When Intel announced the development of a new, ultraportable platform, which would change the portable PC philosophy from the core, few anticipated the arrival of such devices as ultrabooks. Just as they created the netbook in their time, Intel opted for a new approach yet again and decided to change the concept of “portable”.
The ultrabook, as its name says, is a very peculiar category of portable PCs, one which combines the dimensions of a netbook or ultraportable notebook with powerful hardware, and all that in an exceptionally thin and light enclosure. We’ve received ASUS’ UX21E from the so-called Zenbook series (which consists of ultrabooks exclusively) as the first of this kind.
It’s no less than fascinating that ASUS has managed to pack such strong hardware into an enclosure of such thinness and lightness. Reminiscent to when netbooks first surfaced, the size, hardware and appearance of ultrabooks is yet to be defined.
On the other hand, judging by the models that have appeared or been announced thus far, we can expect to see all-around firm aluminium casings, a very low profile, Intel’s latest Core CPUs, SSDs or HDDs, no discreet graphics, a minimal number of connectors, and extraordinary cooling systems.
|
Accompanying bundle Having in mind its exceptional thinness, the number of connectors on this model is pretty limited, so everything that you’ll come across is 2 x USB, mini-HDMI, mini-DP, audio and power connectors. In order to counter this drawback, ASUS has included two very important adapters in the bundle, together with a fine linen carrying bag for the two. One of them is USB-to-LAN, while the other one is mini-HDMI-to-VGA, which raises the value of this model by quite a bit, especially since connecting to projectors will no longer require expensive separate adapters (just think of MacBook Air, for instance). The box also contains a very nice carrying bag/sleeve, designed in accordance with the Zenbook itself. It’s a thin letter-bag with a nicely coated interior and a very pleasant exterior, which doesn’t indicate the presence of a thoroughbred ultrabook inside. A most useful and thoughtful detail, in our opinion. |
