░░░░░UM, WOW!!!!░░░░░
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Let me just say that I have researched just about every device sold in the United States that has a 13 inch screen in my quest to replace my dying laptop. It's been a thoroughly exhaustive search. But the search is now over! I've tested every device from Chromebooks to Mac Books to giving up and just reading a book. The Zenbook is where my quest ends!
I just got my Zenbook tonight and it has been a great experience right from the unboxing. I'll start with the packaging because it deserves mentioning. The Amazon box was huge, the size of a VCR from 1981. Inside that was a plain box for the Zenbook about the size of 1995 VCR. Inside that box was a very nice fancy box about the size of a board game box. That box was well cushioned inside the 1995 VCR box. Inside that was the Zenbook. So the thing ships VERY well protected from drops by the delivery service. I have never been impressed by packaging much, but this one managed to do it.
Once I got the machine turned on I tried Windows 8 for the first time.........and 5 minutes later I learned how well the Classic Shell app works to make Windows look normal. I originally intended to put Ubuntu on it as I'm a Linux fan, but with Classic Shell Windows 8.1 has been working great and I've opted to keep it on there for the 6 weeks since I bought the system. It's very stable and the 'instant on' feature is awesome.
Now the hardware....
░░░░░DISPLAY░░░░░
❖ The screen is great. I mean really great. It's a matte finish which REALLY cuts down on glare. I am sitting with a bright light directly behind me as I write this and while it's lighting up the screen, I don't see any reflection of the light at all. When I hold my phone at the same angle as my screen I can't see a thing on the phone screen (normal glossy smartphone screen).
❖ The resolution is fantastic, and even with the native display settings maximized for the HD screen resolution all the text is big enough to read comfortably. (You can mess with the scaling and text size if need be, but the text is not super tiny right off the bat like some other HD screens are)
❖ The bezel around the screen looks much bigger in the picture at the top of this page. It's really not that big and the actual LCD panel fills the screen area well.
❖ There is a rubber gasket all the way around the outer edge of the bezel that will do 2 things. It will keep the metal screen housing from rubbing against the metal keyboard housing and scratching them both up. It will also provide some (I said SOME) protection against water getting in if the lid is closed. This might come in handy if the Zenbook is in a backpack and you get caught in the rain. It's not waterproofing. It's "buy you 20 seconds to run inside" protection.
❖ The issue with the back of the lip lifting the machine up a little when the screen is opened all the way....yeah...that's a thing. But I don't think it's an accident. First off it sits stable and doesn't move around when the system is leaning on the back of the lid. Second this causes the keyboard to angel up at your slightly. It's subtle, but I like it.
░░░░░KEYBOARD░░░░░
❖ Prior to today I've been using 2 keyboards regularly. A Dell Latitude D630 notebook keyboard that is full size with normal laptop keys, and a full size normal desk top keyboard with big keys. Both have 'normal' key travel. The Zenbook is my first island key set up. It took me about 8 seconds to get used to it. The key travel isn't as deep as my Dell Latitude keyboard, but it's not much more shallow. It's very easy to type on.
❖ The Power button being above the backspace key and built into the keyboard seems to be a big issue with a lot of people. I type like The Thing from the Fantastic Four (Big dude made of orange rock) so I have already used the backspace key a lot in the last 2 hours. I haven't hit the power button yet. I also think it gives the whole system a nice clean look that there isn't a row of system buttons above the function key row.
❖ The trackpad. Yes, it clicks a little when you tap it. Yes, it was annoying for the first hour. I got used to it as soon as I realized it wasn't broken. It dose that because the whole trackpad is a clickable button. So there is play in the trackpad. It's not loud. It's not wiggling loose. It's just not a big deal.
░░░░░SPEAKERS░░░░░
❖ The speakers are on the bottom. To be more specific they are on the very sides of the bottom and angled slightly out toward the sides. They aren't full size JBL tower speakers that will wake up the neighbors, but they aren't trying to be. They are laptop speakers. They get the job done. Even being on the bottom I found them to be plenty loud enough to hear the sound of YouTube videos (The Force Unleashed trailer looks and sounds great on this. That was my test video. It was.....good times.) The speakers probably aren't loud enough to let you watch a movie in a crowded room...but if you're trying to do that the odds are you've got headphones anyway. The speakers are perfectly capable laptop speakers.
░░░░░INTERNAL GEEKY STUFF░░░░░
❖ I can't slow this system down. I've thrown all my normal usage stuff at it (Office, web browsing...with multiple java heavy tabs, watching videos, etc etc) and I can't slow it down. The 8GB of RAM is more than enough for 95% of users. Maybe it wouldn't make a great video editing machine, but the vast majority of the world isn't even going to do that. If you're doing resource intensive stuff you know you need a bigger more powerful machine and you're probably not looking at this one.
❖ The 256 SSD drive is amazing. When it says fast access it's not screwing around. It boots fast, wakes from sleep fast, and accesses files fast. This is all because the SSD storage lets the system quickly save and retrieve data. If you're a computer person you understand what I'm saying. If you're not, trust me. It's awesome.
░░░░░LOOK AND FEEL░░░░░
❖ It's thin. Like crazy thing. Look at the pictures below comparing it to my Dell Latitude D630, which in it's day was a pretty tiny and very portable notebook. My Dell now suddenly feels like my old 8088 desk top from 1987. The keyboard part is the same thickness as my Samsung Galaxy S4 phone. With the lid closed the whole system is just a hair thicker than my Galaxy Tab 2 tablet. You hear what I'm saying? This nicely powered ultrabook computer is basically as thin as a very nice smartphone. That's insane to me.
And it doesn't feel flimsy as a result. I was worried it would feel like I was going to break it in half because it's so thin. It feels pretty strong and sturdy. The all aluminum frame just feels expensive. (I mean the Zenbook isn't cheap, but it's not priced like a Mac Book either.)
❖ It's also very light. This is a double edged sword. The ONLY thing that's even remotely an issue with the Zenbook. When sitting on your lap the system bounces around as you type a little bit. It just doesn't have enough mass to keep it firmly planted on your lap. It's not a big deal, but it's noticeable compared to my heavy 2007 Dell notebook. One the flip side, its ULTRA portable. It can sit on my lap all day and it'll never start to get heavy.
❖ It's quiet. Dead quiet. Ninjas could check their email in the middle of a mission and it wouldn't give them away.
❖ It's cold. It doesn't get warm. I've been using it for about 90 minutes straight now and it's cold to the touch. The aluminum body does a great job of dissipating the small amount of heat the builds up.
░░░░░THE FINAL VERDICT░░░░░
❖ Buy it.
░░░░░UPDATE !!! (AFTER 3 MONTHS OF USE)░░░░░
❖ I've had my Zenbook for 3 months now and still absolutely love it just as much as the day I first got it. Nothing has 'worn thin' on me or made me change me initial opinions of the Zenbook. I absolutely love it and am very happy that this is the machine I ended up buying after all my research. I use it every day and it's fantastic. The battery is wonderful after 3 months of real world use. I charge it about every 3rd day usually, maybe every other day if I use it a lot. I've yet to burn the battery down completely in a single day. (To be fair I haven't watched any movies on it or anything. That will burn the battery down faster)
| Standing screen display size | 13 Inches |
|---|---|
| Max Screen Resolution | 1920*1080 Pixels |
| Processor | 2 GHz core_m_5y10 |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR3 |
| Memory Speed | 1600 MHz |
| Hard Drive | 256 GB 256GB Solid State |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Intel Integrated Graphics |
| Chipset Brand | Intel |
| Card Description | Integrated |
| Wireless Type | 802.11a/b/g/n |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 3 |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 5 Hours |
