ASUS Zenbook (UX21) Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on October 22, 2011 8:00 PM ESTFinal Words
Given the lack of any Intel-specific Ultrabook software I'm hesitant to even call this thing an Ultrabook. There's also the fact that, at least in the case of Intel Rapid Start Technology, being more of an Ultrabook in that sense would've been a step back in performance. In fact, I see no real reason to use that brand at all—which is likely why ASUS ended up calling it a Zenbook to begin with. So how well did ASUS do with its first Ultrabook...er Zenbook? I'd say very well, but not quite perfect.
The design, aesthetics and performance are all top notch. I'm a big fan of the LV Sandy Bridge parts; I find that they deliver enough CPU performance for you to get work done without requiring a much larger chassis. I've been a vocal advocate of SSD use in OEM systems for years now so you're going to see my praise of ASUS' SSD choice quite a bit here. Although Sandy Bridge is a very fast CPU architecture, it's the ADATA SSD that actually makes the Zenbook UX21 respond so quickly whenever you ask anything of it. Boot and wake times are both incredibly quick; they are among the fastest on the market today.
The old tradeoff of IO performance for portability doesn't come anywhere near the Zenbook. The system feels fast and will likely continue to feel fast even as your Windows installation ages and is burdened by additional software thanks to this SSD. Gaming performance isn't all there but this is more of a productivity companion than anything else. Battery life is reasonable for the sort of portability you're getting. Granted it's not enough to get through a full day on a single charge, but if you regularly have access to a power outlet the Zenbook can manage.
Where the Zenbook needed to spend more time baking was in the display and trackpad departments. I prefer innovation but the display is one area where ASUS should have just blatantly copied Apple. The 11-inch MacBook Air delivers a much better overall experience. It's calibrated from the factory, has appreciably better black levels and despite a reduction in brightness compared to the UX21 it delivers a much better overall contrast ratio.
The trackpad also needs some work, although thankfully the work appears to be entirely limited to driver maturity. It's not impossible to use but it can be frustrating even if you think you've got the hang of it. The occasional high latency response and the lack of support for cursor movement with another finger resting on the pad are both unacceptable. ASUS is promising to address this quickly but I tend to recommend a wait-and-see approach whenever any magical driver fixes are on the table.
If you want me to make the inevitable MacBook Air comparison I can, but as I mentioned earlier I don't believe there's much cross-shopping that happens between Macs and PCs at the same price point. If you want OS X, the Zenbook is obviously not for you. Sure you get a bigger SSD and USB 3.0, but neither of those things give you OS X. And if you truly want Mac OS X, neither of those upgrades are big enough to make up for the loss of the OS you want to run.
Now if you don't care about OS X and just want a good, ultra-thin Windows machine the Zenbook is a viable alternative. If ASUS can fix the trackpad issues then it's worth considering, however the display in the MBA alone is reason to opt for it over the Zenbook, even for Windows use. If you're used to or don't mind typical PC notebook TN panels then the Zenbook will likely be an upgrade. It is far from the best though.
It's worth pointing out this is ASUS' first Zenbook. With a long history of making notebooks that aren't like the Zenbook, I am impressed that ASUS came this close to perfection. The issues I've outlined here are easily fixable and something I would even encourage ASUS to do sooner rather than later, perhaps in an early-design component change on the display. Sure you'd upset early adopters but if you execute the change quickly enough you have the option to satisfy many more. The rest of the notebook is really quite excellent. Perhaps Zen was too great a target for the first generation.
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losonn - Sunday, October 30, 2011 - link
Any chance the UX31's 900p display is better? Any chance of reviewing the UX31 is the future?losonn - Sunday, October 30, 2011 - link
Any chance of an UX31 review? Is the screen on the larger model any better / worse than the UX21?cab2012 - Thursday, November 3, 2011 - link
As a designer this is getting increasing more pathetic. There are many configurations and designs that can be produced without stealing other designs from a competitor who product is widely known for its industrial design. I know there is a lot of copycats, but seriously copying the style of famous Apple transformer?Oh wait it is different, its BLACK. The whole thing looks like a MBA only thunderbolt-less, and crappier graphics. Who do they think they are fooling. Only the dumb customers stupid enough to buy one of these and IT does not even have a magsafe power adapter? Who in their right mind would buy a laptop without a magsafe adapter. As someone who has an owned a laptop that was yanked off a countertop by a running dog caught up in the power cord, I would find impossible to believe that a computer laptop company would make a laptop without a magsafe adapter. Absolutely idiotic.
"While I can't quite pinpoint ASUS' source of inspiration for the Zenbook UX21's 45W power brick design, the end product looks great. Cable management is handled via a standard velcro strap and the power connector itself has an LED on it that glows orange when charging or green when fully charged. "
seriously really? blatant copying. you mean just like the connector on all mac laptops for how many years now, 6-7? Only not magsafe.
"Unfortunately It also glows green when it's not connected, which can cause confusion if you plug it in but don't push the connector in all the way. Is it fully charged or just not fully connected? Guessing is half the fun!" copycats and half-assed copycats at that. IF you going to steal others ideas, because your designers are pathetic then at least have good engineers to make the product work, but I guess that is TOO much to ask from thieves.
netmann - Sunday, November 6, 2011 - link
Asus Zenbook UX31E-DH52 with 128 GB Adata SSD and Intel i7-2677M CPU is available in UK but not in US!!! Does anyone know the reason?Also the Asus Global site has Windows 7 Pro as one of Operating System choices, but not for US!
ianken - Thursday, November 10, 2011 - link
...I'm hitting it. Asus test lab failtrain now boarding on RMA track to newegg.RAGE.
reebsauce - Sunday, November 13, 2011 - link
Does anyone know if the processor/GPU can handle HD video editing without issues? For example, I use Sony Vegas on my desktop (Core i7 860 2.8GHz, ATI Radeon HD 5700) and I'm wondering if I'll be able to do the same with the Zenbook... if so, will I be able to perform other tasks while videos are processing (like browsing the Web)?KrisB - Tuesday, January 24, 2012 - link
Does the Zenbook have the capability to close the cover and not power off when an external monitor is connected?Mateusz - Sunday, April 8, 2012 - link
To begin with you pay more than 1100 euro for this laptop1) After 4 weeks of using the power socket breaks... laptop is shutting down randomly, due to problems with socket, and battery is not charging. I have to turn around the plug and play with it, to be able to use laptop
2) I tried to return it to shop, no its not possible to return it to shop after 6 weeks, but they can replace it, by sending it to Asus, it will take approximately 1 month because there is no real service in Netherlands, and they have to send it to France.
3) Website is sometimes down, and they don't answer phone calls
4) They don't give a fuck about Linux users, answer from service is "We don't support Linux platforms" in other words "Go fuck yourself, you already paid loser".
5) Its hard to open it, it gets dirty very easy, and LCD panel is moving too loosely, and its overheating (i7). I could probably add that auto-updating tool from Asus is crashing on Windows, and some of their software runs MS-DOS command line on startup...
So currently, since its may daily working tool, I cannot afford to be without laptop for 1 month, I am waiting till it'll break totally, and than maybe I will donate it to some homeless people.
MikeWoods - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
I purchased 3 (2 for sales staff) Asus Zenbook first generation UX21E notebooks (1 I7 and 2 I5s) and have been very dissatisfied with all three. The keyboard problems are incredibly troublesome. It is difficult to type anything without missing letters or having the curser jump to other locations while typing.Would I buy again? I don't think so. Asus would have to replace all three laptops for me to ever consider buying Asus again. I do have an office full of desktop computers, all with ASUS motherboards and have been happy with the desktops.
To ASUS: if you would like to make good on these computers, you can contact me on any phone number you find at the bottom of http://www.mswoods.com.
Or, contact me by mail
Mike Woods
msWoods Real Estate, LLC
4111 Wythe Ln
Indianapolis, IN 46250