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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KPOM - Sunday, October 23, 2011 - link
Nice review, as usual. The ASUS Zenbooks are the first credible competitors to the MacBook Air, in my opinion (far more than the Acer), in that they are nearly identically equipped, with some upgrades (faster SSD, better sound) at a lower price. Hopefully this pushes Apple a bit to do some upgrades for next year's Ivy Bridge MacBook Air (I wouldn't mind a better speaker and 6Gbps SSDs, and perhaps a small price drop for the upgraded models).C300fans - Monday, October 24, 2011 - link
I fail to see any lower price comparing with AIR.madmark4 - Thursday, November 3, 2011 - link
Seriously?Let me step you through it then:
1) Base MBA, $999. Slower processor, 64gb SSD, and 2gb ram.
2) Base UX21, $999. Faster processor, 128gb SSD, and 4gb ram.
Did you happen to see the lower prices there? I think most do.
sapi3n - Sunday, October 23, 2011 - link
my problem with this piece of hardware is in the interface. I've got a core 2 duo Asus laptop that is quite good, but the keyboard is like typing on a rope bridge, forcing me to carry an external keyboard for anything expansive. I wish this wonderful company would start with the keyboard, and work outward.twotwotwo - Sunday, October 23, 2011 - link
Sounds like you find the bad display contrast pretty maddening. Are you saying you'd advocate Windows users get a Macbook Air just because of it, though? It's $250 more (system cost + getting Windows Home Premium) plus the fuss of setting up Boot Camp, and folks might prefer the Zenbook for the better SSD, the resolution, the USB 3/VGA/HDMI/Ethernet connection options, etc. The Air seems like a choice for graphics-focused folks or people looking for *the* most premium ultraportable there is, but it doesn't seem like the shoo-in choice for a typical mobility-focused Windows user.But if the display *is* a total dealbreaker I'd love to hear more about why. A dull grey backlight bleed sounds annoying, but reflections from a glossy screen coating seem worse to me and reviewers seem to mostly accept the trend towards glossy displays. But I can't really do any comparisons since I don't have a Zenbook sitting around (or a ThinkPad X1, which seems to have the same contrast level), so your insight would be interesting here.
Does sound like a pity about the Asus's touchpad. :/
agent2099 - Sunday, October 23, 2011 - link
I'm disappointed with the maximum resolution for the microHDMI port. It only does 1900x1080 which means you cannot connect it ton a 24" monitor at native res (1900x1200). Is this just a limitation of the microHDMI port or for all intel HD graphics. For some of the other laptops out there that have full size HDMI, can you output 1900x1200 native?repoman27 - Monday, October 24, 2011 - link
The HD Graphics in 2nd Gen Intel Core processors support HDMI 1.4 features, one such feature being the Micro HDMI connector itself. Intel is a bit vague as to the maximum resolution using HDMI, although they clearly note that 2560x1600 is achievable using DisplayPort 1.1. It's odd that the spec here is for less than 1920x1200 since even HDMI 1.0 supported resolutions that high. Although 1920x1200 displays seem to be going the way of the dodo due to the onslaught of 1920x1080 "Full-HD" panels, it's still curious to see such a seemingly arbitrary limitation.Watwatwat - Monday, October 24, 2011 - link
if you are just using this anywhere, on your lap even, viewing angle becomes key, esp with such a small short display. they really dropped the ball going brighter instead of wider.rs2 - Monday, October 24, 2011 - link
Sorry, but you must be dreaming. Either that, or your requirements for labeling something "extremely responsive" have seriously been slipping. Extremely responsive doesn't mean "static content scrolls smoothly across the screen and looks pretty", it means more along the lines of "when I launch an app, I don't have to wait 5 to 10 seconds for it to load and become usable" and "I can switch easily and quickly between multiple applications, without losing my view of any of them if I so choose" and "my device doesn't need a full minute to power on from a cold start".Today's tablets are a world away from being "extremely responsive" by any reasonable set of criteria.
alxx - Monday, October 24, 2011 - link
So any chance of giving this a review with it running linux ?fedora 15 or ubuntu ?
Is it full bluetooth 4 support or limited ?
Does it support HS , low power and low energy or ???