Asus Zenbook
Asus calls the ultrabooks as Zenbooks. So, what are ultrabooks then? They are very slim notebooks that are less than an inch thick and use the Core i series processors from Intel. Right now, Asus, Acer and Samsung are the three major players in the game with Asus offering the most number of models. All the new Zenbooks have a thickness of 0.11 inches and 0.67 inches at the front and back respectively.
Two Types:
- 11.6 inch models
- 13.3 inch models
The 11.6 inch models weigh in at 2.4 pounds while the 13.3 inch models weigh 2.9 pounds. All have silver alloy body and they look gorgeous. They have glass trackpads and metal keyboards. Here is a look at the specs of the models. Asus claims that all of their Zenbooks feature instant on feature that give you a resume time of just 2 seconds. The design of the zenbook make it very attractive and it could be one of the bestseller for Asus in coming months.
UX21E-DH52
Even though Acer is offering its own version of ultrabook for 900 dollars, Asus’ offering certainly looks better in terms of looks and power. It comes with 11.6 inch screen and packs 1366 x 768 pixel resolution. Inside, you will find a core i5 2467m processor and Intel HD graphics, For storage, you get 128GB solid state drive which is shock proof. Battery life is said to be amazing despite being mere 0.67 thick at its thickest point.
There is no SD card on the 11.6 inch models but you do get micro HDMI and micro VGA ports. RAM is 4GB which is nice since the entry level Macbook Air comes with non upgradable 2GB RAM. Webcam is 0.3 mega pixels and it comes with 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth as well. Oh, and there are two USB ports on it too – one is v2.0 and the other is v3.0. It will cost you 1000 dollars.
UX21E-DH71
It is similar to the UX21E-DH52 but has a more powerful Core i7 2677m processor. Other than that, there are no differences. Battery life should be the same even though the 2677 CPU packs more power than the 2467m. UX21E-DH71 will retail at 1200 dollars.
X31E-DH52
The UX31E-DH52 has a 13.3 inch display and features an amazing 1600 x 900 resolution which gives it a distinct advantage over the 2011 Macbook Air that has 1440 x 900 resolution. With the DH52, you get Core i5 2557m (notebooksnews.com) processor and a beefier 50Whr battery that will give you around 7 hours of wireless productivity.
Other notable enhancements over the 11.6 inch models include an SD card reader and 10 days of standby. With the UX21E-DH52 and UX21E-DH71, you get 7 days of standby. Storage is still the same – 128GB SSD. It will cost you 1100 dollars.
UX31E-DH53
The only difference between this and DH52 is the storage space. You get a bigger 256GB SSD that will provide you more room for storing documents. Other than that, there is no difference – not even a slightest bump in processor. It will cost you 1350 dollars.
UX31E-DH72
The DH72 is the most powerful Zenbook notebook and is Asus’ flagship model. You get the very powerful Core i 2677m processor, the same 256GB solid state drive. Like the above two, it measures 12.8 (W) x 8.8 (D) x 0.11-0.71 (H) and weighs in at 2.86 pounds. The processor and SSD significantly increases the price to 1500 dollars. If you are looking for a cheaper alternative, you also go for the Asus X101h which is a about the size of 11.6 inch model and runs on an Atom processor.