Asus Zenbook review: First Look

The MacBook Air is our favourite ultraportable laptop thanks to its excellent battery life, low weight and incredibly slender yet sturdy design. Until now there's been little to match it if you're determined to stick with Windows - a situation Intel hopes its ultrabook initiative will fix.

Asus has just announced the Zenbook, one of the first ultraportables designed under Intel's Ultrabook brand, and we got the chance to try one out at Asus' London press conference.

There is no question the ASUS Zenbook has been inspired by the good work of the late Steve Jobs. The 11in version is incredibly lightweight weighing in at a mere 1.1kg so it won't strain the shoulders of the mobile worker on the move, whilst the attractive aluminium casing will never leave you with that horrid feeling of inadequacy when sat in a room full of Macs.

The Asus Zenbooks UX21 and UX31

The Asus Zenbooks UX21 and UX31

It is pretty, no question, although you will have to make sure your fingertips are clean for all the marks they will make on the smooth-to-touch brushed metal casing.

The lid of the Asus Zenbook.

The lid of the Asus Zenbook.

The specifications, regardless of whether you opt for the 11in UX21 or the 13in UX31, are almost identical. Both have 4GB of RAM and 128GB SATA3 SSDs.

The Asus Zenbook ultrabook is very slender.

The Asus Zenbook ultrabook is very slender.

The difference comes in the processor, either an Intel Sandy Bridge Core i5 for the smaller version and a faster i7 for the larger 13in model. However, for those of you waiting for Windows 8 and Intel's upcoming Ivy Bridge chips, the head honchos at the Zenbook launch promised there will eventually be touch-capable models.

Jennifer Scott

Jennifer Scott is a former freelance journalist and currently political reporter for Sky News. She has a varied writing history, having started her career at Dennis Publishing, working in various roles across its business technology titles, including ITPro. Jennifer has specialised in a number of areas over the years and has produced a wealth of content for ITPro, focusing largely on data storage, networking, cloud computing, and telecommunications.

Most recently Jennifer has turned her skills to the political sphere and broadcast journalism, where she has worked for the BBC as a political reporter, before moving to Sky News.