/* Newly cheap laptops, netbooks, computers: ASUS Zenbook UX21E DH71 Thin Light Ultrabook */

Sunday, November 20, 2011

ASUS Zenbook UX21E DH71 Thin Light Ultrabook

ASUS Zenbook UX21E-DH71 11.6-Inch Thin and Light Ultrabook (Silver Aluminum)







Brand ASUS

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Product Features
* 11.6" (1366x768) HD LED / Intel Core i7-2677M Dual Core (1.8GHz) / .67" Thin and Only 2.42lbs Light
* 4GB DDR3 RAM / 128GB SSD / Windows 7 Home Premium (64bit) / 802.11BGN
* 0.3M Pixel / Bluetooth 4.0 / 1 USB 3.0 Port / 1 USB 2.0 Port / Micro HDMI Port
* 1YR Global Warranty / 1YR Accidental Damage Protection / 30-Day Zero Bright Dot / 24-7 Tech Support

Product Description
Specifications
# Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
# Display: 11.6-inch HD display (1366 x 768)
# CPU: 2nd Generation Intel Core i7-2677M Processor (Turbo Boost up to 2.9Ghz)
# Graphics: Intel UMA
# Wireless: 802.11 b/g/n (@ 2.4GHz)
# Bluetooth: BT 4.0
# Memory: 4GB DDR3
# Storage: 128GB Solid State Drive
# Camera: 0.3 megapixel
# Speakers: Stereo Speakers powered by Bang & Olufsen ICEPower®
# Microphone: Microphone
# Input / Output:1 x Mic-in/ Headphone-out, 1 x mini VGA port for external monitor, 1x micro HDMI, , 1x USB 2.0 ports, 1x USB 3.0 1x micro HDMI
# Battery: 6 cell
# Dimensions: 11.77 x 7.72 x 0.12 ~ 0.67 -inches (W x D x H)
# Weight: 2.43lbs (with 6 cell battery)
# Color: Silver

Product Details
# Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 7.7 x 0.7 inches ; 2.4 pounds
# Shipping Weight: 6 pounds

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Reviews


- THUMBS UP FOR BOTH MACBOOK AIR AND ZENBOOK

(1) COMPUTING PERFORMANCE - First of all, in terms of the primary computing performance, including the CPU and memory performance, they're very similar, and both are very good. Asus' own tests say that the Zenbook is faster, but I don't feel much of it. This is, however, mainly because both are so fast. Comparing the speed of the CPU and memory of these two computers really has very little practical meaning. Only labs would be interested in doing that. Who is going to choose a computer over another because one opens up Microsoft Word in 1.5 seconds versus the other's 1.7 seconds? You see what I mean.

ZenBook does have much faster data transfer through its USB 3 port. It is easily multiple times faster than MacBook air's USB 2. But unless you routinely transfer very large files, I'm not sure if this is so important. Also, MacBook Air has a thunderbolt port which I've not tested in comparison with the ZenBook.

ZenBook also uses a much faster SSD (nearly twice as fast as that of the MacBook Air), but for some reason, I did not notice a very big difference in actual performance. Again, it's probably because both are already superfast for daily tasks. Gamers may tell a different story, but why do you buy an ultracompact laptop like these if you are a gamer?

(2) DESIGN AND BUILD QUALITY - Both computers are extremely well-designed and well built. To me, the ZenBook is almost a bit too pretty (a bit too showy and trendy to my taste). This is usually a problem I have with Mac products, but now, you've got a Windows product that beats that. I wish they would make a ZenBook in all black, and with a more plain business looking (but keep the feel of the high-quality and compactness). Had Lenovo made a similar machine maintaining the basic black square-edged ThinkPad style with the same compactness and thermal performance (see below), I would nearly certainly buy the ThinkPad instead. But there's nothing even in the radar screen on the ThinkPad side, so I caved in.

(3) BATTERY LIFE - The smaller ZenBook (UX21) uses a 35W battery and has 5+ hrs of battery life, comparable to that of MacBook Air. I did not do a strict test. But both are very good. The key is that both laptops would run through a whole day, even a busy day. That's what matters. Once a laptop reaches an all-day battery life, further extension of the battery life really no longer matters that much, unless of course it then reaches much longer to become days or even a week. You will be doing an overnight charging anyway. It's the mid-day recharging that brings trouble.

pros:
-very sleek looking & feeling
-sandforce ssd
-i7
-adapters, case, etc. included!
-high resolution screen
-price point, build quality
-power cable has led to indicate charging/done

cons:
-very annoying keyboard - takes a lot of getting used to - often does not register my keystrokes
-very annoying touchpad - too sensitive - requires some tweaking. installed the updated driver hopefully that will help
-no thunderbolt
-mediocre battery life - reports 3-4 hours. my dell 15z gets 6-7
-speakers are only so-so loud. nothing to go crazy about
-impossible (well, very difficult) to open with one hand.
-integrated graphics / no nvidia optimus
-could use an sd/microsd slot :(
-standard power port... apple totally wins on this one.

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