Definitely not as light as it looks, but light enough so you can easily hold it with 2 fingers. I think some people may be turned off by the fact that it’s not as light as it looks, but I feel the weight gives this ultrabook a very premium and solid touch. It just feels like you are holding something important in your hands.

ASUS Zenbook Keyboard

When I initially saw the all-aluminum keyboard on the ASUS Zenbook, I thought it might be too slippery to type on comfortably. However, after using it a few times, I can confirm that it actually feels pretty good. Not slippery at all like I thought it would be. Obviously not the most comfortable keyboard in the world, but for an ultrabook, pretty darn good.

Welcome to ASUS Zenbook dot net

Posted on October 12, 2011 by ASUS Zenbook

As you all know, ASUS today announced their new line-up of ultrabooks, curiously named ASUS Zenbook. The Zenbook comes in two flavours, the UX21 and UX31. They differ in screen size (11 inch versus 13 inch), as well as specs.

Regardless of the (somewhat) weird name, I’m pretty darn excited. Been waiting for this for awhile…finally a promising Macbook Air replacement! (the Acer ones suck big time).

Going to order one and detail my thoughts soon.