Asus UX21E, UX31E Zenbook Ultrabooks Arrive

The long awaited Asus ultrabooks, now officially called Zenbooks, have arrived on the US market.

Currently, there are five models in the ultra-thin Zenbook series. Two of them are the 11.6-inch UX21E-DH52 and UX21E-DH71, while remaining three models are 13.3 inchers: UX31E-DH52, UX31E-DH53, and UX31E-DH72.

Asus UX31E (UX21E looks similar)

Besides the screen size, the main differences between the UX21E and UX31E series is display resolution, dimensions, weight, and battery life. The smaller 0.11- to 0.67-inch thin models have 1366×768 screens and weigh 2.43 pounds, while the larger 2.86-pound ones have 0.11″ to 0.71″ profiles and 1600×900 resolution. The former have a battery life of more than five hours and up to 7 days in stand by mode, while the latter can run more than 7 hours on a single charge and stay in sleep up to 10 days.

Another difference is a lack of an SD card slot in the UX21, which is present in the UX31.

CPU choices range from the Intel Core i5-2467M, over the i5-2557M, to the top of the line i7-2677M. Storage space is SSD-based and provides a capacity of 128GB or 256GB, depending on model.

Here’s a specs comparison table for the Asus Zenbooks:

Model Name: UX21E-DH52 UX21E-DH71 UX31E-DH52 UX31E-DH53 UX31E-DH72
Screen 11.6″ 1366 x 768 13.3″ 1600 x 900
CPU i5-2467M i7-2677M i5-2557M i5-2557M i7-2677M
Storage 128GB 256GB
RAM 4GB
Graphics Intel HD integrated
Battery 35Whr; more than 5 hours; up to 7 days stand by 50Whr; more than 7 hours; up to 10 days stand by
USB 1xUSB 2.0 & 1xUSB 3.0
Video out micro HDMI & micro VGA
SD card reader No Yes
Audio Stereo speakers; Bang and Olufsen Ice Power
Webcam 0.3-megapixel
Connectivity Wi-Fi & Bluetooth
OS Windows 7 Home Premium 64
Dimensions 11.7″ (W) x 7.7″ (D) x 0.11″-0.67″(H) 12.8″ (W) x 8.8″ (D) x 0.11″-0.71″ (H)
Weight 2.43 pounds 2.86 pounds
Price $999 $1,199 $1,099 $1,349 $1,499

Asus Zenbooks are made of “spun metal and hairline aluminum” and feature fast wake up from sleep mode of only 2 seconds. With their ability to stay in stand by mode for seven to ten days, the Zenbooks can enable users to avoid system shut downs and boot ups.

As you can see in the table above, the starting price is $999, $100 more than the 13.3-inch Acer Aspire S3-951-6646.

With all Zenbook models, Asus bundles carrying cases.

Here’s a video comparison the two:

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