ASUS Zenbook (UX21) Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on October 22, 2011 8:00 PM ESTIntegrated VGA Camera
ASUS integrated a VGA camera into the display bezel of the UX21. Its performance is pretty much what you'd expect for such a small sensor. Given enough light you can actually send a halfway decent image at a high frame rate to someone at the other end of a Skype call:
Unfortunately if you're not in studio lighting, both image quality and frame rate suffer tremendously. The camera is still usable, but don't expect anything wonderful out of it:
Video Out
The Zenbook UX21 features two display outputs: mini VGA and micro HDMI. ASUS supplies a dongle to conver the former into a standard female VGA connector, while you'll have to supply your own cable for the latter. Maximum display output over VGA is 1920 x 1200 while it's 1920 x 1080 over micro HDMI. I tested both outputs and they worked as expected, with quick detection and switching times between outputs.
With an external display connected the Zenbook automatically shifts into clone mode. You can cycle through notebook panel or external only configurations by hitting fn + F8. There's also a dedicated combination (fn + F7) to blank the display entirely if you want a quick way to hide what you're working on.
Networking Performance: Wireless & USB Ethernet
ASUS integrated a very small Qualcomm Atheros AR9485 802.11b/g/n WiFi solution into the UX21. Unfortunately the specs of this particular radio aren't anything to write home about. It supports only 2.4GHz and a single spatial stream, limiting its performance to 72Mbps with 20MHz channels and 150Mbps with 40MHz channels. Unfortunately Apple's AirPort Extreme only supports 40MHz channels on the 5GHz band so my testing was limited to 20MHz channels at 72Mbps. Real world performance is obviously significantly lower than that, I measured about 50-60% of the link rate for most transfers within 10 feet of the AP. That works out to be around 5MB/s over 802.11n. If you can connect using 40MHz channels however, expect to see about twice the performance. ASUS is limited by the availability of 1/4 length PCIe WiFi solutions since the Zenbook uses that form factor. Apparently a 2x2:2 version is due out next year; we'll hopefully see it in time for the second generation Zenbook.
All Zenbooks ship with a USB to Ethernet adapter, enabling 100Mbps Ethernet if you need a wired connection. Inside the dongle is a ASIX AX88772B USB Ethernet controller. The controller works quite well, and I had no problems sustaining over 90Mbps in a transfer on my local network.
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Panlion - Sunday, October 23, 2011 - link
Good call. I could not install windows using the USB 3 drive so having an USB 2 port saved me.I also think by having the power, USB3, and the 2 mini VGA and HDMI port on the same side, you have a real possibility of having a docking station like block for this notebook.
ggathagan - Monday, October 24, 2011 - link
Given that Asus does not sell this computer without an installed OS, I doubt that concern is even on their radar.DanNeely - Monday, October 24, 2011 - link
Unless you think that they've never considered how to do a restore after an SSD failure your assumption can't be true.komoornik - Sunday, October 23, 2011 - link
What about the heat and noise? No detailed tests?tipoo - Sunday, October 23, 2011 - link
Yeah, I recall Asus making some claims about this cooling system vs the "Fruit Brand" (yes they really said that) cooling system.lukarak - Sunday, October 23, 2011 - link
Then again, the first MBA was also not impressive, but that was some years ago. This is too little, too late imo.The price is competitive, but the thing is, the smaller you go with laptops, the price and what you get for it becomes less important, and the general feeling of usage starts to play a bigger role.
I know it's not easy to make a trackpad that will be as integrated into the OS like the MBxs. It's good that some gestures are making its way to other systems.
But for me, the biggest one, especially on such small screens, is the ability to swipe between multiple desktops available in OS X. That makes me work so much faster. I sometimes have 10 desktops open, and getting to them without having to use key combinations is just something i couldn't live without anymore. Even if it means paying 100 or 200 more for the same performance.
popej - Sunday, October 23, 2011 - link
I haven't noticed any info about screen type, but looking at the pictures it works like a mirror. IMHO you can't call notebook truly portable if it has glare screen. Reflections severely limit range of places, where it can be used comfortably.yzkbug - Sunday, October 23, 2011 - link
Ditto!JohnMD1022 - Sunday, October 23, 2011 - link
"ASUS elected to use torx bits instead of standard phillips heads to better match the industrial design of the system. While I appreciate the attention to detail I think I'd be happier if ASUS had stuck to standard screws."Most people, including computer geeks, don't have torx drivers around the house, as they do regular and Phillips screwdrivers.
However, a quick trip to Sears and about $5 will fix you up with the needed size.
lukarak - Sunday, October 23, 2011 - link
To be honest, that could be true 10 years ago, but now, torx (and torx security) is pretty much a standard.Now the new 'players' are tri-wing (although they started to appear in some boxed sets) and apple's pentalobe.