In the end I fell for Asus Zenbook Prime Ultratbook! My more than 3 years old Asus Eee PC laptop has been giving my problem lately. It is sluggish and slow, unable to play HD movies, taking forever to edit photos and to synchronize my iPhone and iPad. My patience was running thin and since Asus had updated their 1st generation Zenbook to the latest Zenbook Prime, I’d been following quite closely on their reviews online. Most reviews I gathered about the Zenbook Prime were mainly positive, especially how people raved about its IPS 1080p HD Screen, though some people also complained about its jumpy keyboard and poor touchpad.
Also, I was contemplating whether to wait for Windows 8 to launch in October then only purchase my new laptop, but then the new Windows 8 laptop will be touch screen enabled with higher pricing, and I don’t quite like the idea of having fingers prints all over the screen (I have my iPad to touch all I want and Apple still kick *ss in Touch screen experience hands down! I’m not an Android fan!). Since Microsoft had launched a cheap
upgrade offer for new Windows 7 users to Windows 8 at only US$14.99, so I decided not to wait out any longer and went to Mid Valley to get my hands on the new Asus Zenbook Prime last Saturday. I actually went there earlier during weekdays but they didn’t have the display unit for me to have a look and feel of it so I decided to go back on the weekend when the sales guy promised me the display unit would be available. Actually before I got there I’d already sort of made up my mind to buy the laptop anyhow so I was delighted when the sales guy opened a brand new Zenbook Prime for me to try as he recognized me from how disappointed I was the other day left without seeing the actual unit (also probably he wouldn’t let me leave the shop if I didn’t but the laptop that day). In the end, I left the shop with the new Asus Zenbook Prime, and a big hole in my wallet… ^o^
I’d been playing with my new toy for couple of days now and I must said I’m impressed with the Asus Zenbook Prime. The keyboard and touchpad are not as bad as some of the reviews criticized. Although the keyboard is a little jumpy here and there but after I got used to it I find that it is quite easy to type on the Zenbook Prime without much error, also the smart gesture feature on the touchpad is actually quite useful for me to scroll pages, switch between programs and to show the desktop by just touching the touchpad. Having said that, its palm rejection still need a little work as sometimes my cursor will accidentally jumped to another line when my hands hit the touchpad just a little.
The best part of this ultrabook apart from its super light weight and MacBook Air resemblance, is the 13.3″ IPS 1080p HD Screen! I was immediately blown away by the screen display, although it might get a little annoying to keep adjusting the webpage size but once I got used to it, the screen is literally the best part of this Asus Zenbook Prime. Movies and videos have never looked so vivid and beautiful before, not even on my HD LCD TV. Moreover, editing pictures on this ultrabook are truly a joy with such refined HD screen display. Even MacBook Air’s screen can’t come close to this pretty baby, only the MacBook Pro with Retina Display could beat Asus Zenbook Prime, that is if you are willing to pay almost double for it. I love the display screen oh so much and I now totally understand the feeling of “can’t take my eyes of you”… Lol!
For now, Asus Zenbook Prime is making me an extremely happy girl~!
What Do I Like?
- Extremely beautiful screen display with the 13.3″ IPS 1080p HD Screen
- Super lightweight
- Decent battery life
- Solid aluminum build
- SSD instead of normal hard disk
- Tiny battery charger
What I Don’t Like?
- Touchpad could use some improvements
- Only 3 USB3.0 ports (I was hoping for 3 at least)
- Too many Asus per-installed applications which I don’t use
- Battery charger is not USB charger which I could charge it with any USB port or my external battery charger when I run out of battery
Key Specifications:
- 3rd generation Intel® Core™ i7 processors with Ivy Bridge tech 1.9GHz
- 13.3″ IPS 1080p HD Screen Panel
- 4GB DDR3 Memory Chip
- 256GB SATA III SSD
- Win7 Home Premium 64bit
- Intel HD4000 Graphic
- Backlit Keyboard
- 2 USB 3.0 ports, micro HDMI, mini VGA, 3.5mm audio and an SD card slot
- Bang & Olfusen ICEpower audio
- 6 Hours Battery Life
- 1.3 kg
- 2 Years Global Warranty
- RRP: RM4,499 (*i5 version with 128GB SSD is available at RM3,499)
For more information: http://my.asus.com/Notebooks/Superior_Mobility/ASUS_ZENBOOK_UX31A/#overview
Online Review: http://www.mobiletechreview.com/notebooks/Asus-Zenbook-Prime-UX31A.htm
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| Say Hello To My New Toy! |
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| Slim Packaging Box |
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| Can’t Take My Eyes Off You |
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| Amazing13.3″ IPS 1080p HD Screen! |
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| Keyboard and Touchpad |
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| Top View |
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| Back View |
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| Keyboard |
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| Backlit Keyboard |
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| Tiny Battery Charger |
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| VGA and Ethernet Adapters that came with the small pouch |
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| Laptop Sleeve |
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| Side View – Micro HDMI, Mini VGA, USB 3.0, Power Input |
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| Side View |
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| Side View 2 – USB 3.0, Audio and Mic Combo. SD Card Reader | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
11 comments
Wow!
You love burgers, you have the same Zenbook as I do, and you use a Sony Nex too!
This is so cool. I'm not as fashion-y as you are 😛 but it's nice to know you! 🙂
this is cool 🙂
Ur using the same laptop as mine, ur camera is Sony nex too, and you love burgers! Hehehe!
Nice "knowing" you!
Hi Rebecca, now that you'd mentioned it, we do seem to share quite a fair bit of same like in gadgets and burgers ;-D
Btw, I do enjoy reading your blog. Keep up the good work and perhaps one day our paths will cross… Nice "knowing" you too!
Hey Christopher I bought mine from KL since I'm living in KL ;-D
But I'm believe you can easily find it at Sim Lim Square or Funan DigitaLife Mall of Singapore as those are the best place for computer and IT gadgets shopping. For more information you can check here: http://sg.asus.com/About_ASUS/Eee_PC_Tablets/
I hope you'll find your Zenbook Prime as it is a really amazing ultrabook! Still loving every moment of using it 😉
Hi Allison, can you tell me where you bought your Zenbook Prime from? I am coming to Singapore in a couple of weeks to do some "shopping" and don't want to wait until November when they are releasing them here in Australia.
Hi Allison, can you tell me where you bought your Prime from? I am coming to Singapore in a couple of weeks time to do some Shopping and I don't want to wait until November before they release them here in Australia (with Windows 8 – yuck).
HDMI Ethernet Cables for Australia.
Oh, a small laptop battery charger is definitely a requirement for me nowadays. I’m trying to be as frugal as I can. It’s impossible NOT to use laptop. But with small chargers, you can lessen the standby wattage. Not all small chargers feature this though.
I was thinking of getting Lenovo ThinkPad carbon X1. But when I saw the Asus Zenbook, end up can decide which to buy and still struggling.
Hey William, Asus Zenbook is a solid ultrabook which I highly recommend. Good luck in your search for your perfect laptop!
I definitely agree on Asus being a solid ultrabook. I have the same model and I must say that its durability is astounding. It has never been repaired or crashed down. Pretty handy, too. – Betty