ASUS ZENBOOK PRIME UX31A Ultrabook Review

[Apoptosis]

ASUS ZENBOOK PRIME UX31A Ultrabook Review

The ASUS ZENBOOK UX31A-DH51 Ultrabook uses the power of a 3rd generation Intel Core i5-3317U 1.7GHz Processor with the speed of a 128GB SATA III SSD to deliver superb computing performance. This notebook PC also boasts a 13.3" IPS Full HD Display (1920x1080) and a backlit keyboard to seal the deal. Read on to see what this notebook is all about and how it performs!

The original ASUS Zenbook UX31E was a good product, but it wasn't refined and we knew that changes had to be done to make it a great product. The ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A has proven to be a great successor thanks to numerous refinements and more importantly a faster CPU and GPU. We love the improved touchpad drivers, IPS display, illuminated keyboard, additional USB 3.0 port and how the charging cable stays plugged in! All of these changes and improvements have made the ASUS Zenbook Prime one amazing Intel Ultrabook!

Article Title: ASUS ZENBOOK PRIME UX31A Ultrabook Review
Article URL: http://legitreviews.com/article/2053/1/
Pricing At Time of Print: $1049.95

[Major_A]

I wish someone would sell a similar laptop without a HDD, RAM, and WiFi adapter. It stinks buying a laptop only to swap out the the parts mentioned. Still wish that ASUS would get away from the soldered RAM. As cheap as the stuff is I hate the thought of being stuck with what it has.

[Apoptosis]

Yeah, but in an Ultrabook there really is nothing to change.

I wouldn't change anything in this one... Not that you really can besides the WiFi card though.

[sbohdan]

I ordered this exact model for my mom exactly 3 months ago and she is so happy with it, she is raving about it every time we talk. She wanted something lite, fast, with great battery power, so it was no brainer to choose this model. Oh and it looks beautiful and very professional and clean too
This is the first laptop, that I like since the dell XPS I bought 5 years ago, so it seems I will get one too.

[Apoptosis]

Be sure to consider the touchscreen version I talked about in the conclusion for $50 more.

[sbohdan]

I hope it is not a stupid question?
Can the touchscreen version be used with a mouse as the regular one and also with the touchscreen or just the touchscreen?

[Apoptosis]

yup, it is mouse friendly!

There if you need it in the future, but you don't have to touch the screen if you don't want to.

[Kaos Kid]

Be sure to consider the touchscreen version I talked about in the conclusion for $50 more.

That's a no-brainer for only a Fitty

[MICKEY-G]

With reference to the Asus Zenbook Prime Touch as per your information: "ASUS is also allowing pre-orders of the Zenbook Prime UX31A-BHI5T11, which features a 13.3" high-definition touch-screen display for easy navigation in Windows 8 and is available in radiant black. The pre-order price for this model is $1099.99, so for an extra $50 over the model we reviewed today you get a touch screen and what looks to be all the same features".

After a long research into the ultrabook market, this one appeared to be the real "magic machine" to buy.

Very sadly, I have found today that the unit you mention UX31A-BHI5T11 not only does not exist, but there is no ZENBOOK that has a touch screen at all !!! I called directly ASUS USA, because I just could not find this product anywhere around. The reply was lapidary. What I was looking for simply does not exist.

It would be very good to know from where did you get the information on a Zenbook Prime Touch.

[Apoptosis]

Is this not the ultrabook - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+13.3 ... &cp=1&lp=1

The link was in the review from day one. I see you are located in Chile... This might be the reason you can't find it. Maybe you should call ASUS Chile and ask them as I doubt you have a best buy store.

[MICKEY-G]

Thanks for your reply. I did see the Best Buy ad in your article, and in fact that was the ingnition from where my interest came from.
I used to check the BestBuy page continously to see if the product would be available, so I could address permanently that page from my actual place of residence here in Chile. Even today the ad is still there but.... it seemed to me the unit was NEVER available for sale.
For that reason, I called directly ASUS USA, and their lapidary reply was: No UX31A (zenbook prime) has touch screen capabilities.
The only ones that do have touch screens they said are the VivoBook s400 and s202 but those are absolutely different (entry level) machines than the zenbook.
It is a big pity since as obvious as it looks, the zenbook-touch is the natural evolution for that unit now that windows-8 is already out and working... the original announcement came out to the press around mid octobor, but from then, nothing else has been heard about it.

[Apoptosis]

Best Buy USA is selling them... Can you but from them?

[MICKEY-G]

I can buy from any source in the USA, no problem at all. I am permanently doing it.
If you see the page with the ad at BestBuy, it says "Not available for shipping", and if you click at "Check shipping and availability" and then "Check stores", you will find that no matter what zip code you enter, it will always give an "UNAVAILABLE" as a return. Which is coincident with the reply received from Asus USA by phone.

[Major_A]

Have you considered something like this?
http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-12-l221x/pd

[MICKEY-G]

I would prefer the traditional and conventional form of laptop or probably something like the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga or the Panasonic AX.

It is interesting to wonder why ASUS for example did not produce this announced Zenbook Prime Touch. They are indeed producing few VivoBooks with touch, however, those are all entry level machines in terms of specs.
If we think according to our plain and simple logics, the Zenbook Prime Touch was definitely the next step for a company like ASUS for a high-end ultrabook in a conventional format, but who knows... perhaps our logics are not what their market studies are giving as a final result...

If you look into the entire spectrum of touch ultrabooks, today there is nothing available compared to the theorical Zenbook Touch in specs: Core i5 or i7 (3rd gen.), full HD 1920x1080 IPS 13,3" or better touch screen, SSD drive, light in weight, affordable price around $1,100. Good Battery life (or at least decent...)

Who is coming near?? Asus Taichi, but who wants TWO SCREENS ???? and at $1,500 ??? No way José !!!
The next one who runs very close is the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga.... selling at Amazon in $1,500 and advertised at BestBuy at $999
Few reviews have found some important issues on the unit, like the 128Gb SSD drive makes only 50 to 60Mb available only for the user, not full HD screen, mediocre battery life, exposed keyboard when turned the screen 360º, etc etc...

It seems "the best is yet to come"... the market is not mature yet, and probably in 5 more weeks will see some new ideas and trends at the 2013 CES-Las vegas !!!