Intel’s new line up of low voltage Core Processors have given rise to a new generation of notebooks, which will start to see the light of day from this October onwards. I’ve had an opportunity to have some hands-on time with an upcoming model from Asus, who have been displaying a fair bit of innovation in the tablet area and look set to continue that trend with this new range.
New breed... the UX31 Ultrabook.
“Thin and light” is the war cry for Ultrabooks, and the Asus UX31, one of the new breed of mobile PCs about to be unleashed to an unsuspecting public, can add “metallic” to that anthem. This is a very industrial-looking piece of tech, from its brushed metal lid to its ultra-thin wedged front and rather sharp corners.
No fingerprints... The UX31 doesn't attract marks and dust like some glossy finishes.
The Asus UX31 was handed to me in a smart looking leather envelope, which seemed incomprehensible to be carrying a notebook of any sort. The envelope itself has a magnet embedded in both the body and fold-over, keeping the package well protected until the dramatic opening, revealing an extremely thin metal Ultrabook.
The Asus Ultrabook travels in style.
The leather slip case was light with the Ultrabook inside, and the UX31 feels as if it should be a little heavier given the physical materials it is wrapped in. The unit is only 1.1kg, extremely light for a notebook of this size, and you really notice its lack of weight when it’s open and operating in the palm of one hand.
Classy...Low tech leather and high tech metal metal make a great combination
The front edge is so thin – 3mm – that Asus have smartly added a small protruding lip at the centre of the lid for easy opening. The unit then increases in thickness to its rear, reaching only 17mm at its peak – still very thin.
Thin profile... the UX31 in side profile showing USB and SD card slot.
From standby, the UX31 bounces into life in a blink, and the bright 13.3” screen displays a 1600 x 900 resolution, higher than some larger screen counterparts. The expected array of status LED is missing, with only tiny white LEDs embedded in the caps lock, Wi-Fi function key and in the power key, which has been integrated into the keyboard layout.
Sparseness is the theme for this Ultrabook, with a small but useful amount of connections. On the left hand side there is the SD/MMC card slot, headphone jack and USB 2.0 port. On the right hand side are all the new-tech connections: Micro HDMI, Mini Displayport and USB 3.0 plus the small power socket.
Digital and high speed connections are welcome on the UX31.
As more components become compressed into smaller and thinner form factors, issues like heating need innovative solutions. Asus have placed its ventilation at the back of the keyboard, just below the screen. The use of the low voltage Core i7 quad core processor and SSD storage also assists in keeping heat down.
Vents at the back of the keyboard help minimise heat.
Video playback was smooth and non-jittery, and it seemed to be able to handle high bit rate content very well. The sound element was interesting – what it lacked in depth, the UX31 made up in stereo separation. Effects and musical instruments were very discernible and seemed to be coming from more than two directions.
Brushed aluminuim and island keys with a full size touchpad. The speakers are positioned between the keyboard and the screen.
For those that have never heard the term “unibody” before, the UX31 is a good example of unibody design and construction. The Asus Ultrabook uses single sheets of material, in this case aluminium, to form a minimalist, almost hollowed-out appearance to ensure a rigid casework. Rigidity and stiffness are more important than ever, with evermore streamlined and sleek designs produced due to the nature of Intel’s Ultrabook criteria. With the advent of Ultrabooks, unibody designs will become much more prevalent in the coming months.
The undercarriage of the UX31... a great unibody execution.
After spending a few hours with the UX31, it’s funny how quickly you get used to the form factor – my trusty notebook that I’m writing this article on looks and feels positively chunky after handling the Ultrabook.
Consider for a moment the advances that had to occur to get us to a point where a product like the Asus Ultrabook could be produced – high speed transfer via USB, reliable solid state drives, low voltage processors, lightweight casework materials, and overhauled cooling designs. Traditional PC makers can be that little less traditional and a bit more edgy with these new products that are as much about lifestyle and self-image as they are about performance and design.
This is one technology bump I can see catching on.
Ritchie,
Thanks for the write-up. Have Samsung Series 9 so wondering if I should switch. Have a number of questions for you — some of which you may not be able to answer:
1. Is the SSD 256GB?
2. Is the SSD SATA III (6Gbps) which it was rumored to be.
3. Is the 1600×900 much better to use than the normal 1366×768 screen?
4. Do you know if the screen is as bright as the Samsung Series 9 (although you did mention that it’s bright so I guess it’s fine)? Is it matte or glossy?
5. Is the max RAM 4GB? Is it upgradeable?
6. Can you confirm that the keyboard does not have backlighting?
7. If you insert a SD/MMC card, can you leave it in without it protruding (the Samsung Series 9 leaves it protruding and you can’t close the slot cover)
8. Does it have the Intel Centrino 6230 for WiFi and Bluetooth?
Thanks . . . . Brian
Hi Brian,
Well right off the bat I’m a touch envious, the 9 series notebook is a nice piece of slim PC goodness! I’ll tell you what I know by question sequence:
1. The sample I used for the review had a 128GB SSD.
2. I also heard that the SSD drive was the 6Gbps SATA III version, I’ll see if I can confirm.
3. The screen’s detail compared to my 15.6″ notebook is twofold – firstly it is a higher res, but also on smaller real estate, so the apparent definition is exaggerated. I’d say yes, it does make a difference, and even more so if you’re watching content or working on photo editing tasks.
4. I’m sure I can still see that retina-burning 400 nit display when I blink sometimes – that is industry leading. I don’t have both to compare but I’d say it’s bright but not to the 400 nit level, maybe 300 nits.
5. I couldn’t say if there is another socket, but given the unibody construction and other Ultrabook designs, I’d say the 4GB is maxed out.
6. No backlighting as far as I can see.
7. The SD card only travels half way before connecting. That’s a good question, because some users may wish to upgrade their memory via a large SD card. In this case the SD is not flush with the Ultrabook’s body.
8. The UX31 uses the Atheros AR9485WB-EG wireless network adapter.
Thanks Brian, and hopefully that answers questions for our other readers too!
Ritchie,
Thanks for your prompt answers!
Regarding the Samsung Series 9, I have the top of line Intel Core i7, 256GB, 6GB (upgradeable to 8GB) model BUT like all Series 9 models, it has a weak and fluctuating WiFi problem because of the Duralumin case. It’s actually in for service right now and I’ve given Samsung a number of suggestions to try. Basically, the WiFi weakness is not something that I can live with.
On Series 9, I really like the keyboard backlighting and the 6 or 8GB RAM. Pity about the same issue with the SD card sticking out. I like the idea of 1600×900 but not sure if I need it on 13.3″ screen. Thanks for your opinion on the nit display — I would think that you are probably correct. The SATA III would be interesting — one might be able to tell by looking at the part # in Device Manager.
Thanks . . . . Brian
Okay I’m sold but when is this thing likley to be available?
Indications are sometime this November. Start putting away those pennies!
Brian, I just received confirmation that the SSD drives are SATA III, 6Gbps.
Hi Brian,
The unibody design really makes it attractive. I guess if there’s anything that makes me favor Asus UX31 over Acer S3, the unibody would be that decisive point.
A couple of questions:
1. Could you comment on the feel of the keyboard?
2. Does the touchpad support any multi-finger gestures? Samsung’s Series 9 surely does, where as a MacBook Air with Boot Camp only supports two-finger vertical scrolling which is not good.
3. Is the whole touchpad clickable, or is it that only the bottom left/bottom right part are clickable?
– Raven
Oops, meant to say “Hi Ritchie” but screwed up…sorry man!
Hi Raven,
1. The keyboard pressing depth is probably 75% to 50% of standard notebook keyboards, presumably to keep the keys flush with the body. It takes a little getting used to, and ultimately you don’t have to key as hard.
2. The touchpad does pinch-to-zoom, which I tested on sample images, so looks like multi-finger gestures are good to go.
3. The small vertical line within the touchpad delineates the area for clickable real estate. That said, the touchpad was “touch-to-click” enabled, so very responsive.
Thanks for the questions!
Ritchie
Cool, thank you for the reply!
The touchpad is something I really care about, good to know gestures do work on the UX31.
– Raven
Does it support wi-di?
The sample I used didn’t appear to have built-in wi-di.
Wish it was a Mac!) Seriously this looks like a real contender. Do you think the notebooks still have a real edge over the tablets?
I really think tablets and notebooks can exist side by side. Tablets are awesome for browsing, casual gaming and reading… not so good for content creation yet.
If you want to get down and dirty and do a heap of video or image editing, text writing, spreadsheets and the like, then notebooks easily have that functionality stitched up for a while to come. By extension, the Ultrabook is the closest you’ll get to a tablet as far as “wow” factor on the Windows platform goes.
Great information on the UX31!
I had been considering a Lenovo x220 until I read about these new ultrabooks. If you are familiar with the x220, how would you compare the two notebooks. Sounds like it may be a good idea to wait until these ultrabooks arrive on the market. Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated.
Dear Ritchie!
Congrats on the first look!
1. Can it’s webcam record 720p video, if yes on what rate/fps?
2. Can you give it’s exact measurements Length, width, height?
3. Testing the battery life would be welcomed.
Can you please tell us more about the screen? ? How are the viewing angles? What is the contrast ratio and how much nits of brightness?? Would you say it’s an average or high end tn panel? Thanks!
There are a fair dew differences between the Levovo X220 and the UX31. The Lenovo uses the standard Intel Core processor as opposed to the low voltage version, has a spinning hard drive compared to a solid state, and has a more traditional, slightly heavier chassis build as opposed to the metal unibody of the UX31. I haven’t seen the boot up or wake up times of the X220, but the Asus Ultrabook is a very different beast.
One thing I will say about the Ultrabooks – they look good in photos, but even better in real life, so the sooner we see them in the wild the better!
Gergely,
The webcam is a 0.3M model, with a 640 x 480 resolution. The dimensions are 325mm wide, 233mm deep and 3mm – 18mm in height from front to back. I didn’t have a chance to test the unit for a full battery soak test.
Regarding the screen, because the higher res is on a smaller display, the images and text look very defined and detailed. The screen is actually 400 nit brightness, so definitely a higher end TN display.
Hi Ritchie,
Any idea what the battery indications are like on this? what has Asus tested it to be at as I noticed from images posted that the battery is built-in.
The battery is built in as you can see from the unibody construction. Asus are talking about a 7 hour life, powered by a 4 cell Lithium Polymer battery pack.
Ritchie,
Thanks for your additional answers on SATA III, 6Gbps SSD and the 400 nit brightness. Both good 🙂
Sorry, two things I need to ask again. Is the screen matte or glossy (I I read elsewhere that it’s glossy). Is there Bluetooth?
I had really thought that the Toshiba Portege Z830/Z835 was the top choice but your review makes this one look like it might be the best.
The screen is indeed glossy, but I’d say the 400 nit brightness would help countering brightly lit environments. Bluetooth 4.0 is also included.
Hi Ritchie,
has there been any info as to when this will be released in Australia? i was very tempted to buy the ultimate mac air which is about $1800 so with the talk that this will be around that price range running windows and doing it well i cannot wait to get this.
and the fact that the sata drives are faster than the air convert to joy in almost paper thing computing. would this be able to run the odd casual game like the air can?
I’ve been told that the UX31 should be available in November. As far as gaming and graphics performance goes, I’d say it will perform quite well as both the Core i5 and i7 have Turbo Boost and integrated HD graphics as part of the chipset. I’ve seen machines running graphics-intensive first person games with no dedicated graphics card and still hold up well. Casual gaming should be a cinch for these models.
That’s awesome I just want something portable on the go and was about to buy an ultimate 13 air but this is a very very good ulternative it will most likely be at the 2 grand range correct? In Australia that is
Pricing hasn’t been released yet but I’ll be sure to update that when it becomes available.
now the long wait until november begins
Hello guys!
Is the UX21 scheduled to be relesed at the same time as the UX31?
Btw want to give a big thanks to the people that run this site, awsome job!
Hey Tech Dude,
Both models will launching at the same time. Choices, choices, hey?
Thanks for the great compliment, great to see so much discussion!
Ritchie
hey ritchie
after seeing that you have seen both ux31 and the aspire s3 what are the majour differences between the two? im not very tech savvy so it all looks like numbers to me? they seem to me to be very similiar?
There are a fair few differences between the Acer and Asus. The Acer has a screen resolution of 1366 x 768 vs 1600 x 900, and the Asus has a USB 3.0 port. The ventilation is also quite different between the two. It also gets down to design and aesthetics related to their branding. The Acer Ultrabook is slated for an October release so you’ll have an opportunity to see the S3 in the flesh soon.
the memory for the graphics is different aswell isnt it? the acer has i read 64mb? where as the air has 340 what does the asus have? which would make a difference in casual gaming
asus announced there ux series for 11 october in america lets hope we get it not long after
Great article Ritchie!
According to Asus’ website this will be released on Oct 11. They are hyping it, countdown page and all.
http://ux.asus.com/
@Daniel, as they both use the same Intel Core architecture, the HD graphics function can draw up to just over 1GB of RAM for that purpose. I will ask Asus for further details.
@Kent, thank you very much! I’m sure a lot of or readers will be counting the days down as well.
I guess this Asus if it goes well after the American release will be the end to the series 9 if it is true that it will be around 700 cheaper
Samsung’s 9 Series was one step ahead of the Ultrabooks with it’s solid state drive and sleek, designed-based appeal. My understanding is it will continue until the end of the year, and an Ultrabook offering will emerge early next year. As always, the market will determine if Samsung need to adjust prices in the context of this year’s Ultrabook launches. One can only hope!
i actually like the look of the samsung more and even though the processor is a bit slower its barely noticeable from what i have heard if they do drop the price enough to compete ill have think seriosly about the ux31 the series 9 or the acer s3
how does the ux31 compete with the acer s3? are they basically the same apart from the aesthetics?
also is the samsung series 9 behind these 2 ultrabooks now?
Hi!
Do you have any information on the maximum external display resolution thats supported by the UX31?
Thanks a lot!
martin
@ Cristian, both models show great examples of what can be done with a slim form factor that can still perform well. Acer have a few things up their sleeve, they will be first to market and they’ll have a complete range from i3 with hybrid hard drive up to i7 with SSD, so choice and affordability will be a big part of Acer’s attraction. If you like a more industrial design and need fast transfer speeds and need a higher definition screen, then the Asus might be more appealing to you.
The Series 9 is an established notebook that really laid the path for the new batch of Ultrabooks in terms of design and the technology in an ultra-slim portable PC. Although it is not as thin as the two Ultrabooks, I think it still holds up well against its newer competitors.
@Martin, the maximum output resoltuion is 1980 x 1050. Of course, you’ll need a monitor that can handle that resolution to take advantage of that definition.
I spoke to a guy from a store today who was taking pre orders on the acer he said they are expecting it in 3 weeks I also asked about the Asus he said november to mid December.
I actually need something slot sooner than that so I’m going to buy an air and run parallels with windows so I can do my xna programming. Unless you have heard other things Ritchie?
@Daniel, that timing sounds about right, from the information I have.
Hi Ritchie,
First of all I want to congratulate you for this article :).
I just have a little answer:
– Do you know the speed of the Memory Ram? I know its 4Gb but is it 1333Mhz?
Best Regards,
Mike
@Mike, Asus have confirmed it is indeed 1333Mhz RAM. Thank you for your positive comments, the next few months are sure to be exciting with all these new product launches!
@Ritchie, I meant “QUESTION” :P, sorry for my mistake.
Anyway, U have helped me :D.
Thx a lot 😀
No problem @Mike!
Hi Ritchie, could you comment on the differences in ventilation between the acer and the asus? From the pictures I have seen the Asus has some vents underneath whereas the Acer has a vent on the back?
I will use the laptop in bed often flat against the doona and am worried about the heat.
Hi Ritchie, very useful article! Thanks a lot!! I have been thinking whether I should wait for Toshiba Z830…and I just can´t make a decision. I like everything of Asus, but Toshiba has blacklit keyboard, 1.3 webcam and a non-glossy screen, which I would prefer. Do you know what other major difference there are? A few things I am wondering about are the performance, speakers, price and the heat.
@Dreamy – I checked out the Toshiba preview and you should know that it doesn’t wake from sleep as quickly as the Asus, nor does it have the HD+ screen resolution.
@Shik, that’s a good question! The ventilation for both models should result in a cooler base, as the Acer S3 sheds its heat through the rear, and the Asus UX31 actually radiates the heat through a long vent that spans the top of the keyboard, so the heat is transferred vertically upwards, not towards the base.
I’d say Intel have recognised that Ultrabooks would be used in similar situations as tablets, and have worked with the manufacturers to provide products that meet those usage scenarios.
@Dreamy, thanks for your compliment, and happy to help where I can. I’m rubbing my hands in anticipation of receiving a Toshiba Z830 soon for a review, so I’ll keep your comments in mind when I examine it. Watch this space!