ASUS Zenbook Prime (UX21A) Review: The First of the 2nd Gen Ultrabooks
by Anand Lal Shimpi on May 22, 2012 2:46 PM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- CPUs
- Asus
- Ivy Bridge
- Zenbook
- Zenbook Prime
- Ultrabook
- Notebooks
Final Words
With the exception of the SSD and Windows 7's unfortunate lack of elegant DPI scaling, the Zenbook Prime is the epitome of Ultrabook perfection. It has all of the build quality that we loved about the original Zenbook, with almost none of the quirks.
The display is truly in a league of its own. Color reproduction, brightness and contrast are all exactly where they need to be. Viewing angles are similarly perfect. While the original Zenbook's panel was frustrating, the Prime's display is wonderful to look at. Whether browsing the web or watching movies, it's just awesome. The biggest question is whether or not 189 PPI is too much for you. On an 11.6-inch screen I expect that not everyone will be fond of the resolution, but if you've wanted a ton of desktop space on a small display then the new UX21 will be everything you've been hoping for. I suspect more users will be happy with the 1080p IPS panel on the 13.3-inch UX31 however. I'll try to post an update in the coming days with some Windows 8 experience to see if that makes for a better fit. Kudos again to ASUS for working very hard to be competitive in this space, despite not having the purchasing power or control over the supply chain that Apple does.
The improved keyboard, is like night and day compared to the previous version - with a backlight to boot. The trackpad is also improved, although at the risk of overusing the Apple comparison I will say that it continues to be a hair behind what Cupertino has been able to deliver. The problem there is likely a lack of control over the software stack, a benefit reserved for vertically integrated companies.
Wireless performance and functionality are both improved over the original Zenbook and are, at least on paper, equal to Apple's MacBook Air. The move to a 2x2:2 802.11n setup with 5GHz support easily doubles WiFi performance compared to the original UX21. The use of Intel's Centrino Advanced-N WiFi stack enables WiDi support, which can be very useful on a notebook.
The convenience of two USB 3.0 ports, courtesy of Intel's HM76 chipset, is a welcome improvement as well.
Overall, I'm glad to see that ASUS is focusing more on the tangibles and user experience than just on shipping well engineered products. It's hilarious that out of all of the players in the notebook and tablet spaces combined, that ASUS seems to be one of the only ones (if not the only one) actually trying to go after Apple.
While I'll save the truly final verdict for when ASUS gets me shipping hardware, chances are if you've been waiting for the perfect 11-inch Ultrabook - the Zenbook Prime UX21A is it.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
192 Comments
View All Comments
techexperience - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
So, if what I see is correct, (and anand always delivers).The only difference between the Zenbook Prime UX32 $799 and $999 is hardisk space? From 320 GB to 500 GB for $200?By the way great post, Anand, as usual.
http://techexperience.net
ReverendDC - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
I believe that the UX32 is also a little thicker, and the non-DV versions have a dedicated GPU. The hard drives are also platter, not SSD.ReverendDC - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
Sorry, the DV version comes with the dedicated GPU.Reflex - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
Likely a faster CPU as well.UrQuan3 - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
Darn, I went with a Samsung 9 last year and can't afford to replace it yet. 13.3 is too big for me and 1366x768 is too low res. 12" and 1080p would be nice. Looks like an acceptable color gamut as well.Let's not make excuses for poorly written GUIs. They should resize. Games don't have a problem with that.
I do home Microsoft catches their resolution-vs-size mistake on Metro. Last I checked, Metro used fixed sizes and used higher resolutions to put more on the screen instead of allowing app links to resize. They were assuming that high resolution screens are also physically bigger. Of course that would be awful on a small, high res screen. Anyone know if they changed that?
Stanly.ok - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
I look at official Asus slides (particularly at the top of second page) and can't help but wonder ... what kind of marketer or manager made them at the last moment instead of giving this job to a professional?!name99 - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
" In practice I saw a doubling of performance under the same conditions as the original Zenbook (80Mbps vs. ~40Mbps)."This seems really bad. You should have got a doubling from 40MHz 5GHz channels, and a doubling from 2x MIMO. Are you sure the laptop and the base station are both set up optimally (most importantly both are in Greenfield mode so they're not wasting a huge amount of time with g compatibility)?
My 3 yr old MBA gets around 13MB/s to an 18 month old AEBS, and I've seen the new MBAs get around 20MB/s to that AEBS, and I expect even better to the newest AEBS.
IntelUser2000 - Friday, May 25, 2012 - link
I think its the way Anand tests it. On and Macbook Air 2011 review he gets 117Mbps which is 14.6MB/s.dczyz - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
Since we dont have a new MX in the small form factor yet, that UX32VD-DB71 maybe what I do with. Cant wait to see a review on it.agent2099 - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
The main fault I see in this device is the VGA port. They should have included a mini display port to complement the HDMI port. That way you could run two high-resolution displays from the laptop. With my current laptop I have the HDMI out going to the television and I have the mini display port going to my 24 inch monitor.