ASUS Zenbook (UX21) Review

Final 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.