List Price: $1,099.99
Sale Price: $755.49
Today's Bonus: 31% Off
I've had this laptop for two days so far and it's a pleasure to use as well as gorgeous to look at!
It cold boots in six seconds and wakes up from suspend-to-RAM in two; the IPS screen is excellent and the i5 CPU, 4 GB RAM, and SSD give the system incredible speed. There are some downsides: I'm still getting used to the trackpad (no distinct buttons a first for me), and it isn't quite as thin as the marketing pictures would suggest (though the listed product dimensions are accurate), but I think this laptop is a great deal for $800.
After it arrived, I booted into Windows 8 to make sure all the hardware was working. After specifically testing the function keys and the speed of restarts, I updated to the latest BIOS, disabled UEFI Secure Boot, and then installed Ubuntu 13.04 Desktop 64-bit from a USB flash drive. Another reviewer lamented the space lost to the pre-existing partitions (I found boot, efi, Windows recovery, Windows OS, and factory recovery), but I opted to let Ubuntu have the entire disk (minus a couple hundred MB for two boot partitions). After formatting, it gave me 117.3 GB total, with 4.5 GB used by the OS after installing.
Once I was running Ubuntu 13.04, almost all of the top-row function keys (e.g. sleep, keyboard backlight adjust, screen brightness adjust) worked out-of-the-box. The exceptions are that wireless enable/disable doesn't always seem to work and I haven't had a chance to test the video output selector. The screen auto brightness doesn't work, nor do the function keys attached to C, V, and Space (in the factory configuration those last three were attached to software bundled by Asus within Windows, so I suspect that I could configure apps in Ubuntu to respond in a similar fashion, but I have not tested this).
The Bluetooth, USB-to-Ethernet (using the included adapter), web cam, built-in mic, and SD card reader components have all also been tested and they all work well without any configuration.
If you're looking for a sleek, portable, Ubuntu-ready laptop which doesn't sacrifice power or break the bank, I would recommend giving this laptop a chance.
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Slim, solidly built machine. Uni-body construction. Fewer ports built in, but a VGA and Ethernet dongles are included in their own matching case. #1 feature: the MATTE Full HD screen. Feels like I'm working on 15"+ screen. I thought it would make texts too fine to read comfortably, but the default setting for text is set at 125% at full HD and is very easy on the eyes. And yes, its matte, not glossy (THANK YOU ASUS!!!). Check out notebookcheck.net review of this and other machines.As mentioned, there's a couple caveats to owning this puppy. If you video chat a lot, either invest in an add-on digital camera as the built in camera on this harks back to the 90' cell phone camera 0.3 MP and painfully slow. I can't put it any other way: the camera sucks. Its deliberate, as the thinness of the lid at that point limits the camera. If you cannot live with this nor be bothered to buy a separate digi-cam, this ain't your fix. Look elsewhere.
The other concern is more important. Though its listed as a 128 Gig SSD, only 66 Gigs are actually useable, as the rest are defined for Windows, backup, etc. I haven't had time to investigate all the software that comes along with it from ASUS. While I abhor bloatware, the few programmes that I did check out so far are essential add-ons for the full Win 8 experience, such as the ASUS Touchpad software for example. Some others may choose to reduce these partitions for more usable room but I don't need to go there just yet. having a flash drive or cloud adds lots of extra storage for files, which is what I'm planning on doing anyway. I know that 2 gig out of the 4 total are permanently on the board, so that the RAM can be upgraded in future. I'm not yet sure about the SSD, though it would seem highly unlikely that it cannot be upgraded.
While others cannot overlook the poor excuse of a digi-cam in 21st century, nor the actual 66 gigs of useable space on the SSD out of the gates, for my intents and purposes, it fits the bill, which is why I'd give it 4.5 stars (if I could...).
Best Deals for ASUS UX31A-DH51 13.3-Inch Zenbook ( Silver Aluminum )
The good:full HD screen in a 13.3" laptop
Ultra thin and portable
Brushed aluminum
Comes with accessories (I got ethernet USB, mini VGA to VGA and, oddly enough, USB A to micro B, but I'm not going to complain about more cables to charge my phone with!)
Extremely fast boot up time with Windows 8, SSD and Asus Instant On
All USB 3
Once you fix it up, excellent touchpad behavior on par with Macbook Pro
The bad:
For some reason, Asus is not shipping Windows 8 product keys with this laptop. I contacted them and received the response that it is built in to the motherboard and is activated automatically when the system is installed. Not sure what this means if you want to reinstall from media... if you do I would suggest finding the key while the system is still installed with Belarc Advisor or Jelly Bean Keyfinder.
ethernet USB adapter appears to be USB 2 connector but I have not tested the speed yet
The ugly:
Asus SmartGesture touchpad driver/software. First, the laptop shipped with the November 2012 driver, which is the older version (there was a January update). Second, gestures will randomly stop working, and the software itself often fails to start after a shutdown/start up or wake from sleep (even after updating the driver_, causing scrolling to not work. There is much discussion on this topic online:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/689932-new-elantech-asus-smart-gesture-drivers-how-they.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/700484-asus-smart-gesture-occasionally-disappearing-2.html
The accepted solution to get around the inconsistent Asus driver is to install the Elantouch driver (straight from manufacturer). That link is here: http://www.station-drivers.com/page/elantech.htm
I am using the most recent version and it is now working as expected. The Elantouch driver is also more configurable.
Other thoughts: For some reason, this computer (vanilla Windows 8) only displays programs that are set to run at boot in the Task Manger's Startup tab. If they are disabled it won't show them, as it does on my desktop (which is running WIndows 8 Pro, so that may be the difference). I also ran into a problem where, when using Ninite.com to install Steam and Skype, both programs somehow became set to run at boot but were not present at all in the Startup tab and did not have "start with Windows" set in their preferences. I was unable to stop them from starting with boot without removing them completely and then reinstalling by hand. After that their behavior was normal again.
All in all I would highly recommend this laptop, with the caveat of having to fix the touchpad driver.
Honest reviews on ASUS UX31A-DH51 13.3-Inch Zenbook ( Silver Aluminum )
This laptop is an awesome buy. Comparing spec for spec your getting much more for your money with this machine compared to the MacBook Air. The screen is really something you have to see to believe. The difference between a TN panel (the standard) and this IPS panel is amazing. This screen is so bright and being 1080p gives a super high pixels per inch. It literally boots completely into Windows in around 10 seconds. I did find the SSD to be a little small, but if you delete the recovery partition on it, you get much more space to play with (around 20GB). It isn't a big deal. You can always create a USB rediscovery drive in Windows if you'd like. That gives me around 110GB total, which is also much more than what you get with the Surface Pro (89GB total).The build quality is also very good. I previously owned a Asus UL30VT, which was considered and ultra-portable computer in 2010. However the build quality was very poor. Many panels creaked and moved, over time some parts just fell off.
This is not the case with this machine. The core of it is what feels like a solid piece of aluminum. And the screen and bezel also is put together very nicely.
Over all it looks and feels like a very solid, premium quality notebook. I would say that 799$ (what I paid) was cheap for this computer.
The verdict: If you want a computer that's super thin, has an awesome display, is super fast... Look no further.
UPDATE
The micro HDMI port has given out after only 3 days of use. I purchased an adapter to use it on a desktop monitor or my TV. However it just gave out. It appears to not have been soldered onto the motherboard correctly, because if I wiggle it up and down, it starts to work. This is very frustrating and was one of the main features of the computer for me. I may be returning it. I have owned Asus machines before, and I can tell you that little stuff like this always quits working on them. Still a great buy for the price on here. But very disappointing for sure.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for ASUS UX31A-DH51 13.3-Inch Zenbook ( Silver Aluminum )
If you 'google' this product, you will find many other purchasers have had massive problems with it. It would seem to have inherent design/manufacture problems to do with its power management system and the motherboard.What is more concerning is that ASUS does not provide an acceptable level of 'ASUS owned' technical/service backup for their products. In California, the product has to go back to a small independent service company in LA which doesn't seem to get too much support and backing from ASUS. The same is true in Australia only a handful of small companies providing service for the whole of the country.
I bought mine on Amazon in 2011 for around $1500 (mine is the 256GB SSHD) it's motherboard died just outside the warranty period. That cost $600 to replace from the LA service agent. Within a few months it developed a fault which causes it to not be able to go into sleep mode and be 're-awakened', without the battery being run down; recharged then re-booted. I've read in forums this is a common problem which ASUS just doesn't want to know about. This product should have a recall it is that deficient.
Consumers should not buy ASUS products until this company fulfils at least the minimum acceptable service support obligation as does DELL, HP, Toshiba and others.
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