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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CallumS - Saturday, October 22, 2011 - link
Looks like a brilliant design and in my opinion has better aesthetics than the MBA. What I would really like to see though is Thunderbolt or a decent alternative introduced across the line.Personally for basic web and coding I find ultra-portables perfectly capable at the task, especially with SSDs. However I would still like the option to plug in a maximum of two cables to get >FHD resolutions and everything else connected. I truly believe that including Thunderbolt was a brilliant idea for Apple. It really did open up a lot of opportunities.
BTW: Never owned a Mac and can't use OSX due to work applications. Looking for the best Windows alternative or to purchase a MBA to run Windows 7. The best alternative at the moment that I am aware of being a Thinkpad x220/x1/T420s with SSDs and docking station.
kaiedmek - Saturday, October 22, 2011 - link
A brilliant design!!! Come on, They just stole MBA design.... they didn't work on there own design, wished they did, but instead they just copied others design.To produce brilliant computer they should do their own design, so they can match the internal hardware with the design and of course the software performance.
CallumS - Sunday, October 23, 2011 - link
I never said an original design. =)I do agree though, it does look far too much like the MBA. Probably more so than the Samsung 10.1 tablet and the iPad; Which was banned here in Australia.
However there are key differences and as my post was pointing out, I believe these are to the advantage of the of the MBA; apart from aesthetics.
I think it would also be naive to suggest that the MBA was a completely original design also. There were many other notebooks with similar shapes and ambitions. Apple did however put them together very nicely though. I certainly do respect Apple's ability to accomplish such tasks.
Unfortunately not very helpful when most business applications are purely designed for the Windows environment at present. Hopefully in time we can see that change and some better innovation from Microsoft too. Windows 7 has certainly set a great foundation and Windows 8 is looking promising.
GeorgeH - Sunday, October 23, 2011 - link
Yep, without Thunderbolt and a docking station that allows more connectivity and the ability to attach a real (and hopefully upgradeable) GPU I'm just not interested. Otherwise this is just a slightly more useful tablet - an expensive niche within a niche.So here's hoping that the Ivy Bridge refresh brings a better screen, Thunderbolt, and a reasonably priced (I'm looking at you, Sony) external and upgradeable GPU.
DanNeely - Sunday, October 23, 2011 - link
It's the battery life that really disappoints me. I'd like something with more performance than my netbook; but my 1st gen models 6 hour battery never lasted me a full day at a convention.Roland00Address - Sunday, October 23, 2011 - link
I dislike the term "cells" for laptop batteries for it doesn't really tell you the capacity of the battery like the term Whr does.A 6 cell battery for a laptop would usually have a 40 Whr to 60Whr. This laptop has a 35Whr battery.
4 to 5 hours is pretty good for a 4 cell battery that is not running something dirt slow like atom
DanNeely - Sunday, October 23, 2011 - link
the runtime isn't unreasonable for the CPU+battery combination; but it's well short of what I'd need to be able to retire my netbook for something a bit speedier.netmann - Saturday, October 22, 2011 - link
Thanks for the great review as usual. Is there a chance the future update to this review would include performance comparison of Asus UX21 with 11-inch MacBook Air with Windows 7 (through Boot Camp) and OWC 6 GB/s SSD installed in it? I believe some of like the Apple hardware better than PC but prefer running Windows OS.vol7ron - Saturday, October 22, 2011 - link
Great review, two things:1) I wouldn't trust ASUS testing - thinking back to how horrible it is to contact their support, and how they had issues with their mobo's for the C2D (and so many other things)
2) It looks like the Skype images are on OSX, not Win7 :)
digitheatre - Monday, October 24, 2011 - link
It is because they want to test the UX21's video camera quality, so the screenshot is captured from MBA :P