Review: Asus Zenbook UX32VD

While the recent launch of Windows 8 has seen a range of exciting new laptops, tablets, hybrids and combinations of the three, the Intel-inspired Ultrabook category continues to expand.

The Zenbook UX32VD from Asus is perhaps one of the most striking examples of what the Ultrabook form factor can achieve.

The Zenbook's sleek metal body is lovely, with precision etched concentric circles on the cover and brushed lines when you open it up. The screen's hinge feels perfectly weighted, and opening the laptop one-handed feels natural.

At 18mm thick, it feels significantly chunkier than Apple's Macbook Air, despite the obvious similarities in design when you open the two machines up side-by-side. That could have something to do with the abundance of extra ports though, or the less tapered edges in the Asus machine.

With the focus on style, this machine is clearly targeted at the consumer market. Not only does it lack business-grade features like a fingerprint scanner, but the inclusion of the Bang and Olufsen branded ICEpower technology helps appeal to younger consumers wanting the most from their laptops.

There's also the inclusion of a discrete graphics card in this machine, making it the first Ultrabook to have one. Sure, it may not be a top of the line card, but it's still more than any other Ultrabook offers.

Disappointingly - although not unsurprisingly - the Zenbook is loaded with an abundance of Asus branded bloatware. While some of it creates nice little graphics for changing settings like volume and screen brightness, others play around with power options which can't be overrun by your Windows power management.

For power users wanting to get the most out of the machine, deleting these apps will be action number one after unboxing.

Priced at $1,299, the Zenbook sits at the affordable but not too cheap end of the Ultrabook market spectrum. On a price to specs basis, it's actually pretty decent value.

Underneath all that etched metal casing is a 1.7GHz Core i5 Intel 3317U processor, an NVIDIA GeForce GT 620M discrete graphics card, 4GB RAM and an abundance of connectivity options.

A 500GB HDD with 24GB SSD gives a good amount of storage, even if it does slightly pervert the notion of an Ultrabook.

Those specs certainly don't place the UX32VD into the most most powerful Ultrabook category, although there is a Core i7 option available to pick up online.

Still, compared to something like the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, this macine doesn't have an overwhelming amount of grunt under the hood.

Weighing in at 1.45kg, the laptop feels heavier than it actually is, which probably has a lot to do with the premium metal finish.

The chiclet keyboard is nicely spaced and comfortable to type on, even though the italic font of the lettering on each key looks a little odd.

It does look exceptionally similar to the Macbook Air's keyboard in terms of spacing, althugh there are more function keys and the arrow buttons are smaller than Apple's laptop.

It's also backlit, making this an ideal companion for those working at night.

The trackpad is slightly smaller than the Air, although it does feature the same multi-touch capabilities. If anything, it can be a little too sensitive though.

Regularly while typing, the mouse pointer would be pushed to a different point on screen by an errant palm brush on the trackpad, resulting in paragraphs of misplaced words.

It's also way too keen to resize windows when you accidentally place your thumb on the trackpad as well as your forefinger.

The 1,366 x 768 16:9 display has a nice matte finish, which makes it nice and easy to see in many lighting conditions. It also tends to dull down the vibrancy of colours on screen, but not to a point we would complain about.

Three USB 3.0 ports on the sides of the laptop is a nice inclusion, especially as one of them will charge your gadgets even when the laptop is closed.

HDMI output, SD card slot and mini-VGA plug give plenty of connectivity options, although it certainly would have been nice if that mini-VGA port was a Thunderbolt connection.

There's no ethernet port on the machine itself, but hidden inside a small pouch in the box is a USB-to-ethernet adapter, as well as an adapter to convert that mini VGA port to a full sized VGA cable.

The Bang & Olufsen ICEpower audio technology sounds nice enough through the laptop's speakers, but let's not fool ourselves into thinking it will ever perform as well as a set of external speakers or headphones will.

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Review: Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A

When Ultrabooks were first introduced by Intel, one of the first models to show us that they could stand up to the gauntlet laid down by the Apple MacBook Air was the Asus Zenbook UX21. There have been plenty of other great Ultrabooks since, including the Acer Aspire S5.

It hasn't taken long for Asus to supercede its older models, though, with the Zenbook UX32A appearing at the lower end of the spectrum and the Zenbook Prime UX31A as the show-off premium model.

The Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A continues the styling of its predecessors, with brushed aluminium being the order of the day. The material has straight lines on the bottom housing, while the back of the screen has circles that catch the light.

It's got a faintly industrial look, but it all feels impressively solid. There's no give in the build, the hinge holding the screen is nicely stiff, and it's comfortable.

The Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A remains one of the best-looking Ultrabooks around. Though you can certainly see the MacBook Air's DNA in its design (especially the tapered profile and those new black, rounded keys), it maintains the look of the original Zenbook.

It's a shame to be stuck with the Intel and Windows stickers on the front, but they are at least monochrome again.

Intel's contribution to the Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A is a Core i7-3517U processor, running at 1.9GHz and featuring the latest Intel HD 4000 graphics. It's accompanied by 4GB of RAM, all used to power Windows 7 at this point.

The most notable change in the Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A, though, is easily its screen. The UX31A boasts a 13.3-inch, 1080p IPS wonder, dwarfing its competition for resolution.

Being a high-end Ultrabook, there's an SSD powering its quick boot and resume times. You get a 256GB drive in this version of the UX31A, and unfortunately, there's no way to boost that up to 512GB, no matter how many lotteries you've won.

Connections-wise, Asus has included a decent selection, provided you don't mind the occasional adaptor. There's a micro HDMI port and a mini VGA port, catering for your analogue and digital video output needs.

There are two USB ports - one on each side - both of which are USB 3.0. There's a headphone port and a power plug, and rounding it off is a card reader compatible with SD and, er, MMC. Just in case anyone out there's still using it, we guess.

Asus has also included its ICEpower speakers, the result of a collaboration between Asus and Bang & Olufsen.

This high-end Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A is priced at around £1,500/$1,500 online, bringing it right in the firing line of Apple's highest-end MacBook Air and the Samsung Series 9. In fact, both of those two come in cheaper by default, but it's important to note that the Zenbook Prime offers a faster processor and higher resolution screen.

Although Asus insists that the Zenbook Prime UX31A is a mere 9mm tall when closed, that's not entirely accurate - the body is, but it has feet to raise it off the desk and keep its vents clear. This still means it slips into small bags easily, but in reality, it stands about 2cm off a table.

It is impressively light, though, coming in at about 1.2kg.

There's also a lower-end version of the Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A, with a Core i5 processor, 128GB of storage and a 1600 x 900 screen, instead of the 1920 x 1080 beast in the high-end model. It comes in a fair bit cheaper.

There's also the Asus Zenbook Prime UX21A, an 11.6-inch version of the Zenbook Prime that still features a 1080p display.

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