ASUS Zenbook UX31E-DH52 13.3-Inch Thin and Light Ultrabook (Silver Aluminum)

by Asus

• Intel Core i5 Processor 1.7GHz
• 4GB SO-DIMM RAM
• 128GB Hard Drive
• 13.3-Inch Screen, Intel UMA
• Windows 7 Home Premium, 7 hours Battery Life

Product Description

Amazon.com

Design. Love. Zen

It looks like nothing you've ever seen. It feels like nothing you've ever felt. It's breathtakingly beautiful. It's ultra-thin – with a minimum thickness of only .12". It's ultra-light – the brushed aluminum alloy body weighs only 2.87bs. It's ultra-fast – powerful 2nd Generation Intel^® Core^™ i5 processor, SATA 3.0 SSD and USB 3.0. It resumes active mode in just 2 seconds, and the SonicMaster Audio delivers astounding sound. Introduce yourself to the most incredible Ultrabook^™, the ASUS ZENBOOK^™ – it will be love at first sight.

Key Features

• Spun metal and hairline aluminum finish throughout the entire chassis that only measures a minimum thickness of .12" and weighs only 2.87lbs (Learn more)
• 2nd Generation Intel^® Core^™ i5-2557M processor with Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 Technology for smart multitasking that automatically senses what you're doing and boosts performance
• ASUS exclusive Super Hybrid Engine II with Instant On 2-second resume, double the standby time, automatic data backup and recovery, and 25% longer battery life (Learn more)
• SATA 128GB solid state drive for an amazingly smooth and fast computing experience (Learn more)
• SuperSpeed USB 3.0 for quicker device charging and up to 10x faster transfers than USB 2.0¹ (Learn more)
• ASUS SonicMaster Technology co-developed by world-renowned audio experts at Bang & Olufsen ICEpower^® increases audio performance with lifelike surround impact (Learn more)
  
  



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Incredible Beauty

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The ASUS ZENBOOK™ UX31E-DH52 is meticulously designed and engineered to achieve the thinnest profile and lightest form factor of any ultrabook, all while accommodating the latest technology in a harmonious marriage of power and art. Elegant and durable aluminum with a hairline spun finish reflects a cool, infinite look of limitless depth. The ASUS ZENBOOK™ UX31E-DH52 measures a minimum thickness of only .12" and weighs only 2.87lbs.

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Incredible Responsiveness

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Exclusive ASUS Super Hybrid Engine II with Instant On enables 2-second resume of the notebook from sleep, with up to two weeks of standby time with open files and other pending data kept safe in memory. Plus, automatic data backup when the battery reaches 5% charge further helps secure your work. The ASUS ZENBOOK™ UX31E-DH52 keeps energy saving front and center with a dedicated Battery Saving Mode, which conserves power whenever possible to increase battery life by as much as 25%. You're also always in the know when it comes to the battery thanks to ASUS PowerWiz, a utility that shows exactly how much charge is left per application – web browsing, gaming, movie watching and more. The ASUS ZENBOOK™ UX31E-DH52 combines power, efficiency, smooth usage and user empowerment, all on in one sleek package.

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	Incredible Performance
View Large	ASUS is proud to deliver the world's first ultrabook with SATA 128GB solid state storage, making for an amazingly smooth and fast computing experience. Additionally, the ASUS ZENBOOK™ UX31E-DH52 ships with SuperSpeed USB 3.0 as standard, multiplying the transfer rates of current USB 2.0 by as much as a factor of ten!1

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	Incredible Audio
View Large	Another ASUS exclusive, SonicMaster technology was co-developed with Bang & Olufsen ICEpower® to deliver breathtaking, lifelike audio that far exceeds the limitations of conventional notebook PC sound performance. Deeper, more impactful and wider in range, SonicMaster delivers four times the sound output of other ultrabooks without increasing the size or weight of the form factor.

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Relax, ASUS Has You Covered

Ranked as the #1 most reliable PC brand by 3 independent sources,² readers and editors alike choose ASUS as their trusted notebook and netbook. ASUS tirelessly strives to exceed expectations of quality to ensure you an unmatched peace of mind every time you start your PC.

This notebook also comes with the industry's most comprehensive warranty.

1 Year ASUS Global Warranty³

Offers a level of coverage that would add hundreds of dollars to the price of competing laptops:


• 1 year global warranty
• 30 flawless display guarantee
• 2-way free standard shipping
• 24/7 tech support



1 Year Accidental Damage Protection (ADP)³

Whether your notebook is damaged by accidental spills, drops, electrical surges, or fire, ASUS will fix it or replace it for you during the first year after purchase.


• Covers accidental drops, spills, power surges, and fire damage
• Target 3 business day turnaround time for repair / replacement; not including receiving and shipping time
• 1-way shipping (from ASUS to the user) at no additional cost
• 24-hour toll-free phone support




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What's in the Box

• ZENBOOK^™ UX31E-DH52
• Notebook Carrying Bag
• AC Adapter
• 6 cell Battery Pack
• Warranty Information Card

Specifications

• Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
• Display: 13.3-inch HD display (1600 x 900)
• CPU: 2^nd Generation Intel Core i5-2557M Processor (Turbo Boost up to 2.3Ghz)
• Graphics: Intel UMA
• Wireless: 802.11 b/g/n (@ 2.4GHz)
• Bluetooth: BT 4.0
• Memory: 4GB DDR3
• Storage: 128GB Solid State Drive
• Camera: 0.3 megapixel
• Speakers: Stereo Speakers powered by Bang & Olufsen ICEPower^®
• Microphone: Microphone
• Card Reader: SD Card
• Input / Output:1 x Mic-in, / Headphone-out, 1 x mini VGA port for external monitor, 1x USB 2.0 ports, 1x USB 3.0, Micro HDMI
• Battery: 6 cell
• Dimensions: 12.8 x 8.78 x 0.12 ~ 0.71" (W x D x H)
• Weight: 2.87lbs (with 6 cell battery)
• Color: Silver

© 2011 ASUS Computer International. All Rights Reserved. ASUS is a registered trademark of ASUSTeK Computer. All specifications and terms are subject to change without notice. Please check with your supplier for exact offers on selected models. Products may not be available in all markets. Product may not be exactly as shown in photos.

¹ All figures theoretical values compared to USB 2.0 benchmarks for reference purposes. Actual speed depends on device and system status.
² Rated number 1 PC brand according to SquareTrade, the leading direct-to-consumer warranty company (for more information visit http://www.squaretrade.com/pages/laptop-reliability-1109/ ). Rated number 1 reliable PC maker in Q2 2010's RESCUECOM report http://www.rescuecom.com/2010-2nd-Quarter-Computer-Reliability-Report.html
³ ASUS reserves the right to exclude certain SKUs; check with your retailer to confirm coverage of specific models. Valid for notebooks purchased in the US and Canada only. Certain retailers do not participate in ADP coverage. For complete details, please visit: http://completewarranty.asus.com/.




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ASUS U31SD-XA1 Laptop

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Product Description

Incredible Beauty The ZENBOOK uses a precision-crafted design measuring only 3mm at the front and 9mm at the rear. The form features razor thin edges and a curved center section, which is both practical and attractive - while accommodating the powerful computing components within, this design also looks totally unique. It embodies beauty and strength in complete balance and harmony. Incredible Speed ASUS is proud to deliver the world's first ultrabook with SATA 6Gb/s solid state storage, making for an amazingly smooth and fast computing experience. Additionally, all ASUS ZENBOOK models ship with USB 3.0 as standard, multiplying the transfer rates of current USB 2.0 by as much as a factor of ten! Combined, SSD storage and USB 3.0 create incredible speed of data transfer rates.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

597 of 617 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Stunning Zenbook ships with different SSD and Touchpad variants. Getting a right combination is like winning the lottery. November 28, 2011

By GT

I received the Zenbook a week ago and have the following to report, addressing most buyers concerns (including myself) when wanting to purchase the Zenbook:

I do hope you find it useful - please vote this up if you did, to inform prospective buyers. Thanks!

Physical outlook:
The Zenbook largely resembles the MacBook Air in terms of svelteness. Even the tapering of the chasis 17mm-3mm is the same as the MacBook. This is a good thing because the Zenbook looks better than the MacBook air. The edges look more clean cut, more industrial looking. Definitely something for the corporate board.

Keyboard:
This is a hit and miss issue with many users. You either love it or hate it. I found the keyboard better than the MacBook because I could actually type faster on this laptop.
1. The keys have much lesser travel than the MacBook Air.
2. They are well spaced.

Some people were complaining about how unresponsive the keys would be. I had found that to be true when I first used the laptop, but adapted to the typing style, applying a little more pressure with each keystroke. Now I can type faster than I can with my iMac wireless keyboard!
It's just a matter of getting used to.

Poor Trackpad:
This is perhaps one of my most pertinent gripes about the Zenbook. The trackpad, like the keyboard is a matter of getting used to. Asus did a poor job in this aspect because they did not standardize the parts used in their Zenbook series. Some Zenbooks came with the Elan touchpad. Others came with the more inferior Sentallics branded touchpad. Both touchpads had different drivers - and performance. The sentallics version performed poorly even with updated drivers and felt like using a year 20000-esque trackpad. There was very poor control over the trackpad, it seemed to have a mind of it's own - especially when using multitouch gestures.

I managed to get the Elan trackpad, and my experience was not better off. When using two fingers on the trackpad in Opera (one finger on left click, the other to move the cursor around) the Zenbook did not recognize this even though my other finger was on the left click BUTTON. It kept recognizing this as a pinch and zoom, resizing the page I was browsing. This is irritating as I have to adapt to using the laptop with one finger. MacBook Airs don't even have a specific left click button and they don't accidentally recgnize my gestures as pinch to zoom. In this aspect, Asus has tragically failed in one of the key aspects of interaction with a laptop - the touchpad.

Slow SSD:
As with the trackpad, the Zenbook shipped with two 128GB SSD variants, the slower Sandisk u100 and the faster, more superior ADATA SANDFORCE. I received the Sandisk variant and I'm seriously having buyers remorse on the purchase. Major reviewers (engadget, anandtech, pocketlint, ars technica) somehow received the superior ADATA variants as their test units, and based their judgement on the drive they received. Most buyers purchase because of the positive reviews made by them. Their reviews would have been much different with the SANDISK SSD.

What Asus did was misleading, and very inappropriate. Advertising the faster ADATA SSD's then shipping other units with the lousier Sandisk units.

The benchmarks I done using Crystal Disk Mark showed the vast difference in speeds. Below:

SANDISK
Size Read Write
4K 16.92 12.49
512K 253.2 21.81******
1GB 460.2 247.1

ADATA (Data from notebookcheck.net)
SIZE Read Write
4K 26.38 51.15
512K 374.7 131.7*****
1GB 429.6 132.8

As you can see, the speeds on the ADATA is easily 6 times faster on write speeds. The 1GB is similar but for day to day usage like surfing and microsoft office, the most commonly used size is below 512K. Thus, the ADATA offers a tremendous speed increase compared to the Sandisk.
As a consumer paying the same amount for a laptop, it is only fair that we receive what we expect. There should be no deviation from what Asus advertises and what we receive.

In this instance, getting a perfect Zenbook combination was like striking the lottery given the amount of permutations given. We only have a 1 in 4 chance of getting both the Elan touchpad and ADATA SSD.

Wireless Problem:
Many users were facing problems with their Wireless card receiving slow speeds. An updated driver would solve the problem. I did not experience the Wifi problem and the Zenbook worked fine out of the box.
I found that the weak wireless problem may be attributed to the Power Options settings. Goto power options -> change plan settings -> changed advanced power settings -> Wireless Adapter settings -> Power saving mode -> MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE.

Audio Hissing Sound:
Some users complained (in the UX21 reviews) that they heard very loud hissing sounds coming out of their earphone port with earphones. I did not hear it on my unit. Perhaps he received a lemon?

In conculsion:
Truth be said, I am not an Apple fan and was very happy to see such a good looking ultraportable that trumps the MacBook Air's air of sexiness. The zenbook is downright awesome to look at. The full aluminium chasis offers the kind of durability no other laptop can offer in it's class.

But with further comparison, the Apple ships with same compenents across the board. We appreciate this reliablility because we KNOW what components we are getting.

We aren't playing the lottery Asus, and this Zenbook certainly isn't my idea of a $1000 lottery ticket.

83 of 86 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great notebook October 20, 2011

By Howard Shen

This is a great notebook with awsome battery life (5+ hours of standward def video with 20% battery left), good keyboard (not as good as Lenovo's), good trackpad (after driver upgrade), good scren and great look. I do wish that I can find a place to purchase another power supply as I usually have one charger at work and one at home. Although the power supply is thin and small, I would love to have 2, but I cannot find any retailer's online that sells the power supply for this notebook. I also wish there is some soft of port aggregator for this notebook. On the right side of the notebook, you have power, USB3, mini VGA and mini HDMI port. ASUS could easily make an psudo dock that plugs into all 4 port then you have in instant notebook dock. Coming from a T series Lenovo, I miss the docking feature and not having to plug 3 things in everything I goto my desk (power, USB 3, and mini HDMI).

Warning: DO NOT UNINSTALL Instant on, PowerWiz and Power4Gear. When I did so, my computer begin to blue screen. I believe it has to do with how the hardware operates in sleep mode and how Windows expect it to behave in sleep mode. Those 3 software bridge the gap between what Windows expect and how the hardware behaves. Without it, don't expect a stable notebook.

HINT: I've had some wireless stability problem earlier, but that was solved by disabling MIMO power save in the advance setting of the wireless adaptor by going to Network and Sharing Center, Change Adaptor setting, right click the adaptor, properties, configure, Advanced, and set Dynamic MIMO power save to disabled.

148 of 162 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Performance Without Skimping on Design November 20, 2011

By A-51

Length: 9:54 Mins

This is a brief video review of the Asus Zenbook UX31. I recommend this notebook for anyone looking for an ultra-portable and fast laptop that has a great design.